LockBit remains dominant ransomware threat

Forty percent of ransomware attacks in August were attributed to LockBit 3.0, making it the most dominant strain last month, VentureBeat reports. Even though ransomware attack volumes were noted by the NCC Group to have declined slightly from July, threats continue amid significant changes among ransomware gangs, according to NCC Group Global Head of Threat Intelligence Matt Hull. "LockBit 3.0 appears to be re-establishing its operations since rebranding in June, while Conti-affiliated BlackBasta looks to be establishing itself within the ransomware landscape following Conti's operations rebranding," said Hull, who added that last month also saw attacks against web hosting services by the emerging threat actor dubbed "IceFire." The findings, which come after Acronis reported global ransomware damages to surpass $30 billion by next year and after Verizon noted a 13% year-over-year increase in ransomware attack prevalence, suggest the persistent nature of ransomware threats and should prompt more extensive preparation among enterprises.