Record high monthly ransomware attack prevalence recorded in March

Monthly ransomware attacks peaked in March, with attacks last month being 91% higher than in February and 62% higher than the same month last year, TechRepublic reports. Most ransomware attacks last month were attributed to the Clop ransomware operation, marking the first time the group dominated ransomware-as-a-service activity as a result of attacks exploiting a zero-day vulnerability in Fortra's GoAnywhere Managed File Transfer system, according to a report from NCC Group. LockBit 3.0, Royal, BlackCat, and BianLian rounded out the top five most active ransomware operations last month. The findings also showed that North America was the most targeted region for ransomware attacks, while the industrial sector was the most impacted industry. Last month's significant ransomware activity may continue throughout 2023, noted NCC Group Global Head of Threat Intelligence Matt Hull. "If [Clops] operations remain consistent, we can expect them to remain a prevalent threat throughout the year. We are keeping a close eye on the actor as it evolves," Hull added.