With LockBit malware claiming attacks on defense giant Thales and German firm Continental, November closed with the distinction of having the second most reported ransomware attacks this year, according to a new report.
In its monthly global ransomware report, cybersecurity company BlackFog said the 42 publicly disclosed ransomware attacks in November is a 180% year-over-year increase.
The lion’s share of the attacks (86%) used PowerShell, while 89% exfiltrated data. The average payout was just over $258,000, a 13.2% increase from the second quarter of 2022.
The healthcare and manufacturing industries saw the biggest increase by sector at 26% and 25%, respectively, while education (14%) and government (13%) also increased.
Nearly half of the reported attacks (46%) were on organizations in the United States, while other regions, such as the UK (8%) and Canada (5%), trailed far behind.
Variants using LockBit led the ransomware pack with a 33% increase in successful attacks, followed by BlackByte and BlackCat with increases of 25% and 14%, respectively.
