Ransomware Attacks Demanding Crypto Are Unfortunately Here to Stay

Overall, according to a report by anti-malware software firm Malwarebytes, there was a 365% increase in ransomware attacks against businesses between the second quarter of 2018 and the second quarter of 2019.Other reports show that 948 United States government agencies and healthcare and education institutions were affected by ransomware attacks in 2019.

Apart from the cost of paying ransomware to attackers, government institutions in the U.S. also spent at least $176 million on rebuilding and restoring the networks, investigating the attacks, and putting up preventative measures.

Increased attacks in 2020So far, 2020 has seen an increase in the number of attacks, partially due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Already, government and health institutions, private businesses and educational establishments have spent a whopping $144 million to deal with ransomware attacks.

Most worryingly, the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation recently reported a 75% increase in ransomware attacks on healthcare entities.

Most of these attacks are conducted through email-based phishing exploits, and the attackers demand crypto as payment.

These ransomware attacks are mostly conducted against a user's device whereby that device is commandeered to mine cryptocurrency.

With that in mind, here is a list of some of the most notable crypto ransomware attacks from the most recent past.

Attacks on healthcare and medical institutionsDuring the first half of 2020, reports show that at least 41 hospitals and healthcare organizations were successfully hacked in ransomware attacks.

Ransomware attacks have proved to be a lucrative business for most cybercriminal groups.