7 Noteworthy Ransomware Threat Predictions for 2023

In the past 12 months, 90% of organisations were affected by ransomware. 50% struggled with ransomware at least twice, while 20% fought ransomware 6 to 10 times. In the first half of 2022 alone, more than 236 million ransomware attacks occurred globally, and losses caused by ransomware are expected to reach US$20 billion by the end of this year.

Persistent, large-scale ransomware attacks continue to disrupt organisations worldwide. In early April, the Costa Rican government suffered a high-profile attack. The ensuing operational chaos prompted authorities to declare a national state of emergency. While Costa Rica's government services eventually recovered, not every organisation can return to full capacity after a ransomware attack.

31% of US companies shut down permanently after falling victim to ransomware. In the UAE, as many as 42% of organisations went out of business following a ransomware intrusion. Ransomware attacks cost an average of US$4.62 million to resolve fully.

The destructive nature of ransomware can be likened to fire; its immediacy is overwhelming, seemingly consuming all valuable assets in its path, including business revenue that could have been used for almost any other purpose other than paying off ransomware. In 2023, more and more organisations may be burned, singed, or set ablaze by the intense and blinding fire that is ransomware.

How is your organisation preparing for ransomware in 2023? The following ransomware predictions are designed to help you uncover and eliminate evolving ransomware threats in the cybersecurity landscape.

▌Key Statistics

• In the past 12 months, 90% of organisations were affected by ransomware.

• In the first half of 2022, more than 236 million ransomware attacks occurred globally.

• Ransomware impacts livelihoods and lives, and can do so for a long time.

▌Ransomware Predictions from Experts

1. Costa Rica-style ransomware attacks and high-profile data breaches will increase. Even larger-scale cybercrime campaigns will be carried out by nation-state actors or their affiliates and will affect more people than before. The criminals' intent is to influence public opinion."

2. As ransomware syndicates continue to find success, we are highly likely to see more syndicates and more organised cybercrime, hacktivism, and cyber warfare... this has been gaining momentum. We have already seen organisations hit by multiple attacks, so just because a company has been hit once does not mean it won't be hit again, unless it shifts to a prevention-first, proactive cybersecurity strategy.

3. The evolution of ransomware into triple and quadruple extortion is one of the most significant threats we face in the cyber domain. Leaders must understand that ransomware is not only a threat to our digital economy and geopolitics, but increasingly a threat to innocent people.

4. My number one concern for 2023 is ransomware. It's hard for people to know whether they should pay or not. To combat ransomware, we need to build complex, mature, and expensive Security Operations Centres (SOC). People think they can provide SOCs, but it just gets super crazy. We need more tools, more automation... and so on.

5. The risk of ransomware supply chain attacks is likely to increase, which could theoretically disrupt global commerce. The consequences could be ferocious.

6. Deepfakes will become popular in ransomware and phishing attack chains, and hacktivists will also exploit these vulnerabilities. In these cases, deepfake images, videos, and audio files will be used to increase the effectiveness and impact of cyber attacks.

7. Globally, ransomware attacks will surge in 2023. While some industries have invested heavily in ransomware prevention, detection, and mitigation tools, others are only just beginning to find their footing. Ransomware can drain an organisation's value within minutes. Why not act now?

▌How Can Organisations Respond to Ransomware?

A key approach to defending against ransomware involves implementing a comprehensive, unified cybersecurity platform that enhances the visibility of security operations teams across the entire network environment.

Another important countermeasure against ransomware includes backing up data. With system-wide data backups, in the event of a ransomware attack, retrieving lost data will not require negotiating with cybercriminals.

The Securitest security validation platform helps enterprises verify the effectiveness of their current security defence systems. Through visualised reports, all levels within the organisation can understand the current state of security defence operations, making better ransomware prevention decisions based on this evidence.

Reference Source |

https://www.cybertalk.org/2022/12/20/ransomware-predictions-for-2023-from-cyber-security-experts/