Corvus Insurance has released its Q2 2024 Cyber Threat Report, “Ransomware Season Arrives Early.” The report identified 1,248 ransomware victims in Q2, which was a 16% increase over the first quarter of this year and an 8% increase over the second quarter of 2023. These new ransomware groups included PLAY, Medusa, RansomHub, INC Ransom, and BlackSuit.
Key Takeaways
According to the report, the average ransomware demand reached $1,571,667, a quarterly increase of 102% and the highest figure Corvus has reported since the second quarter of 2022. The average ransom payment also reached a new high of $626,415. Additionally, businesses without robust backups are more than twice as likely to surrender to ransom demands during an attack. Conversely, organizations with effective backup strategies have incurred median claim costs 72% lower than their less-prepared counterparts.
Read More: 45% of Tech Leaders Report Cyber Incidents in SaaS Solutions
The report also highlights that data theft was involved in 93% of ransomware incidents observed by Corvus, up from 88% in 2023. Using double-extortion schemes, even organizations with secure backups may be forced to pay ransoms, often to prevent the exposure of stolen data.
On Record
In a recent quote, Jason Rebholz, Chief Information Security Officer at Corvus Insurance, said, “Data theft has become the technique employed by attackers to secure maximum payouts from their victims, whether or not they have secure backups. A robust security plan is never one layer deep. While a sound backup strategy is important, it cannot mitigate these threats alone. Businesses must utilize a multi-layered security strategy based on a resilient environment with fast detection and prevention capabilities.”
