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New research by Barracuda Networks, a provider of cloud-first security solutions, reveals concerning trend in ransomware attacks across key industries

Ransomware continues to pose a significant threat to global information security, including the META region.

Fortinet, the global cybersecurity leader driving the convergence of networking and security, unveiled its 2023 Global Ransomware Report.

Kaspersky experts discovered an attack using a zero-day vulnerability in the Microsoft Common Log File System (CLFS).

Ransomware variants such as Maze and DopplePaymer have been used to add the threat of data exfiltration to a ransomware attack

Delinea, a provider of Privileged Access Management (PAM) solutions for […]

Sophos, a global provider of next-generation cybersecurity, released a new sectoral survey report, The State of Ransomware in Retail 2022, which discovered that retail had the second highest rate of ransomware attacks among all sectors surveyed last year, trailing only the media, leisure, and entertainment industry. Globally, 77% of retail organizations surveyed were affected, representing a 75% increase from 2020. This is also 11% higher than the overall attack rate of 66%.

The findings show that educational institutions - both higher and lower education - are increasingly being targeted by ransomware, with 60% experiencing attacks in 2021 compared to 44% in 2020. Education institutions had the highest data encryption rate (73%) also with longest recovery time, with 7% taking at least three months to recover - nearly double the average time for other sectors (4%).

Breaching the victim’s network is one of the first steps in a ransomware attack. The rapid increase in remote working over the last two years has hugely increased the opportunity for attackers to exploit vulnerable VPN clients to get a foothold in an organization. Once inside, they are often free move laterally throughout the network, escalating privileges and progressing the attack.

According to the 2022 study, the Middle East and Africa area was the fourth-most assaulted region in the globe, with the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and South Africa being the most targeted nations.