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The focus of cybercriminals is gradually shifting to more solvent victims.
Zscaler, a cloud security company, found that hackers from the Dark Angels group received a record $ 75 million cash ransom this year. The name of the affected organization was not disclosed, but it is known that this is the largest ransom amount in the history of cyber extortion.
Experts warn that such a large ransom will inevitably attract the attention of other cybercriminals seeking to repeat the success of Dark Angels. According to Zscaler, the number of ransomware attacks increased by 18% from April 2023 to April 2024. The main targets were manufacturing enterprises, healthcare and technology companies.
Deepen Desai, Chief Security Officer at Zscaler, noted that the growing popularity of RaaS models, attacks on vulnerable systems and the use of artificial intelligence have led to record cash ransom payments.
Among the sectors most susceptible to attacks, the energy sector stands out, where the number of attacks increased by 500% over the year. This is due to the high importance of the infrastructure and its increased vulnerability to operational failures.
The US remains the main target of attacks, accounting for almost half of all incidents. They are followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and France.
Over the past year, Zscaler has identified 19 new ransomware families, increasing the total number of groups tracked to 391. The most active were LockBit, BlackCat (ALPHV) and 8Base.
Experts pay special attention to the Dark Angels group, which appeared in May 2022. Many of the largest attacks were organized and carried out by members of this criminal association. The main goals of Dark Angels are healthcare, government and financial institutions, as well as educational organizations.
The group has a highly targeted approach, attacking large companies one at a time, unlike most other groups that work with multiple targets through partner networks. Dark Angels often steal huge amounts of data, which can reach up to 100 TB.
In September 2023, the group launched its most famous attack, hacking into an international conglomerate that provides building automation solutions. The criminals claimed to have stolen over 27 TB of data and demanded a ransom of $51 million.
Experts note that the Dark Angels strategy, aimed at a small number of large companies, is becoming increasingly common. This raises concerns that other groups may follow suit to maximize financial benefits.
Source
Zscaler, a cloud security company, found that hackers from the Dark Angels group received a record $ 75 million cash ransom this year. The name of the affected organization was not disclosed, but it is known that this is the largest ransom amount in the history of cyber extortion.
Experts warn that such a large ransom will inevitably attract the attention of other cybercriminals seeking to repeat the success of Dark Angels. According to Zscaler, the number of ransomware attacks increased by 18% from April 2023 to April 2024. The main targets were manufacturing enterprises, healthcare and technology companies.
Deepen Desai, Chief Security Officer at Zscaler, noted that the growing popularity of RaaS models, attacks on vulnerable systems and the use of artificial intelligence have led to record cash ransom payments.
Among the sectors most susceptible to attacks, the energy sector stands out, where the number of attacks increased by 500% over the year. This is due to the high importance of the infrastructure and its increased vulnerability to operational failures.
The US remains the main target of attacks, accounting for almost half of all incidents. They are followed by the United Kingdom, Germany, Canada and France.
Over the past year, Zscaler has identified 19 new ransomware families, increasing the total number of groups tracked to 391. The most active were LockBit, BlackCat (ALPHV) and 8Base.
Experts pay special attention to the Dark Angels group, which appeared in May 2022. Many of the largest attacks were organized and carried out by members of this criminal association. The main goals of Dark Angels are healthcare, government and financial institutions, as well as educational organizations.
The group has a highly targeted approach, attacking large companies one at a time, unlike most other groups that work with multiple targets through partner networks. Dark Angels often steal huge amounts of data, which can reach up to 100 TB.
In September 2023, the group launched its most famous attack, hacking into an international conglomerate that provides building automation solutions. The criminals claimed to have stolen over 27 TB of data and demanded a ransom of $51 million.
Experts note that the Dark Angels strategy, aimed at a small number of large companies, is becoming increasingly common. This raises concerns that other groups may follow suit to maximize financial benefits.
Source
