Ransomware hit an alarming 65 percent of organizations in Singapore in 2021. The number was as low as 25 percent in 2020. Cybersecurity firm Sophos has revealed this information. The annual survey and review cover real-life ransomware experiences. Also, this State of Ransomware 2022 survey reveals perturbing numbers.
Organizations in Singapore paid an average ransom of $187,500 in 2020. However, it increased to $1.16 million in 2022. Further, 8 percent of these organizations paid the ransom to retrieve their data. Their data had been encrypted after the attack. However, these organizations had options to retrieve their data. For instance, they could have created backups. Still, they decided to pay the ransom.
State of Ransomware 2022 survey in Singapore
The findings of the survey show that more organizations were hit by ransomware in 2021. Sixty-five percent of Singaporean organizations faced ransomware attacks. Also, the average cost to recover from the ransomware attack was $1.9 million. A new ransomware variant called Magniber attacked Singaporeans earlier this month. In this attack, the hacker demands payment through cryptocurrency.
The recovery from the latest ransomware attack in 2021 took one month. A Security Brief report shows that 85 percent of organizations couldn’t operate due to the attack. Also, 83 percent of victims say that the attack affected their revenue. Organizations use cyber insurance after a ransomware attack to recover. Moreover, 86 percent of mid-sized organizations rely on cyber insurance. This enables them to pull through a ransomware attack.
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Singapore Organizations Are Fighting Back!
The insurer paid either some costs incurred in nearly all incidents. Now, organizations are sparing no effort to fight back. According to All Singaporean respondents, they have changed cyber defenses. These changes improve the insurance position of the organizations. Eighty percent of organizations are using new technologies. Also, 60 percent are now training and educating their staff members.
Moreover, 53 percent of organizations have changed their processes. Sophos principal research scientist Chester Wisniewski explained the survey’s findings. According to Wisniewski, the survey reveals that more victims are now paying up. Interestingly, they have options to recover their data. Hackers are using new techniques to attack potential victims. To recall, ransomware was hiding in a coronavirus tracking app back in 2020.
Moreover, cyber insurance is currently covering ransomware recovery costs. As a result, attackers are demanding higher ransoms. However, cyber insurance could get tougher in the future. So, victims won’t be willing to pay high ransoms. Nevertheless, attackers will continue looking for victims. Organizations should come up with a solid plan to combat such ransomware attacks.
