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The Analyst Prompt #42: Ransomware Attacks Not Letting Up as 2021 Draws to a Close

Malware: Ransomware Attacks Don Not Let Up at the End of 2021

In what seems like an appropriate end to a year defined by an increased focus on ransomware, December proved to be a busy month for cyber defenders. Organizations of all kinds around the world fell victim to or became aware of ransomware attacks. Among them were the Brazilian ministry of health, which lost access to a system used to issue vaccination certificates, and a medical group in the U.S. which learned 750K patient records were compromised earlier this year. Two organizations associated with HR software and functions were hit, as were some parts of the Virginia state legislature. And in a more bizarre incident, the Twitter account of Indian Prime Minister Modhi was hacked with hackers falsely tweeting that New Dehli would distribute cryptocurrency to the public.  

EclecticIQ’s Threat Research team sees no indication that the rate of cyberattacks will drop off toward the end of the year; in fact, criminal actors may seek to leverage minimal staffing during the holiday season to execute attacks. This recent spate of attacks is line with 2021’s steady rate of reports coming to light about ransomware attacks and other intrusions. Furthermore, these recent attacks prove that no industry or geography is safe from attack; the era in which cyber security personnel could confidently assume their network was safe is long gone. Defenders’ best choice is to remain proactive in addressing vulnerabilities as quickly as possible in both their internal network and their supply chain’s network.

*** This is a Security Bloggers Network syndicated blog from EclecticIQ Blog authored by EclecticIQ Threat Research Team. Read the original post at: https://blog.eclecticiq.com/the-analyst-prompt-42-ransomware-attacks-not-letting-up-as-2021-draws-to-a-close