Report Shows 10x Spike in Ransomware

SUNNYVALE, Calif. — A new report on global cyber threats reveals ransomware activity is up tenfold from last year.

The August 2021 “Global Threat Landscape Report” is based on threat intelligence and shows a “significant increase” in the volume and sophistication of cyber attacks targeting individuals, organizations, and critical infrastructure, according to Fortinet last month. 

The semiannual report is by FortiGuard Labs — the threat intelligence and research organization of Fortinet — a global provider of automated cybersecurity solutions. 

Hybrid employees and students coming in and out of traditional networks are creating an expanding attack surface that “continues to be a target,” Fortinet said.

In the second half of 2021, there is an “opportunity to disrupt the cybercriminal ecosystem” through collaboration among law enforcement and the public and private sectors.

“We are seeing an increase in effective and destructive cyberattacks affecting thousands of organizations in a single incident, creating an important inflection point for the war on cybercrime,” said Derek Manky, chief of security insights and global threat alliances, FortiGuard Labs.

See more: Fortinet Cybersecurity Portfolio Review

Manky said several components “remain vital to counter cyber adversaries”: continued cybersecurity awareness training as well as artificial intelligence (AI)-powered prevention, detection, and response technologies integrated across endpoints, networks, and the cloud. 

“Now, more than ever, everyone has an important role in strengthening the kill chain. Aligning forces through collaboration must be prioritized to disrupt cybercriminal supply chains. Shared data and partnership can enable more effective responses and better predict future techniques to deter adversary efforts.”

Report methodology

The latest “Global Threat Landscape Report” represents intelligence from FortiGuard Labs and is based on Fortinet sensors collecting billions of threat events observed around the world during the first half of 2021. 

The report describes how threat actors find vulnerabilities, build malicious infrastructure, and exploit their targets. 

It also covers both global and regional perspectives.

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