Kaspersky Lab a sharp increase in the number of ransomware attacks targeting various municipalities.
In particular, at least 174 municipal structures became targets of ransomware in the past year. Thus, the total number of attacks on city administrations has jumped by approximately 2018% compared to 60.
Experts note that among cryptographers there are extremely complex samples. But the general scheme of how such malware works comes down to encoding files on the victimβs computer and then demanding a ransom for decryption keys.
Kaspersky Lab notes that during attacks on municipalities, the ransom amount varies from $5000 to $5. On average, attackers demand about one million dollars from city administrations to decrypt data.
Such high amounts are explained by the fact that the total damage from ransomware attacks on municipalities, including long-term socially significant consequences, can be much greater, because stopping the work of city services negatively affects the well-being of the region.
The most frequently attacked municipal structures were educational institutions - they accounted for about 61% of all attacks. City halls and municipal centers were attacked in 29% of cases. Another 7% of attacks occurred in hospitals, and approximately 2% in municipal utilities.
Source: 3dnews.ru