"More than half of cyber attacks are now motivated by extortion and ransomware, according to Microsoft, with legacy security measures no longer enough to counter the threat. In its sixth annual Digital Defense Report, the company said attackers sought to steal data, mostly for financial gain, in 80% of the cyber incidents its security teams investigated last year. "That's at least 52% of incidents fueled by financial gain, while attacks focused solely on espionage made up just 4%," said Amy Hogan-Burney, CVP for customer security and trust."
"Critical public services are a main target, the study noted. Hospitals and local governments, for example, store sensitive data and often have tight cybersecurity budgets with limited incident response capabilities. Healthcare or other critical organizations, meanwhile, may feel greater pressure to pay a ransom because of the vital importance of their services. While the proportion of attacks by nation-state actors remains low, the number is growing. China is continuing its broad push across industries to conduct espionage and steal sensitive data, and increasingly attacking non-governmental organizations (NGOs), using covert networks and vulnerable internet-facing devices to gain entry and avoid detection."
More than half of cyberattacks are motivated by extortion and ransomware, driven primarily by financial gain. Attackers sought to steal data in 80% of investigated incidents, and at least 52% of incidents were fueled by financial motives while pure espionage accounted for about 4%. Critical public services such as hospitals and local governments are high-value targets due to sensitive data and constrained cybersecurity budgets, increasing pressure to pay ransoms. Nation-state activity is growing, with China expanding industrial espionage and NGO targeting, Iran widening its target set, and Russia extending operations beyond conflict zones.
Read at IT Pro
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