In the first half of 2022, SonicWall researchers observed a ransomware attack decline.
According to the experts, among other things, a decline in cryptocurrency values caused thieves to abandon ransomware.
In the first six months of 2022, ransomware attacks decreased internationally, according to a US-based cybersecurity company SonicWall survey.
Analysts at SonicWall reported 236.1 million ransomware attacks in the first half of 2022, a 23 percent decrease year over year, in the 2022 Cyber Threat Report.
A hacker who has gained unauthorized access to a computer’s network can use ransomware, a sort of security attack, to encrypt all the data on the network and prevent users from accessing it. After that, the hackers demand money, usually in the form of a cryptocurrency like bitcoin.
According to the experts, among other things, a decline in cryptocurrency values caused thieves to abandon ransomware. Bitcoin’s price dropped roughly 140% between January and June 2022, from $48,000 to $20,000, as a result of deteriorating macroeconomic conditions worldwide and growing inflation.
Although there is no direct correlation between the two, a SonicWall official said that bitcoin prices are an early warning of the frequency of ransomware assaults. In addition to falling cryptocurrency prices, SonicWall researchers linked a decrease in ransomware incidents to corporate security policies and stepped-up law enforcement activities.
There are too many variables to make a direct correlation in the first half of 2022. However, the ebbs and flows of well-known cryptocurrencies like bitcoin have frequently functioned as an early warning system for changes in the volume of ransomware as a whole over time,” the spokesman stated.
2021 saw Increased Ransomwares
Researchers from SonicWall claim that 2021 saw a record-breaking high for ransomware outbreaks. A few high-profile assaults that year targeted companies like JBS Foods & Colonial Pipeline, which both paid hackers millions of dollars in bitcoin.
As ransomware assaults began to garner increasing media attention, it sparked efforts by the government to address the problem. For instance, the US Federal Bureau of Investigation established the Virtual Asset Exploitation Team in February 2022 to monitor ransomware and the money obtained from such assaults.
Ransomware is merely a small portion of the cybersecurity narrative as a whole. Global ransomware numbers have decreased, but malware incidences have increased overall. In the first half of 2022, researchers at SonicWall reported 2.8 billion malware attacks, an increase of 11% over the previous year.
