5 Ransomware Trends to Watch in 2020

This is the fourth year that Recorded Future has asked me to write up my predictions for where ransomware is headed in the coming year. Trying to predict the future when it comes to these attacks is always a challenge. Unfortunately, the one prediction that I am confident in is that ransomware attacks will continue to grow as cybercriminals get more sophisticated in their methods and expand their reach. In fact, two verticals that we are following closely, state and local governments, and healthcare, have both seen a 20% increase in ransomware attacks over this time last year (with the caveat that the numbers are small this early in the year).

There were two big ransomware stories in 2019. The first was that almost every industry was hit hard. Local governments, healthcare, manufacturing, and even finance — there was no industry that was safe from increasingly sophisticated ransomware attackers. The second big story is that ransomware cybercriminals are threatening to release files when victims refuse to pay the ransom, and they’re often following through with it.

 

Interested in ransomware? Check out this GovWhitePapers blog post! You can also find ransomware events on our sister site, GovEvents.