Ransomware Attacks Increased by More Than 51% in February

March 24, 2023 – Published on HIPAA Journal

Ransomware activity increased in February according to the latest GRIT Ransomware Report from GuidePoint Security. The report is based on data collected by the GuidePoint Research and Intelligence Team, which reports a 51.5% increase in attacks compared to January and a 15.8% increase in attacks compared to February 2022.

The LockBit 3.0 ransomware group was particularly active in February, posting more than twice the number of victims (129) on its leak site as January (50), accounting for virtually all of the monthly increase in attacks. ALPHV/BlackCat also listed more victims (30) on its data leak site than January (21), with Royal and BinLian in the third and fourth spots. Medusa completed the top 5. There was a 21% decrease in Royal ransomware victims compared to January, but a massive 400% increase in BianLian victims. According to the cybersecurity firm Redacted, the BianLian group appears to have changed tactics and is now increasingly monetizing its breaches without using file encryption and is concentrating on extortion after stealing data.

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