Local governments continue to be the biggest target for ransomware attacks

Barracuda Networks’ analysis of ransomware attacks over the past 12 months found that local municipal governments continue to be the preferred target, the amount of ransom demanded is on the rise, and more people are paying out. Combined, those three facts mean ransomware isn’t going away anytime soon. In fact, Barracuda found it’s increasingly being used in conjunction with data breaches as well, with 41% of attacks combining the two. 

The reasons for this two-fronted attack are obvious: Not only can an attacker make additional money selling stolen data, they can also leverage private or sensitive information as part of the ransom demand.