In the fourth quarter of 2021, 722 attacks using ransomware were recorded, with the most common variants being LockBit 2.0, Conti, PYSA, Hive and Grief.
According to experts from Intel 471, the number of cyber attacks increased by 110 and 129 compared to the third and second quarters of 2021, respectively. In the period from October to December 2021 alone, 34 different variants of ransomware were discovered.
“The most common ransomware in the fourth quarter of 2021 was LockBit 2.0, which is responsible for 29.7% of all recorded incidents, followed by Conti (19%), PYSA (10.5%) and Hive (10.1%),” the experts noted.
Manufacturers of consumer and industrial goods, manufacturing enterprises, healthcare, mass media and telecommunications, energy companies, agriculture, the public sector, financial enterprises and non-profit organizations suffered the most from ransomware attacks.
The United States suffered the most from LockBit 2.0 ransomware attacks, followed by Italy, Germany, France and Canada. Most of the Conti ransomware attacks also occurred in the United States, Germany and Italy. The United States also turned out to be the country most affected by the attacks of the ransomware PYSA and Hive.