Here's the latest sitrep from the ransomware frontline

May 5, 2016 22:00 GMT  ·  By

To nobody's surprise, two separate security firms and the FBI are warning companies about an increase in ransomware infections, which took a sharp turn at the start of 2016, reaching record levels during the past month.

According to Kaspersky's Q1 IT Threat Evolution Report, the security firm detected 2,900 new ransomware variants (modifications), which represented a 14 percent increase compared to the previous quarter.

Kaspersky says that its malware database now includes about 15,000 ransomware modifications, which means that, during the past three months, the company detected about 20 percent of its entire database.

Additionally, the company explains that, in the first three months of the year, its security products detected and stopped 372,602 ransomware attacks, of which 17 percent were against corporate targets.

April was a nightmare month when it came to ransomware detections

Kaspersky's findings are also doubled by statistics from the Enigma Software Group (ESG), who also has reported today that, in February, they saw a 19.37 percent increase over January in terms of detected ransomware attacks.

Additionally, the company reported that March had a 9.46% increase over February, and the number of detected ransomware attacks more than doubled in April, compared to those in March. ESG reports a 158.87 percent spike.

"To add insult to injury, the percentage of overall infections that were ransomware is the highest by far of any other month in the last three years," a company spokesperson told Softpedia via email.

The FBI reissued its ransomware alert

So is it to anyone's surprise that the FBI reissued its ransomware alert these past days? No, at least not according to Rohyt Belani, co-founder and CEO of PhishMe, with whom Softpedia had a talk.

"The widespread use of ransomware is forcing the security community to change the way it thinks. Although you might be able to detect some malware or malicious insider behavior before it becomes a full-blown crisis, ransomware isn’t something you can wait on. The key is stopping it from infecting systems and data because once it’s in, it’s too late," says Mr. Belani.

"We agree completely with the FBI that 'prevention efforts' are key to defending your organizations against ransomware and that employees must play a critical role in implementing them," he also adds.

PhishMe CEO: Ransomware infections are inevitable

"To be effective, security awareness needs to go beyond basic user training; it’s a combination of behavioral conditioning and intelligence gathering driven by human reporting. Sooner or later, ransomware-laced emails are going to make it past technology layers and land in inboxes."

"If recipients aren’t ready to recognize and report them, chances are they are going to click on a link or download an attachment that will force your organization to pay a ransom in exchange for access to your own systems and data."

Mr. Belani tells Softpedia that the issue resides in how the security industry has shifted focus in the past few years. "Unfortunately, much of the strategic thought around cybersecurity shifted from prevention to detection over the past several years, as vendors, analysts and pundits conceded that everyone and everything has been breached in some shape or form."

"Historically, we have never recommended that line of thinking, since threat prevention still plays an essential role in a successful defense-in-depth program."

Ransomware families discovered in the past years
Ransomware families discovered in the past years

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Ransomware infections surge during the first four months of 2016
Ransomware families discovered in the past years
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