Dive Brief:
- According to a new report, ransomware creators are increasingly focusing their attention on small and medium-sized businesses.
- Trend Micro found that 67% of victims of ransomware program called CryptoWall in June and July were from the SMB sector. Only 17% were from large enterprises, CIO reports
- Trend Micro's statistics for another common ransomware program known as TorrentLocker also suggests that SMBs are increasingly being targeted.
Dive Insight:
Cybercriminals that used to focus on consumers appear to be shifting their attention to SMBs. Trend Micro researchers say SMBs may be the preferred target now because they are less likely to use sophisticated security the large companies use. The researchers suggest SMBs may also be more willing to give into ransomware demands because their data is often critical to their operations, CIO reports.
Trend Micro researchers said the emails they see often target business users specifically, luring them with things like “resumes, customer orders, passport scans, as well as notifications from postal services, telecommunications companies, utilities and government bodies.”
"We believe that ransomware will continue to improve its tactics and target more business environments," Trend Micro researchers said.
The researchers added that verifying the source of emails and the reputation of websites before visiting them can go a long way to prevent ransomware.
Researchers estimate that CryptoWall has earned well over $1 million for its creators.
