Cyber Security Awareness Month: 10-Year Insights on Ransomware

October is the Cyber Security Awareness Month, and it is the appropriate time to take a closer look at the growing ransomware threat.

Mastercard’s latest research, analysing 7,158 ransomware events over the past decade from 2015 to 2024, reveals key trends you should be aware of:

Annual Attack Probability

• 1% of suppliers fall victim to ransomware each year, meaning that large organisations face multiple supply chain shocks yearly.
• 134 countries were impacted, showing ransomware is a global issue.

Cyber Hygiene Findings

Organisations with poor cyber hygiene are 5.3x more likely to be breached. Impacted organisations had:

• 14.7 times more critical software vulnerabilities
• 8.6 times more unsafe network services exposed
• 8.8 times higher frequency of application security issues

Industry Impact

• Criminals target all sectors—and they operate 24/7, even on holidays
• Healthcare and education are top targets, but no sector is immune.
• City governments and operationally dependent vendors are also frequent victims.

Key Recommendations

• Utilize continuous monitoring for operationally critical suppliers.
• Update supplier assessment criteria to emphasize ransomware resilience.
• Leverage RiskRecon ratings and assessments to prioritize and mitigate risk at scale.

For more information on this topic and on our Cyber Security Solutions & Services, please contact us by mail at security@birger.technology.
 
Regards,
 

BIRGER.