Where does Australia rank in countries most targeted by ransomware?

United States;
Canada;
UK;
Germany;
Japan;
India;
Brazil;
Thailand;
France;
Netherlands; and
China.

Cybersecurity solutions provider Bitdefender’s latest report showed almost the same results as Flashpoint’s Ransomware Quickview, putting Australia among the top 10 countries most affected by ransomware attacks.

Flashpoint’s recent report revealed the top 10 ransomware groups globally during the same period, with Lockpit taking the top spot, followed by Royal and Play. Regarding industry focus, the top 10 most targeted industries globally are:

Professional services (including law firms), 20.7%;
Internet software and services, 18.5%;
Construction and engineering, 14.1%;
Education services, 9.8%;
Automotive, 8.7%;
Healthcare providers and services, 7.6%;
Building materials, 5.4%;
Renewable electricity, 5.4%;
Retailing, 5.4%; and
Communications equipment, 4.3%.

Flashpoint’s Insider Threat Quickview showed 2,289 unique posts discussing insider-related threat activity. Across the sectors, most of the posts came from the insiders, who advertised their services and access to potential threat actors. Meanwhile, insider threat-related posts within the retail sector jumped by nearly 50% in November compared to the previous month, signalling the significance of awareness for organisations as the holiday season ramps up.

Meanwhile, Flashpoint’s Vulnerability Quickview showed 1,478 disclosed vulnerabilities, with over half of them remotely exploitable. Additionally, 277 vulnerabilities were discovered without common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVE) ID, meaning they were missing from the list of publicly disclosed computer security flaws. Red Hat had the highest number of vulnerabilities by vendor with 73, followed by NETGEAR (72) and Microsoft (68).

With 2023 only a few weeks away, security giant Sophos warns Australian organisations to brace themselves for a hostile cyber environment.