Arete released its 2024 Annual Crimeware Report, highlighting key trends and notable shifts in the cyber threat landscape. Arete’s global teams gather data and insights from every aspect of the threat lifecycle, providing comprehensive visibility to inform analysis of the threat landscape. Leveraging data collected from Arete’s response to ransomware and extortion attacks throughout 2024, the report explores data and insights from the frontlines of incident response, including median demands and payments, notable threat actor tactics, techniques, and procedures (TTPs), the most impacted industries, and frequently observed malware and tools.
Key findings within the report:
- Only 29% of ransomware and extortion victims made a payment to the threat actor in 2024, down from 32% in 2023. As organisations continue to improve their cybersecurity posture and recovery capabilities, threat actors come away empty-handed more often than not
- Threat actors adapted to the increase in law enforcement pressure, with new threat groups rapidly emerging, partnerships forming between groups, and an air of distrust enveloping the threat landscape.
- Most ransomware and extortion activity in 2024 was opportunistic, with threat actors targeting certain technologies or exploiting vulnerabilities as opposed to focusing on a specific industry.
“This report synthesizes Arete’s frontline data from thousands of cyber engagements in 2024,” said Chris Martenson, Arete’s Chief Data Officer. “Using these unique insights, we will continue to protect our clients, inform our partners, and evolve our solutions to combat cyber extortion,” Martenson added.
