Ransomware remains one of the biggest cyber threats to companies today. In a survey by security provider Cohesity, 83% of respondents said they were affected by a ransomware attack in the first half of 2024. According to security experts, there is no relief in sight for 2025 either.
But according to security provider G Data, an unsettling trend may be emerging: Newer hacker gangs are increasingly using ransomware to delete data instead of “just” encrypting it.
“We are currently observing a new generation of hackers who have significantly less technical skills than known criminal groups,” reports Tim Berghoff, security evangelist at G Data CyberDefense.
These cyber criminals have been observed using malware-as-a-service to deliberately sabotage companies. According to Berghoff, the focus of these groups is on causing chaos and not on financial motives. The security specialist warns: “The damage to companies increases significantly as a result — companies without functioning backups in particular risk total economic loss.”
The question now is how companies will deal with this in the future. So far, many organizations have acted against the federal authorities’ recommendations and paid ransoms. In the Cohesity survey, 69% of all organizations reported paying ransoms in 2024 — despite 77% of those having had a “do no pay” policy prior to attack.
