Beware! 2021 may be the 'year of extortion'

Cyber protection company Acronis has warned that 2021 will bring aggressive cybercrime activity as criminals pivot their attacks from data encryption to data exfiltration. In its Acronis Cyberthreats Report 2020, the firm has noted the growing trend of cybercriminals trying to maximize their financial gain. Here are 5 key observations in the report

* In 2020, more than 1,000 companies globally had their data leaked following a ransomware attack. They expect this trend to accelerate during the next 12 months to surpass encryption as the primary attack tactic for these cybercriminals.

While 31% of companies worldwide reported being attacked daily during 2020, the rate of attacks targeting employees working remotely will only increase in 2021 as cybercriminals target less secure systems outside the corporate network to access an organization’s data.

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* Ransomware will look for new victims, become more automated. Rather than continuing to cast a wide net, ransomware attackers will focus on targets that provide a bigger return on their efforts. Breaking into one network to steal data from several companies is more profitable than attacking individual organizations

* Blocking the new malware has rendered traditional antimalware solutions obsolete, as they cannot keep pace with the increased sophistication and frequency of new threats.

* The average lifespan of a malware sample in 2020 was just 3.4 days. As attackers continue to utilize automation, the number of malware samples will continue to climb. Simple standalone security and backup solutions will no longer be enough.