Solutionary SERT Q2 Report: 88 Percent of All Ransomware Is Detected in Healthcare Industry

Cryptowall Named Top Ransomware Variant Detected During Q2 '16, Accounting for Nearly 94 Percent of All Detections


OMAHA, NE--(Marketwired - Jul 26, 2016) - Solutionary, an NTT Group security company (NYSE: NTT) and leading cybersecurity services provider, today announced the results of its Security Engineering Research Team (SERT) Quarterly Threat Report for Q2 2016. Solutionary SERT performed a broad analysis of the threat landscape, which uncovered several key findings. Most notably, the Solutionary SERT found companies in the healthcare industry had the most ransomware present, accounting for 88 percent of all ransomware detections in Q2. In addition, Cryptowall was the top ransomware variant Solutionary detected during the quarter, accounting for nearly 94 percent of detections.

"Healthcare has been a target for ransomware campaigns because the industry has often paid ransom to retrieve vital customer data quickly. Furthermore, healthcare organizations use an abundance of systems and devices that are crucial pivot-points for an attacker, and they can even be victims of ransomware themselves," said Rob Kraus, director of research, Security Engineering Research Team, Solutionary. "The most important steps in protecting your company's and your customers' data from the growing malicious ransomware onslaught are ensuring that you have a robust backup and recovery process, and that your security software is up-to-date and able to detect the most recent ransomware variants. As the threat continues to evolve, it will be crucial for organizations to have defined incident-response procedures and proper detective and preventive controls in place to reduce ransomware's impact."

Key Findings:

  • The industry most often targeted by ransomware attacks, healthcare, led with 88 percent of Solutionary detections. Affected industries also included education (6 percent) and finance (4 percent), with eight other industries combining for less than 2 percent of detections.
  • Solutionary researchers identified the top attack types of Q2 '16. Out of 11 categories, the top three -- web application, malware and application-specific attacks -- accounted for roughly 62 percent of all attacks. Threat actors focused primarily on web applications, which were the target of nearly 24 percent of all attacks.
  • Attacks focusing on ActiveX or Adobe products accounted for nearly 48 percent of all attacks against the top five industries (retail, healthcare, education, finance and technology).
  • The retail sector was the focus of 18 percent of all attacks during Q2 '16.
  • Germany was the number-one source of all non-U.S. based attacks, responsible for nearly 15 percent of attacks overall.

About Solutionary
Solutionary, an NTT Group Security Company (NYSE: NTT), is the next generation managed security services provider (MSSP), focused on delivering managed security services, professional security services and global threat intelligence. Comprehensive Solutionary security monitoring and security device management services protect traditional and virtual IT infrastructures, cloud environments and mobile data. Solutionary clients are able to optimize current security programs, make informed security decisions, achieve regulatory compliance and reduce costs. The patented, cloud-based ActiveGuard® service platform uses multiple detection technologies and advanced analytics to protect against advanced threats. The Solutionary Security Engineering Research Team (SERT) researches the global threat landscape, providing actionable threat intelligence, enhanced threat detection and mitigating controls. Experienced, certified Solutionary security experts act as an extension of clients' internal teams, providing industry-leading client service to global enterprise and mid-market clients in a wide range of industries, including financial services, health care, retail and government. Services are delivered 24/7 through multiple state-of-the-art Security Operations Centers (SOCs).

Contact Information:

CONTACT INFORMATION
10Fold Communications
Travis Anderson

925.271.8227

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