July – September 2022
September brought yet another ransomware-filled quarter to a close. Although GRIT observed a slight slowdown in ransomware activity from the rates observed during Q2, ransomware continues to be the most prolific threat that organizations face across all industry verticals.
While Q3 saw a slight decrease in the total number of publicly posted ransomware victims and a slow down in the average public postings per day, GRIT observed some interesting trends, including Lockbit’s continued dominance among Ransomware as a Service groups, Hive’s 104% increase in publicly posted victims, and eight new ransomware groups that emerged in Q3.
The manufacturing industry saw a sharp decrease in publicly posted victims while the technology industry saw a sharp increase in victims, however, despite these large changes, the manufacturing and technology industries tied for the most targeted industries in Q3.
The United States continues to be the most impacted country with respect to publicly posted ransomware victims; however, Q3 saw 16 countries that were targeted for the first time this year, with six countries being targeted for the first time altogether.
