SK Shielders "Ransomware Increased by 44% in Q4 Last Year"

Ransomware Damage Cases Reach 1,899 in Q4
Attacks Surge 44 Percent Compared to Previous Quarter
Healthcare Industry Emerges as New Target

Damage caused by ransomware in the fourth quarter of last year surged compared to the previous quarter.

SK Shieldus announced on the 27th that it has published the '2024 4th Quarter KARA (Korean Anti Ransomware Alliance) Ransomware Trend Report.' KARA is a private ransomware response council launched under the leadership of SK Shieldus. It consists of a total of seven companies including Trend Micro, Ginious, Mandiant, Veritas, Carrot Insurance, and the law firm Hwawoo, providing one-stop support for the entire response process from ransomware prevention to incident reporting, root cause analysis, damage recovery, negotiation, compensation, and recurrence prevention.

According to the report, ransomware damage in the fourth quarter of last year totaled 1,899 cases, a 44% increase compared to the third quarter. It also rose 38% compared to the same period last year. While attacks by major ransomware groups remain active, the ‘RansomHub’ group carried out the most attacks, causing 240 cases of damage in the fourth quarter alone. Additionally, the ‘Akira’ group was confirmed to have distributed ransomware by exploiting vulnerabilities in backup solutions.

Looking at the damage status by industry, manufacturing (421 cases), distribution/trade/transportation (197 cases), and IT/telecommunications (189 cases) were heavily targeted, and attacks on social infrastructure such as medical institutions and airports are also on the rise. In particular, the healthcare industry is emerging as a new target; KARA explained that since it holds sensitive patient data but often has relatively weak security infrastructure, special caution is required.

SK Shieldus emphasized that establishing a proactive prevention and rapid response system is essential to counter these advanced ransomware threats. Kim Byung-moo, Head of Cybersecurity Division (Vice President) at SK Shieldus, said, "As ransomware attacks spread not only to manufacturing but also to healthcare and educational institutions, which are core infrastructures, there is concern about large-scale leakage of sensitive information," adding, "Since recent ransomware attacks have become a threat to the entire industry rather than just individual companies, SK Shieldus will support the entire industry to proactively respond to attacks through dedicated ransomware solutions."