State of ransomware in financial services

Ransomware is a scourge suffered by organizations across the industry spectrum, but financial services continues to be particularly hard hit, according to the latest Sophos report on The State of Ransomware in Financial Services.

Ransomware is nothing new to financial industry cybersecurity professionals, who have seen these attacks wreak havoc on institutions big and small for more than half a dozen years. And in recent months, ransomware attacks have stepped up, putting them front and center for the industry.

Indeed, financial IT security professionals and researchers alike have pointed out how ransomware attacks are not only becoming more pervasive, but more sophisticated — creating a wave of new threats that even the most security-conscious banks and investment firms are hard-pressed to stop.

Rise in ransomware attacks against financial services

In 2021, more than half (55%) of financial service firms were victims of at least one ransomware attack, up from 34% the previous year, representing a 62% rise in these threats in just one year, according to Sophos’ report. The study was derived from research Sophos commissioned with Vanson Bourne, which surveyed 5,600 IT professionals, including 444 from financial services in the first two months of 2022.

Among the report’s key findings: