Ransomware gangs skip the CEO, head straight for the 40-something IT manager


Turns out the fastest way to get a company to consider paying a ransom isn’t calling the CEO – it’s targeting the 46-year-old IT manager.

That’s according to Zscaler, whose ThreatLabz researchers tracked 351 victims across 334 organizations caught up in a single ransomware campaign over the course of a month.

The data suggests today’s ransomware crews have become oddly specific about their preferred victim profile: nearly two-thirds of victims held manager-level titles or above, the average victim was a 46-year-old Gen Xer, and three-quarters worked in accounting and finance, sales, operations, HR, or marketing. Half worked in the industrial or IT sectors.

Read more…
Source:  The Register News


Sign up for the Cyber Security Review Newsletter
The latest cyber security news and insights delivered right to your inbox


Related:

  • Cring ransomware continues assault on industrial organizations with aging applications, VPNs

    November 1, 2021

    The Cring ransomware group continues to make a name for itself through attacks on aging ColdFusion servers and VPNs after emerging earlier this year. Experts like Digital Shadows Sean Nikkel told ZDNet that what makes Cring interesting is that so far, they appear to specialize in using older vulnerabilities in their attacks. “In a previous incident, Cring ...

  • Office 365 Phishing Campaign Uses Kaspersky’s Amazon SES Token

    November 1, 2021

    A surge in spearphishing emails designed to steal Office 365 credentials were rigged to look like they came from a Kaspersky email address. In spite of coming from sender addresses such as [email protected], nobody at Kaspersky sent the phishing emails, the security company said in an advisory issued on Monday. Rather, the emails were sent with ...

  • Europol: 12 Targeted For Involvement In Ransomware Attacks Against Critical Infrastructure

    October 29, 2021

    A total of 12 individuals wreaking havoc across the world with ransomware attacks against critical infrastructure have been targeted as the result of a law enforcement and judicial operation involving eight countries. These attacks are believed to have affected over 1 800 victims in 71 countries. These cyber actors are known for specifically targeting large corporations, ...

  • TrickBot malware dev extradited to U.S. faces 60 years in prison

    October 29, 2021

    A Russian national believed to be a member of the TrickBot malware development team has been extradited to the U.S. and is currently facing charges that could get him 60 years in prison. 38-year old Vladimir Dunaev, also known as FFX, was a malware developer that supervised the creation of TrickBot’s browser injection module, the indictment ...

  • Schreiber Foods back to normal after ransomware attack shuts down milk plants

    October 29, 2021

    Schreiber Foods said its plants and distribution centers are back up and running after a ransomware attack took down their systems earlier last weekend. The food production giant became the latest critical industry company to be hit with ransomware in recent months as cybercriminals continue to show little fear in attacking a variety of industries. Schreiber ...

  • Suspected REvil Gang Insider Identified

    October 28, 2021

    He lolls around on yachts, wears a luxury watch with a Bitcoin address engraved on its dial, and is suspected of buying it all with money he made as a core member of the REvil ransomware gang. The showy billionaire goes by “Nikolay K.”on social media, and German police are hoping he’ll cruise out of Russia ...