The finding comes from cybersecurity company SonicWall’s Mid-Year Cyber Threat Report which documented a 74% increase in ransomware attacks in Q2 compared to Q1, amounting to a total of 88.9 million ransomware attacks.

In the UK, 14.2 million attacks took place during the period of study, making it third behind Germany and the United States.  

Ransomware overall has declined 41% year-to-date, with just 140.1 million attacks. The drop in numbers compared to last year are largely due to heightened law enforcement scrutiny and takedown operations. 

The researchers at SonicWall are not confident the trend will continue in this direction, however, as cyber-criminals evolve their method of attacks. 

In traditional ransomware attacks, the cyber-criminal encrypts an organization’s data, and forces them to pay a ransom to decrypt it. Now, many cyber-criminals are shifting to “pure extortion attacks,” where cyber-criminals threaten victims with data leaks instead. This makes the attack harder to detect, and bypasses traditional ransomware detection mechanisms. 

Researchers predict ransomware could make a rebound in the latter half of 2023, based on the uptick seen in Q2. In the meantime, other incidents have grown in popularity, such as cryptojacking. This is where attackers steal computer power to mine digital currency. This form of attack has seen a 399% surge in the first half of this year. 

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On the rise of cryptojacking, SonicWall CEO Bob VanKirk said: “Unlike the cyber-criminal gangs of years past, who relied on reputation and branding, today’s attackers are largely operating in secret. This is in part due to advances by law enforcement, which we applaud.

By pivoting to lower-cost, less risky attack methods, such as cryptojacking, these attackers hope to reduce their risk of discovery while maximizing their profit.”

In light of these findings, cybersecurity experts are emphasizing the importance of prioritizing and investing in robust security measures. Proactive efforts to defend against ransomware and other forms of cyber-attacks will be crucial to safeguarding data.