By Samantha Ann Schwartz – Ransomware targeted healthcare more than any other industry, accounting for 29% of total ransomware attacks in 2019, according to cyber insurer Beazley’s 2020 Breach Briefing report. Professional services (14%) and financial institutions (11%) rounded out the top three targets. 

Ransomware increased 131% from 2018 to 2019. About six in 10 attacks were aimed at small- and medium-sized businesses as they are “easier to exploit,” according to the report.

Organizations restoring their systems after a cyber incident could unintentionally ruin an investigation. Beazley described a small healthcare provider that restored its environment after a ransomware attack. However, during the remediation, any forensic evidence for determining if data was stolen was also wiped clean. 

Beazley has historically seen ransomware limited to only data encryption. Now, ransomware is also stealing data, leading to data breaches. Read On: