Ransomware attacks against municipalities have steadily increased in recent years, and according to the 2022 Cyber Security Statistics report from PurpleSec, 48 of 50 U.S. states, as well as the District of Columbia, experienced at least one ransomware attack between 2013 and 2018. Another report from the researchers at BlackFog also warned that the technology, education, and government sectors continued to be the most attacked vectors – seeing 24%, 62%, and 43% increases respectively.
It was just a year ago that the Colonial Pipeline, the fuel pipeline operator that supplies 45% of the East Coast’s supply of diesel, gasoline, and jet fuel, was taken offline after it was impacted by a ransomware attack. Unfortunately such high-profile and brazen attacks – where a system is locked until the owner/operator agrees to pay the hacker(s) a ransom – show no signs of going away.