The threat of ransomware is more prevalent in the U.S., with more than half of the global detections originating from this country, a new report informs.

With GandCrab stepping off the scene, other file-encrypting malware filled the gap focusing less on consumers and more on businesses, for an increased chance of getting paid a larger ransom.

Moving to business targets

Statistics from Malwarebytes show that ransomware detections on consumer systems dropped by 12% over the past year (June 2018 – June 2019) and by 25% quarter over quarter.

The opposite is was recorded for the business environment where detection increased by 363% since June 2018 and by 14% since the first quarter of 2019.

According to the statistics, Ryuk is currently the main ransomware threat for businesses. Despite being a new entry, the malware is at the top of the list, ahead GandCrab, whose operators announced its retirement on June 1.

The US is the main target

The country most affected by ransomware is the U.S. as per Malwarebytes’ global detection statistics for this type of malware. 

Telemetry data from the company shows that 53% of the ransomware detections came from this country, while other regions are well behind.

Canada, which is the second most impacted country in the list, accounts for just 10% of Malwarebyte’s global ransomware detections, followed by the United Kingdom, with 9%, confirming the theory that most ransomware target English-speaking countries.

A different picture is painted by statistics collected by the ID Ransomware service, which can identify the type of malware based on the ransom note or an encrypted file.

The top country affected by file-encrypting threats according to the service is South Korea, followed by the U.S. and Brazil.

This information covers submissions from all over the world for the past 12 months.

Further breaking of the statistics from Malwarebytes shows that ransomware attacks were most prevalent in Texas and California. 

Population plays an important role in differentiating the targets as consumers were the most common victims in more populous states, while detections for businesses originated in areas that mixed in industrious regions.

Regardless of the type of target and the region affected, ransomware remains at the top of threats for businesses. As long as companies continue to pay to get their data restored, this remains a sound business mode for cybercriminal, incentivizing them to deploy new attacks.

Furthermore, the financial impact does not stop at paying the ransom as many businesses also invest to upgrade their security following a ransomware attack. This could be avoided by setting up backup procedures for live systems and isolating the copies from the main network.

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