With Ransomware predicted to cost businesses over $265 billion worldwide by 2031, our client looked at the ransomware attacks which were the highest concern right now.
Specifically, they looked across search engine data for four different key phrases when it came to the different types of known Ransomware attacks, including ransomware_name + ransomware (ryuk ransomware), ransomware_name + removal (ryuk removal), ransomware_name + decryptor and what is ransomware_name.
The study also looked at which cities in the UK were cyber security conscious, along with states in the USA. Searches for information on Malware, Ransomware and anti-virus software companies such as AVG, Norton, Bit Defender and Kaspersky were looked at.
This data was then analysed and then ranked to see which ransomware attacks were the most popular worldwide, along with the cities and states that took cyber security the most serious.
Key findings include
- The Wannacry ransomware which is famous for attacking the NHS is the most searched ransomware attack. With 6830 related searches every month, the ransomware which was first released in 2017 is still causing problems worldwide.
- Ryuk ransomware which is attributed to the hacker group Wizard Spider was the second most searched for ransomware attack. With more people looking for “What is Ryuk” worldwide than any other ransomware.
- The third most popular ransomware in the study is Petya, with 1900 searches per month.
- Fair, SimpleLocker and ZCryptor were the ransomware attacks that had the least search volume worldwide indicating that these attacks are less common.
- Northampton, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Swindon and Newcastle upon Tyne were the cities in the UK searching for protection against malware and viruses the most per 100,000 population.
- Bradford, Birkenhead, Newport, Manchester and Brent were the least worried about cybercrime.
The study was carried out using search engine data from the last 3 months from search engine tools Ahrefs, Google Keyword Planner and KWFinder. This data was then analysed and ranked according to the combined number of searches across all key terms. This data was then ranked.
Analysis of the data has shown that the Wannacry ransomware is the most searched for ransomware worldwide. Wannacry was released in 2017 and is known to affect Windows PCs. In the UK it is the ransomware which famously attacked the NHS. While being released in 2017, it’s clear that Wannacry is still infecting computers in 2022. With over 6830 monthly searches it was the most popular ransomware in the study.
Ryuk ransomware released by hacker group WIZARD SPIDER once again targeted healthcare services in both the UK and USA was the second most searched for ransomware and had the largest number of searches for people looking for information on what Ryuk is. Ryuk, pronounced roo-yook is considered one of the most dangerous ransomware attacks by cyber security professionals and is accountable for some of the highest ransom demands around the world.
Petya ransomware is a family of ransomware attacks that was released in 2016. In 2022 it is the third most searched ransomware attack.
Cryptolocker, Locky, Cerber, Jigsaw, Bad rabbit and GandCrab ransomware all made it into the top 10 searched ransomware whereas Troldesh, B0r0nt0k, Fair, SimpleLocker and ZCryptor were the least searched ransomware in 2022.
Most popular ransomware attacks
- Wannacry
- Ryuk
- Petya
- Cryptolocker
- Locky
- Cerber
- Jigsaw
- Bad rabbit
- GandCrab
- CryptoWall
Least popular ransomware attacks
- Crysis
- Reveton
- GoldenEye
- TeslaCrypt
- MADO
- Troldesh
- B0r0nt0k
- Fair
- SimpleLocker
- ZCryptor
The Cities and States most worried about cybercrime.
In the UK, Northampton, Milton Keynes, Norwich, Swindon and Newcastle upon Tyne were the cities searching for protection against malware and viruses the most per 100,000 population.
Bradford, Birkenhead, Newport, Manchester and Brent were the least worried about cybercrime and had the least number of cybersecurity-related searches in the UK.
Antivirus software Kaspersky and Bitdefender were the antivirus software getting the highest number of searches in the UK.
In the USA, Virginia, Maryland, Washington, Oregon and New Hampshire were the states most concerned with cyber attacks. Kentucky, Alabama, South Dakota, Louisiana and Mississippi were the least concerned.
In the USA, antivirus software Bitdefender and Norton 360 were the most searched for antivirus solutions.
A spokesperson from Firewall Technical commented on the findings: “Ransomware attacks can bankrupt a small business even if you manage to recover the data afterwards.”
“Cyber extortion is very real and smaller businesses with fewer security measures can be easy and profitable targets for cybercriminals. Looking at the data in this study it’s clear to see that ransomware isn’t going away anytime soon.”
This research was conducted by IT experts Firewall Technical who offer IT services and support to small businesses.