According to Malwarebytes, the UK education sector suffered far more ransomware damage than any other country last year thanks to being targeted by the Vice Society group.
The latest findings from security vendors from April 2022 to March 2023 are based on known attacks where victims have chosen not to pay the ransom, so the real numbers are likely to be higher. I have.
We found that the education sector accounted for 16% of attacks in the UK, compared to 4% in France and Germany and 7% in the US.
For more information on ransomware attacks on schools, see: Vice-Association ransomware campaign continues to impact US education sector.
Malwarebytes argued that sub-associations are the main reason for this disparity.
“The UK is one of the Vice Society’s favorite targets, accounting for 21% of the group’s known attacks in the last 12 months, second only to the US with 23%, and the following countries: 8%,” the blog post explains.
“Sadly, the vice society’s undue attention to the UK has been directed precisely at the education sector. , the Vice Society has been involved in 70% of known attacks against UK educational institutions.”
Vice Society used tried and tested tactics in its attacks, including phishing, exploits for compromised credentials and initial access, and legitimate tools like Windows Management Instrumentation (WMI) for post-breach activity. explains Malwarebytes.
“We can only speculate as to why the vice society is so interested in British schools, colleges and universities, but we do know that the field is not necessarily flooded with money,” he said. Bender continued.
“In 2021, this author interviewed a number of people involved in providing cyber protection to schools in the UK. It was one of many responsibilities carried by a very small number of ill-equipped IT staff under tremendous pressure to fight back.”
Overall, the UK has suffered more ransomware attacks in the last 12 months than any other country except the US, although there was a large disparity in attack volume between the UK and the US. However, as measured by economic output, the two countries are roughly even, with Canada and Spain being the hardest hit globally.
According to the report, the United States is once again the most attacked country on a per capita basis, followed by Canada, Australia and the United Kingdom.
