- Oct 2, 2011
- 1,553
According to research by Kaspersky Lab, Australia was the target of the highest number of ransomware attacks across the globe in Q3, 2016 and to date remains in the top 5 of target countries.While there’s an upward trend in the total amount of cyber attacks in general, Australia’s ‘culture of trust’ seems to make local internet users more lucrative victims for cyber criminals than those from other nationalities. “Because we’re geographically so far away, we think the risk is somehow lower,” says Kaspersky Lab’s Australian-based senior security researcher, Noushin Shabab
The reason for the hike in ransomware attacks targeting Australian internet users is twofold. For one, we’re lucky enough to live in a very prosperous nation which will automatically spark the interest of cybercriminals. On the other hand, Australians also seem to be more likely to hand over a ransom to regain access to their data than others. “One of our recent studies shows that 37% of victims chose to pay the ransom,” Shabab says. The bad news is that one in five people who pay, still won’t get their files back.
Australia among top 5 target countries for ransomware attacks
The reason for the hike in ransomware attacks targeting Australian internet users is twofold. For one, we’re lucky enough to live in a very prosperous nation which will automatically spark the interest of cybercriminals. On the other hand, Australians also seem to be more likely to hand over a ransom to regain access to their data than others. “One of our recent studies shows that 37% of victims chose to pay the ransom,” Shabab says. The bad news is that one in five people who pay, still won’t get their files back.
Australia among top 5 target countries for ransomware attacks
