New Report Calls Ransomware a "Marginal Phenomenon"

[LASER_oneXM]

...some quotes from the article:

The AV-TEST Security Report 2016/2017 published today is calling ransomware a "marginal phenomenon," highlighting that only 0.94% of all malware deployed in 2016 was a blackmail trojan.

"There is no indication based on proliferation statistics that 2016 was the "year of ransomware," said the team at AV-Test, an independent institute for testing the accuracy and efficiency of antivirus software.
"Comprising not even 1% of the overall share of malware for Windows, the blackmail Trojans appear at first glance to be a marginal phenomenon," researchers said.

Ransomware accounted for less than 1% of all malware
There are many valid reasons why ransomware got so much attention during the past year, in spite of the low numbers.

For example, a user can be infected with a banking trojan or a rootkit for years and not know about it. But once a user is infected with ransomware, he'll know about it the next second, because ransomware will change his desktop and lock his files.

Ransomware makes a lot of noise, hence the reason why we see it covered in the media on a daily basis, compared to other types of malware that are more prevalent, but also more stealthy.

AV-Test's findings show that ransomware is a not a widespread threat as many would consider, but also warns against taking the threat lightly.

Mac malware grew by 370%, Android malware attacks doubled
The same report also highlights that malware, in general, has gone down in 2016 by 14%, compared to 2015, and that viruses, worms, and trojans remain the top threats, way in front of ransomware.