What percentage of ransomware attacks are targeted vs. opportunistic?

Ransomware attacks are ending up being progressively common, with a vast array of organizations and companies succumbing to these data-encrypting malware attacks. While some ransomware attacks are highly targeted and carefully prepared out by cybercriminals, others are more opportunistic in nature. So, what percentage of ransomware attacks are targeted vs. opportunistic?

According to a current report from Symantec, roughly 1 in 5 ransomware attacks are targeted, while the staying 4 out of 5 are opportunistic. This implies that while a small minority of ransomware attacks are performed versus particular organizations or people, the large majority are random attacks that benefit from vulnerabilities in systems and networks.

Targeted ransomware attacks are generally much more destructive than opportunistic attacks, as they are typically carried out by more skilled and sophisticated cybercriminals. Additionally, targeted attacks are often harder to defend against, as they are typically customized to make use of specific weaknesses in a target company's systems.

While opportunistic ransomware attacks can be damaging, they are typically less disruptive and expensive than targeted attacks.  https://cleardex.io/blog/?p=1353 In addition, opportunistic attacks are typically more easily detected and avoided, as they frequently count on known vulnerabilities that can be covered.

Organizations and individuals can help protect themselves from both targeted and opportunistic ransomware attacks by keeping up to date on security patches, utilizing strong security software, and backing up data regularly.