ReportRansomware Trends Reports
Published 29 Jan 2023Updated 16 Oct 2026
What This Report Covers
This edition covers the second half of 2022. It reports that ransomware attacks rose in the fourth quarter compared with the third.
Key Findings of the Ransomware Trends Report Q3 &Amp; Q4 2022
The report analyses 903 ransomware incidents from the second half of 2022 (Q3 and Q4), collected across the deep and dark web.
- The report counts victims in 93 countries, mostly in the western world.
- The United States was the most targeted country in Q4 2022 with 40.84% of victims, followed by Germany (5.08%) and the United Kingdom (4.40%).
- Manufacturing was the most targeted sector in Q4 2022, ahead of business, professional and legal services (19.59%) and information technology (10.56%).
- Attacks on manufacturing rose 151% from Q3 to Q4, the largest sector increase in the report.
- LockBit was behind 160 of the 590 attacks in Q4 2022 (27.11%), followed by ALPHV/Blackcat (10.58%) and Black Basta (7.62%).
The full PDF adds profiles of LockBit, ALPHV/Blackcat and Black Basta. It also lists the CVEs ransomware groups exploited, sums up the financial impact and covers the important ransomware news of the half year.
Financial losses are given as above 482 million dollars, and the report points to slowed business, unusable data for those who did not pay and reputational damage from published customer information. Manufacturing is named the most attacked industry after a 151% rise.
It also notes that LockBit started a bug bounty program in June 2022, and that the first reward went to an insider from a cybersecurity company. See also LockBit in the Knowledge Hub.
As the oldest quarterly edition on the site, it is a useful baseline for readers who want to compare later years. It shows the ransomware picture at the end of 2022.
Security professionals often struggle to keep up with evolving ransomware trends due to the constant barrage of information. We aim to help you filter this overload, present the 2022 Ransomware Trends in an understandable format, and convert this information into meaningful insights.
Exploring Ransomware Trends in Q3 and Q4 of 2022: Our Comprehensive Analysis
Q3 & Q4 2022 Ransomware Trends: Key Insights
- The fourth quarter of 2022 saw an increase in ransomware attacks compared to Q3.
- Financial losses exceeded 482 million dollars. Moral damage included slowed business development processes, unusable information if a company did not pay a ransom and tarnished reputation due to publicly published sensitive customer information.
- The manufacturing sector has seen an astronomical increase of 151% in the last quarter compared with other industries making it now the most attacked industry.
- Lockbit, a ransomware group, launched a bug bounty program in June 2022, where they awarded those who found vulnerabilities in their encryption software. Interestingly, the first recipient was an insider from a cybersecurity company, highlighting that threats can come from unexpected places.