According to the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC), which is part of GCHQ and is the technical authority of the United Kingdom for cyber security, the actual effect of ransomware is uncertain, because some victims do not report that they were attacked.
“Over the last year, the cyber security threat to the UK has evolved significantly. The threat from ransomware was ever present – and remains a major challenge to businesses and public services in the UK. This year, 18 ransomware incidents required a nationally co-ordinated response, including attacks on a supplier to NHS 111, and a water utility company, South Staffordshire Water,” the report states.
“The biggest threat to citizens and small businesses continues to come from cybercrime such as phishing, while hacking of social media accounts remains an issue. Official figures show that there were 2.7 million cyber scams in the 12 months to March 2022.”
“The true numbers of ransomware attacks in the UK each year are far higher, as organizations often do not report the compromises,” the NCSC report said.
While the NCSC worked to prevent as many attacks as possible by removing 2.1 million commodity campaigns this year, it also worked with its partners throughout 2022 to respond to incidents as they occurred and help victims recover.
Despite these numbers, the NCSC is not satisfied, because it believes that they are not adequately reported. It wants citizens to report attacks so that they can be stopped, and it reaffirms its commitment to the fight against ransomware.
The NCSC has responded to hundreds of incidents this year, 63 of which were of national importance.
The sources for this piece include an article in ZDNet.