There is nothing more worrisome than having to deal with another ransomware report. This type of malware has instilled fear in so many hearts that people are legitimately afraid of what the future may hold. A new report by BitSight goes to show that the educational sector will remain the prime ransomware target. The government, healthcare, and financial enterprises complete the top four.

Six Primary Sectors For Ransomware To Date

Contrary to what most people tend to believe, the educational sector is very prone to malware attacks. Although schools have been dealing with minor ransomware incidents this year already, they will become the primary target for internet criminals. These IT systems are very poorly secured, and can easily be abused by criminals. Moreover, these systems cannot remain locked down forever, and payment of the Bitcoin ransom is usually guaranteed.

Unfortunately, schools and universities are not the only ones who have to worry about ransomware

. There are other sectors prone to intrusion, including healthcare, governments, and the financial sector. This latter industry is no surprise at all, as banking trojans and malware have become synonymous with finance these days.

But that is not all, as ransomware developers are targeting other vital industries. The retail sector, while often confronted with credit card fraud, will not be pleased to hear ransomware is growing more prominent. This can range from hijacking small stores’ systems to shutting down major retailer backends because somebody opened a malicious email attachment.

The BitSight Ransomware Report  states the following:

“Ransomware is a legitimate threat, with estimates from the U.S. Justice Department showing that over 4,000 of these attacks have occurred every day since the beginning of 2016. While several ransomware attacks on healthcare companies have made headlines this year, the issue is more widespread.”

Nipping these attacks in the bud is of the utmost importance to individuals and corporations right now. Unfortunately, most IT departments are untrained or understaffed to do something about these threats. Far too many computers and other devices are connected to the Internet, while they do not need to be.

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