By using this site, you agree to the Privacy Policy and Terms of Use.
Accept
SmartData Collective
  • Analytics
    AnalyticsShow More
    data science anayst
    Growing Demand for Data Science & Data Analyst Roles
    6 Min Read
    predictive analytics in dropshipping
    Predictive Analytics Helps New Dropshipping Businesses Thrive
    12 Min Read
    data-driven approach in healthcare
    The Importance of Data-Driven Approaches to Improving Healthcare in Rural Areas
    6 Min Read
    analytics for tax compliance
    Analytics Changes the Calculus of Business Tax Compliance
    8 Min Read
    big data analytics in gaming
    The Role of Big Data Analytics in Gaming
    10 Min Read
  • Big Data
  • BI
  • Exclusive
  • IT
  • Marketing
  • Software
Search
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
Reading: Locky Ransomware Statistics: Geos Targeted, Amounts Paid, Spread Volumes and Much More…
Share
Notification Show More
Latest News
ai in automotive industry
AI Is Changing the Automotive Industry Forever
Artificial Intelligence
SMEs Use AI-Driven Financial Software for Greater Efficiency
Artificial Intelligence
data security in big data age
6 Reasons to Boost Data Security Plan in the Age of Big Data
Big Data
data science anayst
Growing Demand for Data Science & Data Analyst Roles
Data Science
ai software development
Key Strategies to Develop AI Software Cost-Effectively
Artificial Intelligence
Aa
SmartData Collective
Aa
Search
  • About
  • Help
  • Privacy
Follow US
© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.
SmartData Collective > IT > Security > Locky Ransomware Statistics: Geos Targeted, Amounts Paid, Spread Volumes and Much More…
Security

Locky Ransomware Statistics: Geos Targeted, Amounts Paid, Spread Volumes and Much More…

David Balaban
Last updated: 2020/06/08 at 6:50 PM
David Balaban
6 Min Read
Ransomware attack
Shutterstock Licensed Photo - By rawf8 | stock illustration ID: 662707930
SHARE

Locky is quite a recent encryption virus that has created waves in the cyberspace by attacking the system of Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center during February. Plenty of patients at the medical center had to be shifted to other centers because of the attack. This attack has been the worst ransomware nightmare of the year and the hospital had to pay $ 17,000 in Bitcoin for resuming normal operation.

Take a look at the Locky stats and key features to figure out yourself the pace at which this ransomware is creating havoc in the cyberspace.  

  • Average ransom sum demanded: 0.5-1 Bitcoin. But amount varies depending on the victim. Public institutions are demanded a huge sum.
  • Infection rate: 90,000 devices per day.
  • Features: domain generation algorithm, Bitcoin/TOR payment, custom encrypted communication via IM.
  • File type encryption: More than 160 file types can be encrypted by Locky.    
  • Countries most affected:
    • France
    • Italy
    • Germany
    • Spain
    • USA
  • Malicious servers located: 3 in Germany, 9 in Russia, rest in Ukraine, Netherlands, France, Estonia, Bulgaria, Moldova and Austria.
  • Propagation Medium: Mass spam emails with malicious links, .doc file with a macro in the attachment.   
  • Victims willing to pay ransom: 2.9%.
  • Usual files through which Locky virus is spread: Excel/Word files.
  • Number of countries affected:
    • February – 105
    • March – 62

The cyber security experts estimated that Locky possessed 17% “market share” among all ransomware infections. It surpassed in numbers the notorious TeslaCrypt ransomware, which affected mostly the U.S. 

Locky attacked more than 400,000 victims in the very first week of its detection. As per recent reports, the ransomware infects 30 devices per minute. Cyber security experts tracked more than 60,000 attacks in the United States and Germany in the duration of 24 hours after the ransomware became quite popular.   

More Read

enterprise cybersecurity platforms

3 Strategies Employed by the Leading Enterprise Cybersecurity Platforms

Gartner Survey: 98% of Brands Are Negligent with Big Data Security
Why Companies Should Leverage these Cybersecurity Tools?

Google Trends data shows that the usage of the keyword “Locky” dramatically increased. Currently, this ransomware has infected computers in 114 different countries.

Largest publicly admitted ransom was paid by the Hollywood Hospital, it was $17,000 in Bitcoin. The second largest sum was $1,600 in Bitcoin paid by the Methodist Hospital.  

The table below offers an estimate of the money that can be made by Locky ransomware in USD on an average on a per day, monthly and yearly basis considering that 90,000 infections occur per day of which 2.9% victims opt to pay the ransom. The rate considered in the estimation is 1 Bitcoin per attack.  

Ransom Price

Victims/day

Number of payouts/day

Bitcoin value

Per day earning

Per month earning

Yearly earning

1 Bitcoin

90,000

2,610

$419

$1,093,590

$32,807,700

$393,692,400

A look into this estimation hints the potential that Locky has in earning profits due to the ransomware attacks. Having the potential of making $1,093,590 on a daily basis is not something that can be ignored. This is quite a huge sum and a matter of huge concern for the cyber security experts.

Undoubtedly, Locky has managed to make a lot of money by the attacks carried out by it. This can be said with the figures mentioned in this article. This can also be said because of the attention that this ransomware has received from the cyber security experts.

Bowing down to ransomware attacks encourages the attackers more and more. There is a strong need to put a stop to the ransomware Locky ransomware attacks. The cyber security experts are working on developing the Locky decryptor tool. Several other ransomware infections have been successfully cracked due to mistakes in their code done by cybercriminals. 

Ransomware is proving out to be very dangerous in the cyberspace. Locky ransomware is no exception. The threat that this ransomware can pose should be seriously treated by public institutions as they are quite vulnerable. Only in the US, about 10 Police departments already paid the money to hackers! The same applies to businesses as they cannot afford to lose the vital documents that they need on a daily basis.

The only way to deal with ransomware is not to bow down to the demands of the hackers. If we stop paying this illegal economy can be quickly destroyed. It is also vital not to open any spam emails that seem to be suspicious and do frequent backups of all files. Better cybersecurity tools and awareness can help in dealing with ransomware attacks. For example, a reliable and connected VPN can protect you from ransomware attacks by encrypting your data, keeping cybercriminals from being able to infect your devices.

Sources:

https://blog.kaspersky.com/locky-ransomware/11667

https://blog.avast.com/a-closer-look-at-the-locky-ransomware

https://securelist.com/blog/research/74398/locky-the-encryptor-taking-the-world-by-storm

http://blog.talosintel.com/2016/04/ransomware.html

TAGGED: Cybersecurity Tools, Locky ransomeware
David Balaban May 19, 2016
Share this Article
Facebook Twitter Pinterest LinkedIn
Share

Follow us on Facebook

Latest News

ai in automotive industry
AI Is Changing the Automotive Industry Forever
Artificial Intelligence
SMEs Use AI-Driven Financial Software for Greater Efficiency
Artificial Intelligence
data security in big data age
6 Reasons to Boost Data Security Plan in the Age of Big Data
Big Data
data science anayst
Growing Demand for Data Science & Data Analyst Roles
Data Science

Stay Connected

1.2k Followers Like
33.7k Followers Follow
222 Followers Pin

You Might also Like

enterprise cybersecurity platforms
Security

3 Strategies Employed by the Leading Enterprise Cybersecurity Platforms

9 Min Read
Big Data Security
Big DataITSecurity

Gartner Survey: 98% of Brands Are Negligent with Big Data Security

5 Min Read
cyber security tools
Security

Why Companies Should Leverage these Cybersecurity Tools?

8 Min Read

SmartData Collective is one of the largest & trusted community covering technical content about Big Data, BI, Cloud, Analytics, Artificial Intelligence, IoT & more.

AI and chatbots
Chatbots and SEO: How Can Chatbots Improve Your SEO Ranking?
Artificial Intelligence Chatbots Exclusive
data-driven web design
5 Great Tips for Using Data Analytics for Website UX
Big Data

Quick Link

  • About
  • Contact
  • Privacy
Follow US

© 2008-23 SmartData Collective. All Rights Reserved.

Removed from reading list

Undo
Go to mobile version
Welcome Back!

Sign in to your account

Lost your password?