In one of its recently published reports, Coveware which is a ransomware IR provider stated that of late there has been an increment of 31% in paying ransom to the cybercriminals. In the 3rd quarter (Q3) of 2020, overall ransom amounting to $233,817 was paid to the cybercriminals by the targeted organizations. The report also said that cases where the attackers have exfiltrated data and demanded additional payment for deleting all the leaked data have doubled in this quarter.

According to Coveware, paying ransom is a very risky gamble as the attackers may not delete the stolen data even taking all the money. There have been cases where the cybercriminals did not delete the exfiltrated data even after receiving huge ransom from targeted organizations. Rather the ransomware groups shared the stolen data with other parties and leaked them in online platforms. 

In the report, Coveware suggested the victims of data exfilteration to take hard and responsible steps. Moreover, Coveware also advised the victims to carry out proper investigation about the data leaked and the attackers along with consulting the cyber security teams.