Acronis has revealed new research from the first half of 2024 in its Acronis Cyberthreats Report H1 2024: Email attacks surge 293%, new ransomware groups emerge.

The report leverages over one million unique Windows endpoints from 15 key countries around the world to bring awareness to global trends in the cybersecurity industry.

Report findings

Most notably, the report found that email attacks have seen a 293% surge when compared to the same period in 2023.

The number of ransomware detections were also on the rise, increasing 32% from Q4 2023 to Q1 2024.

Ransomware continues to be a major threat to small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs), particularly in critical industries such as government and healthcare.

In Q1 2024, Acronis observed 10 new ransomware groups who together claimed 84 cyberattacks globally.

Among the top 10 most active ransomware families detected during this time, three highly active groups stand out as the primary contributors, collectively responsible for 35% of the attacks: LockBit, Black Basta and PLAY.

In support of Acronis’ mission to tailor business initiatives to Managed Service Providers (MSPs), the report is observant of how MSPs are being targeted and compromised.

Of note, attack vectors including phishing and social engineering, vulnerability exploits, credential compromises and supply chain attacks were highlighted as the most successful techniques used to breach MSPs’ cybersecurity defences.

“As a result of the increasing volume and complexities of cyber threats we continue to uncover in the current cybersecurity landscape, it is of the utmost importance that MSPs take a holistic approach to securing their customer’s data, systems, and unique digital infrastructures,” said Irina Artioli, report author and Cyber Protection Evangelist at Acronis Threat Research Unit.

“To do this effectively, we recommend MSPs adopt a comprehensive security strategy, including mandating security awareness trainings and incident response planning, as well as deploying advanced endpoint protection solutions like extended detection and response (XDR), multi-factor authentication, and more.”

Emerging cybersecurity trends

Additionally, the report focuses on emerging cybersecurity trends, highlighting the increasing use of generative artificial intelligence (AI) and large language models (LLMs) by threat groups.

Specifically, it underscores the growing prevalence of AI being leveraged in social engineering and automation attacks.

The most common AI-generated attacks that were detected include malicious emails, deepfake business email compromise (BEC), deepfake extortions, KYC bypass and script and malware generation.

Furthermore, Acronis researchers have identified two types of AI threats.

The first involves AI-generated threats, in which malware is created using AI techniques but does not utilise AI in its operations.

The second is AI-enabled malware, which incorporates AI into its functionality.

Read the full report here.