Ransomware domain creation has rocketed 3,500 per cent in past year

UK now among top five countries linked to ransomware hosting

Ransomware domain creation has escalated to apparently unprecedented levels in the past year, seeing a rise of 3,500 per cent, according to research from server appliance vendor Infoblox.

Infoblox notes that it was "ransomware-related domains", that is to say, both hosts of malware and addresses that malware communicates with once installed, that made ransomware domain creation account for 60 per cent of the entire malware category in the past year.

"Unless and until companies figure out how to guard against ransomware - and certainly not reward the attack - we expect it to continue its successful run," said Infobox. "Fortunately, as with any malware, prevention is well understood: tight security measures, up-to-date software, user best-practices and clean, protected backup data."

The report also revealed the five new countries that now host more than 50 per cent of all infected systems - and one of them is the UK.

Accounting for eight per cent of all global ransomware hosting, the UK is joined by Russia (12 per cent), Portugal with 17 per cent, the Netherlands with 10 per cent and Iceland with six per cent.

When Infoblox began compiling its list, the US accounted for 72 per cent of all ransomware site creation.

"Cyber criminals are as likely as anyone else to take advantage of sophisticated infrastructure, and all of the countries in this quarter's list fit that description," said Lars Harvey, vice president of security strategy at Infoblox.

He continued: "But the geographic spread shows that much like cockroaches that scurry from the light, cyber criminals are quick to shift to a more advantageous location as needed."