NCC Group on Wednesday published its cyber threat intelligence report for December 2024 and pointed out that the number of ransomware attacks seen at the end of the year is the highest of any month since it started tracking such activity in 2021. 

The cybersecurity firm saw 574 ransomware attacks in December 2024, with a new threat group named FunkSec accounting for more than 100 attacks, or 18% of the total. 

The group, whose members are likely inexperienced hackers, appears to be involved in both hacktivism and cybercrime.

FunkSec was the most active ransomware group in December 2024, followed by Cl0p, Akira and RansomHub. 

According to NCC data, nearly one quarter of the ransomware attacks seen last month targeted the industrial sector, followed by the consumer discretionary, IT, financial and healthcare sectors.

More than half of the ransomware attacks observed in December targeted North American organizations, followed by entities in Europe and Asia.

“Since 2021, we have seen a decrease in the number of ransomware attacks in December, likely due to the holiday season. This year however, we observed a break in tradition with the highest numbers for December on record, highlighting the evolving and increasingly aggressive nature of ransomware threats,” NCC said in its report.

Related: UK Considers Banning Ransomware Payment by Public Sector and CNI

Related: Ransomware Groups Abuse Microsoft Services for Initial Access

Related: Compromised AWS Keys Abused in Codefinger Ransomware Attacks