Ransomware attacks are taking advantage of vulnerabilities that might have gone unnoticed by security teams, with more than half of exploited vulnerabilities having a CVSS v2 score less than 8. These less-than-critical vulnerabilities, some years old, are leading to significant security challenges in the form of ransomware dangers for governments, healthcare organizations, and businesses.

A new report says that 35% of the vulnerabilities exploited in ransomware attacks are more than 3 years old — an updating lapse that looks significant in the face of the $8 billion that ransomware cost companies in 2018. The study identified the 57 most commonly used vulnerabilities in ransomware attacks. According to the research, 15 of these vulnerabilities are used by multiple ransomware families, and 17 trending vulnerabilities (those active in the wild, and with growing numbers of attacks) affect more than one technology vendor.

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