# Will Ransomware Remain the Attack of Choice for Cybercriminals?

Published 2021-10-27 · Updated 2026-07-23 · Professional AV on MarketScale
Canonical: https://www.marketscale.com/industries/pro-av/will-ransomware-remain-the-attack-of-choice-for-cybercriminals

> It is often said that crime doesn’t pay. That might not apply to the world of cybercrime. In 2020, research from Atlas VPN found that cybercrime earned $1.5 trillion dollars in revenue. One approach to cybercrime that has seemed to grow in popularity as of late, despite being around for a while, is ransomware. We…

It is often said that crime doesn’t pay. That might not apply to the world of cybercrime. In 2020, research from Atlas VPN found that cybercrime earned [**$1.5 trillion dollars**](https://atlasvpn.com/blog/cybercrime-annual-revenue-is-3-times-bigger-than-walmarts) in revenue. One approach to cybercrime that has seemed to grow in popularity as of late, despite being around for a while, is ransomware. We asked [Matt Rider](https://uk.linkedin.com/in/mattrider), Vice President of Sales Engineering at [Exabeam](https://www.exabeam.com/), why ransomware is a popular strategy for attackers these days and how this is changing the landscape of available targets.

### Abridged Thoughts:

*This year, one ransomware landmark that illustrates that point well is the FBI sending its first-ever alert about a ransomware affiliate. A relatively new term, a ransomware affiliate, refers to a person or a group who rents access to ransomware as a service. They all orchestrate intrusions into a network, then encrypt the files with the “rented ransomware,” and they earn a commission, usually like 70 to 80 percent for successful extortions. Why is there this surge? One, it’s simple economics. It’s easy money. Two is opportunity. The huge and unplanned shift to home working during the pandemic was that final death nail.*

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