Ransomware attackers demanded dramatically higher ransom fees last year, and the average ransom payment rose by 78% to 541,010, according to data from incident response (IR) cases investigated by Palo Alto Networks Unit 42.

IR cases by Unit 42 also saw a whopping 144% increase in ransom demands, to $2.2 million. According to the report, the most victimized sectors were professional and legal services, construction, wholesale and retail, healthcare, and manufacturing.

Cyber extortion spiked, with 85% of ransomware victims — some 2, 556 organizations — having their data dumped and exposed on leak sites, according to the “2022 Unit 42 Ransomware Threat Report.”