New Delhi, Aug 6 (IANS): Ransomware will become a much more fragmented ecosystem in the second half of this year, with many small and medium groups instead of a few large ones to hide in plain sight more effectively, a new research has said.

Hackers will continue to breach and hijack crypto assets this year.

"In addition, we will see initial attacks in the metaverse that will exploit smart contract vulnerabilities," said the report by cyber-security firm Check Point Software.

There has been a 42 per cent increase in cyber attacks globally, with ransomware becoming number one threat.

Ransomware groups have become more structured and operate like regular businesses, with set targets to hit, as cyber attacks become state-level weapons.

"We have seen huge increases in cyberattacks against organisations in all sectors and all countries this year. Unfortunately, this will only get worse especially with ransomware now being the number one threat to organisations," said Maya Horowitz, VP Research at Check Point Software.

Due to the implementation of internet macros being blocked by default in Microsoft office, the more sophisticated malware families will accelerate the development of new infection chains, with different file types that are password protected to prevent detection as sophisticated social engineering attacks increase.

"Hacktivist groups will continue to align their attacks with the agenda of their chosen nation state, particularly as the Russia-Ukraine war is still ongoing," the report noted.