Ransomware has been creating a huge buzz all around and we thought that it would help if we shed some light on what it is and how it can harm your company.
What is it?
In simple terms, ransomware is a kind of virus or malware in the form of software. It begins with a malicious threat attacker gaining access to a computer system who then locks out the user of that system from gaining access to the programs and files on the computer. This attacker will then demand payment to access the locked out files. Even after the payment is made, there is no guarantee that they will do the same again.
It is estimated that around 32% of all the organizations were attacked by cybercriminals in 2016. The ransomware attacks had increased by 350% from the year 2016 to 2017 so there is no denying that this is one of the biggest threats plaguing organizations today.
What Has It Cost?
According to multiple reports, an estimate of $5 billion was incurred as ransomware damages in 2017. This is only said to grow in the coming years as experts have predicted that cybercrime will cost organizations close to $6 trillion in damages in 2021.
Ransomware demands can range from as low as $500 per computer to the thousands, the average being $1000. This may not seem like much but in the grand scheme of things, the volume of users affected can quickly multiply the damages. The biggest loss is the loss of productivity over the course of these attacks.
Who Is Vulnerable?
Some industries are affected more than others. Here is a breakdown of the industries that are vulnerable,
Construction and Manufacturing Firms – 48%
Healthcare Companies – 28%
Legal Services Companies – 24%
It is no surprise that the dominant operating system targeted is the windows. All the windows customers of the surveyed service providers were targeted by ransomware. Just 3% of other system running Mac OS X, Android, IOS and Linux were targeted. There has been a significant rise in mobile attacks as well. SAAS (Software As A Service) apps are also under immense risk from cybercriminals.
Close to ⅓ of all Ransomware victims reported that the virus used to lock down their system was still on their system even after they had paid off the attackers – to be attacked again.
There is no magic pill or a single solution to protect yourself from such attacks. The best defense strategy is to implement a layered approach. 94% of all victims of cybercrime had an endpoint antivirus in place which was bypassed beforehand. This does not suggest that antivirus software is completely useless and unnecessary. What we recommend you to do is integrate other layers of protection along with antivirus software to create a robust defense system against such attacks. While adding layers, think about implementing the four-point defense system that involves an outer perimeter layer, inner perimeter layer, endpoint security layer (Antivirus Software) and finally an individual security layer (Human Diligence).
IT Support in Manhattan and Manhattan IT Support company provides exceptional personalized services. Managed IT Services Manhattan provide exceptional cloud-based security and Business IT Support Manhattan.
