Understanding Why You Need to Know About Ransomware and How to Combat Attacks
Let's call it Ransomware 101. To understand what Ransomware is and the risks, we have only to look at the headlines and statistics. Of course, you will also want to know how you can avoid or combat an attack.
Ransomware in Recent Headlines
From Barron's: Ransomware Is Booming. What Business Need to Know2020 Was a Bad Year for Ransomware. 2021 Will Be Worse.
From ZDNET:How Ransomware could get even more disruptive in 2021!Ransomware attacks now to blame for half of healthcare data breaches
From DarkReading.com:Driven by Ransomware, cyber claims rise in number
Ransomware Attacks Show Little Sign of Slowing in 2021
Ransomware Statistics
- In a recent survey of 5,000 IT managers, 51% of organizations represented in the survey reported a Ransomware attack over the last 12 months.
- There will be a Ransomware attack every 11 seconds by 2021.
- The global cost of Ransomware will be $20 billion in 2021.
- Phishing emails cause 66% of Ransomware infections.
- 46% of Ransomware operators impersonate authority figures such as the FBI.
- Only 37% of American businesses are confident that they can stop a Ransomware attack.
How to Avoid and Combat Ransomware Attacks
The vast majority of all Ransomware infections result from 1) unpatched systems, 2) rampant password reuse, and 3) lack of multi-factor authentication.
By employing basic best practices against the three issues above, organizations can make things much harder for attackers and protect against large-scale compromise. It's also essential to plan for the worst, have regular backups for critical systems, and isolate them from the main corporate network, so they are not compromised in the case of a widespread attack.
Organizations should prioritize patching and consider implementing a robust security awareness program to train employees to recognize and report phishing attempts.
Take the next step…
is here to help you protect your network, your systems, and your data from Ransomware attacks. Call us at 630-858-7388 or email us at nav@libertygrove.com. Your safety is our priority.
