Ransomware attacks are on the up. Due to low execution costs, high rates of return, as well as a low risk of being caught, ransomware has become the preferred method of attack for those operating illegally within the online space.
In fact, research highlights a surge in the number of ransomware attacks against businesses. In the UK, for example, there was a 195% increase in reported incidents, which equated to an estimated 6.4m ransomware attacks in the first half of last year – making it the second most targeted country in the world, behind the US. This has not been helped by the rise of ransomware as a service, with hired malware strikes causing further disruptions to a number of UK companies.
Current risks
Ransomware is a practice that blocks your data from being accessed and demands payment for its release. The most common source of ransomware infection remains an organisation’s computer systems. IoT devices are also vulnerable as the infection can spread rapidly across an organisation, especially when the network is not properly segmented.
Once it gets a foothold, it has the capability to expand to other endpoints, encrypting and stealing data, which can be sold on opaque online spaces like the Dark Web. Ransomware is unique because once it infiltrates a system, it is very difficult to dislodge, and this can cause major business disruption.
However, many of the flaws exploited in these cyberattacks are vulnerabilities that companies can protect themselves against to make such an attack less likely. It is therefore critical that businesses have trusted defenses in operation within this area as well as incorporating best practices into all endpoint builds to ensu ..
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