Ransomware...it's Big Business
OneNeck IT Solutions |
Ransomware has quickly become the most profitable form malware ever seen, on its way to becoming a $1 billion annual market. Last year, the FBI reported more than 4,000 ransomware attacks occurred daily between January and June of 2016 — a 300% increase from 2015. In 2017, nearly 10% of organizations worldwide recorded some sort of ransomware activity during Q1.
An example of ransomware is malicious software or malware that encrypts the information on a person’s computer, such as documents, photos, and music. It will not release the files until the user pays a fee – or ransom – to unlock the files and get them back. The attacks vectors are various and wide in context. Delivered by infected ads that contain malware, by phishing messages, or by exploit kits, this malware is quickly evolving in sophistication. These infections can be catastrophic to businesses over a short or long period of time. Hospitals, public safety organizations, financial banking institutions, and retail establishments have been targeted the most.
Why it’s Surging?
Ransomware isn’t new, in facts it’s been around for over a decade. But its recent spike is due to a few primary drivers.
- Attack surface expansion: The proliferation of mobile devices, cloud, digitization efforts and IoT, gives cyber criminals more space to operate.
- Better targets: Organizations are more lucrative targets for cyber criminals. They house highly sensitive data, often have thinly stretched IT departments and a high incentive to quickly settle the matter.
- Ransomware as a Service: Just about everything is available as a service these days, including ransomware. RaaS is designed to make cybercrime accessible to anyone. Cybercriminals will author the malicious code, then make it available for others to download and use.
- Alternative currency: Payment made in bitcoin, a cryptocurrency and a digital payment system, can’t be traced back to sender or recipient, providing an anonymous, friction-free way to collect ransoms. The risk of being caught is greatly reduced.With the rate of sophisticated ransomware attacks increasing at an alarming rate, it’s important for organizations to have a multi-layer defense strategy in place.
With the rate of sophisticated ransomware attacks increasing at an alarming rate, it’s important for organizations to have a multi-layer defense strategy in place.
OneNeck IT Solutions, Your Trusted Ransomware Defense Partner
At OneNeck, we recognize threats can enter the network in a variety of ways. We understand that having comprehensive protection requires a multi-tiered and pervasive approach to keep threats out as well as detect and isolate any breaches quickly. We can assess your infrastructure for its strengths and weaknesses, then recommend and implement a solution that will keep your critical data safe.
Looking for more than just ransomware defense and cybersecurity? OneNeck provides an end-to-end, technology-independent approach that includes a complete suite of hybrid IT offerings across infrastructure, applications and managed services.
