Local Companies Impacted by Ransomware
Ransomware is very big business. Texas, especially Dallas, is a hot target. 10 million attacks have been reported in 2016 alone. We’re aware of at least 3 local companies/entities where those attacks have succeeded. In 2016, ransomware payouts crept toward the billion-dollar mark. A whopping 70% of companies attacked reported that they paid to have their data set free. Moving forward, this IT security attack will only get more common and aggressive.
“Why D-FW is in the crosshairs of the ‘wild wild west’ of Cybersecurity” – Dallas Morning News 2/18/2017
Ransomware comes in several flavors:
- Screen lockers
- Scareware
- Data encrypting
One of our clients in banking was hit earlier this month. Using a strong backup strategy, they quickly recovered and returned to business as normal. Another client found their backup strategies were incomplete and lost a lot of data.
As one of our consultants succinctly put it recently,
“You can’t have good security AND user convenience in your cyber strategy.”
There are 3 key strategies to dealing with the potential of ransomware attacks:
- Prevention: through a variety of security techniques
- Training: through user education to recognize social engineering attacks
- Recovery: through rock-solid data backup systems
There are some things you can do to prevent ransomware attacks. Users can’t introduce malware on the network if it’s blocked before it gets to them. Active detection agents on the network can help prevent widespread infection.
Antivirus alone is not enough. The pace of malware innovation is shocking. See “You Can’t Depend on Antivirus Software Anymore.” As this article states, “Healthy digital habits also make a big difference in individual protection.” These habits apply to both IT staff and end users.
Recovery is often thought of as a tool of last resort. Against ransomware, though, it is an active weapon. Highly secure, inexpensive storage options in the cloud take the pain out of backup.
Workflow Studios’ security professionals can help with all 3 phases of ransomware protection. Call us today!
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WorkFlow Studios is an IBM Premier Partner helping clients achieve excellence in three key areas: Collaboration, Business Intelligence and Process Management.
