Ransomware is one of the most damaging types of cyber attacks of all time, and the one feared the most by business owners and cybersecurity defenders.
This worry is not without reason. In an instant, an organization’s critical IT infrastructure can be brought down for weeks to months, completely stopping all business. Some data and systems may be lost forever. Complete recovery may take over a year. Customer impacts may last long past the technical recovery process.
The FBI is investigating about 100 different types of ransomware “gangs” and most are operating in foreign cybercriminal safe havens where the victim’s domestic law enforcement agencies cannot stop them. Despite defenders’ best efforts, the occurrence of ransomware continues to increase. The financial damage caused by ransomware is daunting.
Ransomware Running Rampant
Ransomware was successful in exploiting up to 68% of surveyed organizations in one year alone, according to the 2021 Cyberthreat Defense Report. Ransomware mitigation vendor Coveware says the average ransom paid in Q3 2021 was $139,739 USD. Some organizations have paid tens of millions of dollars in ransomware extortion. Overall, recovery costs are usually many times higher than the ransomware extortion payment. One cybersecurity vendor stated $18 billion was paid globally in ransom in 2020, and total costs were in the hundreds of billions of dollars. Another cybersecurity analyst predicted total ransomware costs could hit $250 billion by 2031.
Combating Ransomware
Regardless of whether you have been hit with ransomware or not, protecting your network from these types of attacks is now an integral part of any network security framework for both individuals and companies. If you are going to take a hit on your files, at least learn from any mistakes that were made. It is time to get some countermeasures in place and take some proactive steps to prevent this—and other issues like it—from being able to affect you again.
Our updated Ransomware Hostage Rescue Manual highlights how to detect an infection, what to do if you are hit, how to protect yourself and your organization, and much more. This new edition includes recent ransomware news stories, expanded definitions and processes as seen in the wild, how most victims were exploited, and more.
This 26-page manual is packed with actionable info that you need to prevent infections, and what to do when you are hit with ransomware. You also get a Ransomware Attack Response Checklist and Prevention Checklist. You will learn more about:
