MSPs: Ransomware Downtime Costs SMBs 10x the Ransom

With 79% of MSPs indicating their clients have experienced ransomware attacks, every organization needs to take the financial impact of ransomware seriously.

According to the latest data from Datto's Global State of the Channel Ransomware Report 2018, ransomware is alive and well – and wreaking havoc in SMBs. First off, there’s the attack itself that brings with it disruption to the business and lowered employee productivity. And then there’s the aftermath of trying to remediate the attack.

To provide some color to what SMBs are experiencing with ransomware attacks, consider the following stats from the Datto report:

• The average requested ransom for SMBs is around $4,300, while the average cost of downtime related to a ransomware attack is approximately $46,800
• Two-thirds of MSPs reported their victimized clients experienced a loss of business productivity
• 43% of MSPs reported lost data after an attack
• 53% of MSPs reported victimized clients experienced business-threatening downtime

It’s evident that SMBs and ransomware don’t mix well. So, what’s making SMBs a likely victim?

According to the report, the majority of SMBs (64%) are “largely in the dark about the frequency and severity of ransomware attacks”. Phishing emails top the list as the primary ransomware delivery method followed by malicious websites, web ads, and clickbait. Datto indicates a lack of security awareness training as the leading cause of a successful ransomware attack.

So, how can SMBs prepare themselves to prevent ransomware attacks, as well as respond to successful attacks?

• Layered security solutions can help detect malicious email and web content before the user interacts with it, reducing the attack surface.
• Security Awareness Training will educate users on what attacks, scams, and social engineering methods look like, empowering them to spot suspicious activity before it becomes an attack.
• Backups of critical endpoints, servers, applications, and data will ensure the organization’s ability to recover quickly, lowering the overall cost of downtime and eliminating the need to pay the ransom.

The cost of downtime from ransomware demands a proactive response now from MSPs and SMBs to minimize the exposure, risk, and cost associated with increasing ransomware attacks.