Did you hear the one about the guy who couldn’t remember his “unhackable” Gmail password, so he changed his name to 7sdf8dxz0sjh-3? Now that you’ve stopped laughing uncontrollably, we can talk about something slightly more sobering: A new ransomware attack will occur every 11 seconds this year according to Cybersecurity Ventures. The estimated total cost of these attacks? $20 billion. “Back” in 2018, 39% of ransomware victims capitulated with the ransomers. This year, the number could be more like 58%. So the question becomes, how much of a share of that $20 billion might you be paying out if your systems aren’t secure enough?
I realize that you may be thinking, “wow! you led this article off with one of the funniest jokes I’ve ever read, and now you’re back to scaring me about ransomware attacks,” but the fact remains that the rise of these attacks really is big news in the cybersecurity world. It represents a clear danger to our customers, friends and family, so we’d be remiss if we didn’t share all we could about the risks and possible solutions for these attacks.
According to Coveware, the average ransomware demand paid by organizations increased to nearly $112,000 between the last quarter of 2019 and the first quarter of 2020. It’s likely even more now. “Fiddlesticks! I make that in a day,” you might say, and if you do, congratulations! But that amount doesn’t take into account a lot of indirect or opportunity costs: potentially having to rebuild servers, lost productivity, damage to the brand and potential litigation if there is a serious data breach. There could be ripple effects that delay product launches or disrupt supply chains. I would estimate the average cost more at $500,000 (it obviously depends on the size and scope of the attack). If you make that in a day, then maybe you should be launching yourself to Mars soon.
Some preventative steps that could help:
Know more:
So don’t be like 7sdf8dxz0sjh-3. He didn’t use RMail and, in addition to having to pay hundreds of thousands of dollars to ransomers, is currently having a horrible time dating.
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