With National Cybersecurity Awareness Month here, it’s a great opportunity to familiarize yourself with the current landscape of ransomware and ensure your employees and clients are up-to-date with the latest ransomware defense tactics.
Law enforcement suggests never to pay ransomware perpetrators as to not encourage them. TrendMicro’s research found that business people agree in principle: 66 percent said they would never pay a ransom. The same research, however, also found that when push comes to shove, 65 percent of companies attacked by ransomware actually do pay the ransom.
Experts agree that the best way to fight ransomware is by protecting your files and systems and preventing the ransomware from claiming your company as its victim. This is done with a multilayered approach:
- Use a good quality antivirus program, and patch and update operating systems regularly
- Educate your users about ransomware and how to detect phishing and social engineering schemes
- Back up files often -- and automatically. While the backup does not prevent infiltration, it does give you an out -- instead of paying the ransom, you can restore to your pre-attack status
Although ransomware attacks are continuing to increase, the threat they pose can be minimized with adequate protection.
Webinar: Datto’s State of the Channel Ransomware Report
Each year, Datto surveys thousands of or MSP partners who serve small-to-medium-sized businesses around the globe to get a better understanding of the ransomware threat and how they avoid falling victim.
The report provides unique visibility into the state of ransomware from the perspective of the IT Channel and their small-and-medium-sized business (SMB) clients who are dealing with these infections on a daily basis. The report provides a wealth of detail on ransomware, including year-over-year trends, frequency, targets, impact, and recommendations for ensuring recovery and continuity in the face of the growing threat.
Let’s take a look at some of the key statistics and trends from the report:
- The average ransom requested by hackers is increasing. MSPs report the average requested ransom for SMBs is ~$5,900, increasing by 37 percent, year over year.
- 92 percent of MSPs report that clients with business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) solutions in place are less likely to experience significant downtime during a ransomware attack. 4 in 5 MSPs also report that victimized clients with BCDR in place recovered from the attack in 24 hours, or fewer.
- MSPs rank phishing emails as the leading cause of successful attacks. Lack of cybersecurity education, weak passwords, and poor user practices are among the other top causes.
Join us for a webinar on 10/16 where we walk through this brand-new report and what the numbers mean for you. In this webinar, we'll cover the true costs and impacts of ransomware on businesses, best practices for protecting and educating clients, the state of ransomware in the channel, and more. Sign up today!
Matt Scully is channel development manager at Datto. Read more Datto guest blogs here.
