Fantasy sports website DraftKings this week disclosed a ransomware attack in a Form S-1 filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The ransomware attack affected SBTech, a global turnkey technology provider that merged with DraftKings in April.
The ransomware attack was discovered March 27, according to DraftKings. It forced SBTech to shut down its data centers and interrupted its sports betting and iGaming services.
SBTech has notified regulatory authorities and affected partners and customers about the ransomware attack, DraftKings noted. It also compensated its customers for downtime caused by the incident.
The SBTech cyberattack was previously reported by ZDNet earlier this year. At that time, it was unknown that the incident was a ransomware attack; however, SBTech agreed to place $30 million in escrow as insurance to cover the cost of the incident.
Average Ransomware Payment on the Rise
Ransomware attacks plague organizations of all sizes and across all industries, and the cost to mitigate these attacks is rising.
The average ransomware payment rose approximately 10 percent to $44,021 in the first quarter of 2020, according to a report from ransomware recovery company Coveware. Also, the Coveware report revealed the average enterprise ransomware payment increased 33 percent to $111,605.
How MSPs Can Mitigate Ransomware Attack Risks: To safeguard your MSP business and clientele from ransomware attacks, follow this tip sheet.
