The news is no longer filled with stories of ransomware holding business data hostage. With increased political coverage last year and of course COVID-19 coverage, it has been relegated to the back burner. That does not mean, however, that ransomware is no longer a threat. On the contrary, the ransomware business is alive and well as many organizations are finding out the hard way.
According to the most recent Datto State of Ransomware report, ransomware is still the number one malware threat to the small and medium sized business market. Phishing emails are still the number one attack vector (and most successful attack vector). Unfortunately, it is very easy for a hacker to setup a new domain and start sending out ransomware-infected emails from it. It makes minutes to do. They just have to fool one unsuspecting user for havoc to ensue. While user education has improved over the last few years, the attacks are becoming more and more sophisticated requiring a more sophisticated end user.
The pandemic economy has actually increased the risk to businesses and more as more employees are working remotely, outside of the well-protected walls of the corporate office. More data has been made mobile-accessible because of the pandemic giving the attack surface a greater area for hackers to exploit.
The Datto report shows a serious disconnect between MSPs (IT companies) and other businesses in how they view the threat of ransomware. When asked if they are very concerned about ransomware, the MSPs (the people who deal with ransomware and its fallout) responded at 84% very concerned. Other non-IT businesses answered the same question with only 30% are very concerned about ransomware. If I could scream this from the rooftop, I would: “Ransomware is still a threat”. It is a serious threat that requires a serious response.
Here at Colden Company, we have taken the threat of ransomware seriously from the start. We, as well as our customers, sleep well at night knowing we have strong security measures in place specifically to guard against ransomware. There are several layers to a comprehensive ransomware protection plan. This includes solid backups as well as solid layers of security. Are you confident that your business has the necessary layers? Are you confident your business could easily recover from a ransomware attack?
If you are interested in speaking with our team about how we protect our clients, please call us at (888) 600-4560 or email us at info@coldencompany.com. The old adage “Better safe than sorry” was never more applicable than in this case.