The problem of ransomware — one of the most common malware threats today — is bad and only getting worse. In recent years, the number of malicious emails has increased, the number of businesses affected has risen, and the average ransom fee has skyrocketed. Even when companies manage to get their data back, they sometimes don’t get it all and often face other issues such as significant downtime following an attack.
All Companies Are Susceptible
Any company can become the victim country wise email marketing list of a ransomware attack. However, according to Norton, the following 4 groups are of particular interest to attackers:
- Groups that are perceived as having smaller security teams
- Organizations that can and will pay quickly
- Firms that hold sensitive data
- Businesses in the Western markets
New Tricks
As mentioned above, ransomware attackers have extended the trouble they can cause way beyond just encrypting your data until you pay a ransom. According to TechRepublic, here are some of their latest tricks:
Vowing to publicly release the data. The criminals threaten to not only continue keeping you from accessing your data but also to publish or auction your data if you don’t pay the ransom. That means if you decide not to pay and rely on data backups instead, you could still be harmed by others being able to view sensitive information such as customer information or proprietary processes.
Contacting employees directly. Attackers best practices for creating effective ads in digital advertising may contact team members and tell them their own personal data will be leaked if the ransom isn’t paid. Often, they will target C-level leaders who have a say in whether or not the ransom is paid.
Contacting partners and customers. Attackers will reach out to affected parties and let them know their own information could be compromised if your company data is published. As a result, these organizations may feel it is in their best interest to pressure you to pay the ransom.
Enlisting insiders. Ransomware attackers may convince employees in your company to help them infiltrate the company to carry out a ransomware attack. They promise those people a portion of the ransom payment in return.
Preventing backup retrieval. The bad guys may delete your backups or change passwords on your network to prevent you from accessing them.
To Pay or Not to Pay?
If your company becomes the victim of a ransomware attack, will you pay the ransom? You may have an immediate response one way or the other, but there is really no simple answer. If you think the requested ransom is a small price to pay for your precious data, consider these facts from Gartner:
- On average, only 65% of the data is recovered, and only 8% of organizations manage to recover all data.
- Encrypted files are often unrecoverable.
- Recovering data can take several weeks, particularly if a large amount of it has been encrypted.
- There is no guarantee that the hackers won’t copy the stolen data. They could sell or disclose the information later if it has value.
On the other hand, if you think there canada data is no way you will pay criminals for what was yours, to begin with, ask yourself what the repercussions would be if you’re unable to retrieve your information:
- How much time, money, and customer confidence will you lose?
- How much can you afford to lose and still stay in business?
- Do you have enough staff available to address this considerable issue and continue to run your business?
- What is the worst-case scenario in terms of still being able to compete in your market if trade secrets or other data are leaked?