What is Ransomware and How to Protect Your Business From It

One of the biggest threats in the business world today is ransomware. You may have heard the term in the news recently regarding the Colonial Pipeline, but this is just one incident out of many that occur daily all over the world. The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency came up with a superlative definition for ransomware. “Ransomware is an ever-evolving form of malware designed to encrypt files on a device, rendering any files and the systems that rely on them unusable. Malicious actors then demand ransom in exchange for decryption.”

You may think that ransomware can only attack specific users like residential home computers who don’t have secure passwords or have poor security habits. Guess again! Ransomware is a threat to everyone. In fact, large corporations such as healthcare systems and government agencies are more likely to be targeted with a ransomware attack because they have the means to pay a large amount of money to get their sensitive information decrypted. For the less sophisticated attacker, small businesses are also in the cross-hairs due to their smaller IT security budgets. In 2020, the occurrence of ransomware increased by 150%. The ransom amount also grew to an eye-popping average of $170,000. Small businesses specifically lost an average of $283,000 from interrupted business operations, paid ransom, and specialized IT aftercare. 

As if all of the expensive aftermath data wasn’t enough, there is no guarantee that the hacker behind the ransomware attack will unlock the stolen information once you’ve paid up. If you decide not to pay the ransom (or pay too slowly), they will frequently publish your sensitive data on the dark web.

We implore you to do two things in 2021. First, have your systems analyzed by professionals to minimize your risk. Second, look into cyber insurance. If you think you can’t afford it, imagine what a $100,000+ surprise could do.