Don’t miss out! To continue reading this article become a Knowledge Exchange member for free and unlimited access to Knowledge Exchange content and key IT trends and insights.
Ransomware is a significant cybersecurity threat that can have devastating effects on businesses of all sizes. Understanding the nature of ransomware, its evolution, and the types of attacks is crucial for developing effective prevention and mitigation strategies. This whitepaper provides a comprehensive overview of ransomware, its impact on businesses, and practical steps to protect against and respond to attacks.
Ransomware is malicious software that encrypts a victim’s data or blocks access to a computer system and demands a ransom to release it. Typically, hackers gain access through phishing, malicious websites, or exploiting software vulnerabilities. Once inside, it can quickly spread across networks, locking files and rendering them unusable.
Although the number of ransomware attacks has declined over the last number of years, total ransomware payments exceeded $1 billion for the first time in 2023.
Ransomware continues to be one of the most prevalent type of cybersecurity threat, with 59% of organizations being hit with an attack in the last year[1] according to Sophos’ “State of Ransomware” report.
Large companies or government departments are often high-profile victims of ransomware attacks. Examples of such attacks include the 2021 attack on the Irish Health Service Executive (HSE), which shut down its systems nationwide, affecting over 100,000 people whose data was stolen during the attack.
Italian luxury fashion brand Moncler was also targeted in 2021. The demand of $3 million was not paid, leading to a massive data leak on the dark web by the hackers.
Don’t miss out! To continue reading this article become a Knowledge Exchange member for free and unlimited access to Knowledge Exchange content and key IT trends and insights.
