Ransomware: How to prevent attacks and protect your business

Sinead Conboy

The evolution of ransomware poses a significant cybersecurity threat that can have devastating effects on businesses of all sizes. 

Executive Summary:

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.

Understanding Ransomware

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.

The Evolution of Ransomware Attacks

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.

Sign up now or Log In

This content has been restricted to logged-in users only. Please login to view this content.
*The images in this post were created using AI.
key account manager
unlock 
the power
related articles
Types of Cybersecurity Threats
Cybersecurity threats come in various forms from different sources, and can be defined as either pas...
Read More
CrowdStrike Microsoft outage causes global chaos
As the dust settles on what has been deemed the biggest IT outage ever, what does it mean for busine...
Read More
8 Best practices for cloud security
Cloud adoption continues to accelerate across organizations worldwide, cloud security plays a vital ...
Read More
Roadmap
Development
book a date
unlock
the power
If you are creating a roadmap for your IT infrastructure and need some advice to focus your goals and reach your deadlines, our Account Manager are here to help you, guide you, and put you in contact with the right suppliers. Do not hesitate to get in touch with us today.
COPYRIGHT © 2023 ANTERIAD