100% Increase in British Organisations Hit By Ransomware
The most profitable form of malware for the criminal fraternity, by a large margin, is ransomware. It is prevalent, easy to deploy for cybercriminals, and there is a large ‘market’ of exposed businesses and organisations to target. If ransomware can be successfully deployed, many ransomware variants also offer the option to extract affected data – this means that not only are the attackers potentially being paid a ransom, but they can also auction off intellectual property and other forms of sensitive information.
According to the GCHQ, the number of ransomware attacks on British organisations and institutions has doubled over the past year. This is likely a result of the increase in number of online businesses and increase in potential attack vectors as society becomes more dependent on working and shopping remotely. There are many ways in which organisations can reduce the risk and impact of Ransomware, like most other forms of malware, provided you maintain the latest update for your software/environment and implement security patches as soon as you can and take a few other preparatory measures (feel free to contact us for advice).
One of the most common and easily detectable methods of ransomware delivery to businesses is via emails to unsuspecting employees. By deploying an email filtering/security solution on your network and reminding your staff/colleagues of the importance of know where messages have come from, as well as knowing the proper procedure for handling malicious contact.
Ransomware attacks in the UK have doubled in a year | Evening Standard
The Guardian – Ransomware attacks in UK have doubled in a year says GCHQ Boss
