EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
WHAT ARE THE PROPER PRECAUTIONS TO TAKE TO AVOID A RANSOMWARE ATTACK ?
Zscaler , a leader in cloud security , has announced its new Ransomware Report featuring analysis of key ransomware trends and details about the most prolific ransomware actors , their attack tactics and the most vulnerable industries being targeted .
It is critical for businesses to better understand the risk ransomware represents and take proper precautions to avoid an attack .
The Zscaler ThreatLabz embedded research team analyzed over 150 billion platform transactions and 36.5 billion blocked attacks between November 2019 and January 2021 to identify emerging ransomware variants , their origins and how to stop them . The report also outlines a growing risk from ‘ double-extortion ’ attacks , which are being increasingly used by cybercriminals to disrupt businesses and hold data hostage for ransom .
“ Over the last few years , the ransomware threat has become increasingly dangerous , with new methods like double extortion and DDoS attacks making it easy for cybercriminals to sabotage organizations and do long-term damage to their reputation ,” said Deepen Desai , CISO and VP of Security Research at Zscaler .
“ Our team expects ransomware attacks to become increasingly targeted in nature where the cybercriminals hit organizations with a higher likelihood of ransom payout . We analyzed recent ransomware attacks where cybercriminals had the knowledge of things like the victim ’ s cyber insurance coverage as well as critical supplychain vendors bringing them in the crosshairs of these attacks .
“ As such , it is critical for businesses to better understand the risk ransomware represents and take proper precautions to avoid an attack . Always patch vulnerabilities , educate employees on spotting suspicious emails , back up data regularly , implement data loss prevention strategy and use zero trust architecture to minimize the attack surface and prevent lateral movement .”
According to the World Economic Forum 2020 Global Risk Report , ransomware was the third most common and second most damaging type of malware attack recorded in 2020 . With payouts averaging US $ 1.45M per incident , it ’ s not difficult to see why cybercriminals are increasingly flocking to this new style of high-tech extortion . As the rewards that result from this type of crime increase , risks to government entities , company bottom lines , reputation , data integrity , customer confidence and Business Continuity also grow . Zscaler ’ s research supports the narrative recently established by the US federal government , which classifies ransomware as a national security threat ; underscoring the need to prioritize mitigation and contingency measures when protecting against these on-going threats .
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