EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
ALTHOUGH REPORTS OF THE REDUCTION OF RANSOMWARE ARE ENCOURAGING , DO ORGANIZATIONS NEED TO GUARD AGAINST COMPLACENCY ?
Delinea , a leading provider of Privileged Access Management ( PAM ) solutions for seamless security , has published its 2022 State of Ransomware Report which finds that things may be looking up in the fight against ransomware .
Cyberattacks using the popular compromising tactic have declined significantly over the past 12 months compared to the previous year and fewer companies are paying ransoms . Still , there are red flags in the annual report related to spending , planning and using cybersecurity tools available to combat ransomware .
The survey of 300 US-based IT decision makers , conducted on Delinea ’ s behalf by Censuswide , found that only 25 % of organizations were victims of ransomware attacks over the past 12 months , a stunning 61 % decline from the previous 12-month period when 64 % of organizations reported being victims .
Furthermore , the number of victimized companies who paid the ransom declined from 82 % to 68 %, which could be a sign that warnings and recommendations to not pay a ransom are being heeded . Larger companies are much more likely to be victims of ransomware , as 56 % of companies with 100 or more employees said they were victims of ransomware attacks .
Along with these positive results , the survey also raised concerns that a potentially reduced threat could lead to complacency . Budget allocations for ransomware are in decline , as only 68 % of those surveyed said they are currently allocated a budget to protect against ransomware versus 93 % during the prior year . The number of companies with Incident Response Plans also declined from 94 % to 71 % and only half are taking proactive , proven steps to prevent ransomware attacks such as enforcing password best practices ( 51 %) and using Multi-Factor Authentication ( 50 %).
“ The reduction of ransomware attacks is an encouraging sign , but organizations need to make sure they keep their guard up against this constant , evolving threat ,” said Art Gilliland , CEO of Delinea . “ Staying vigilant by maintaining a strong least privilege approach backed by stronger password protection , authentication enforcement and access controls can help continue this downward trend .”
Along with these positive results , the survey also raised concerns that a potentially reduced threat could lead to complacency .
Mohammad Ismail , Regional Director , Middle East , Delinea , said : “ In today ’ s globalized economy , cybersecurity trends are largely mirrored across international markets .”
He added that while the study focused on US organizations , the ransomware insights it presents can certainly inform businesses in other markets .
32 INTELLIGENTCIO APAC www . intelligentcio . com