ENTERPRISE TECHNOLOGY
Reducing the risk
of ransomware
INTELLIGENT TECH CHANNELS
Issue 18
Those that pay the
ransom often don’t get
their data back in any
fit shape.
control, so it’s particularly easy to hold
crypto ransom. In short, ransomware is
efficient and lucrative.
Why are ransomware
attacks so dangerous for
organisations/businesses?
Ransomware is highly adaptable and the
way in which an attack is structured changes
Ransomware has been around since
the late 80s. In recent times, the rise of
cryptocurrency and the evaluation, as well
as the supposedly high anonymity for these
cryptocurrencies, established it as a money
generator. We’ve seen numerous attacks
over the last couple of years that have
brought organisations and businesses alike
to their knees.
Without data, businesses are paralysed.
Hackers know this and they also know that
the fear of prolonged downtime increases
the high probability of payment. They just
need a few victims to pay in order to make
their efforts worthwhile. Alongside this,
cryptocurrency has automated the whole
process including the money/currency
transfer into wallets that the criminals
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Why is ransomware such a popular
attack method for cybercriminals?
High-profile ransomware attacks have hit the headlines in recent years;
in part due to the devastating consequences they have had on the critical
systems of global organisations. It’s important that businesses are
protected against these kinds of attacks, with vendors and their channel
partners playing a crucial role in the line of defence. We find out more from
Malwarebytes’ Chris Green, Vice President Middle East, Africa and Turkey.
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rapidly. It can be hard for companies to keep
pace with an enemy that keeps morphing.
There are two key reasons why ransomware
is so dangerous. Firstly, those that pay the
ransom often don’t get their data back in any
fit shape. Secondly, once a hacker has stolen
a company’s data, not enough companies
have the right policies and technologies in
place to operate even at a basic level.
Many companies don’t back up their
data as often as they should and, as
such, they aren’t able to ‘roll back’ in any
meaningful way.
What’s the most common way for
ransomware to spread?
Ransomware usually spreads through spam
and social engineering (something like a ‘CV’
to the HR department or ‘invoice’ to Finance)
or, in the case of SamSam, direct injection
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