If you follow mainstream media and business magazines, it seems as though there is a PR push to promote ransomware cyber defenses. That’s not to say there is not a valid reason to protect your business network.
On the contrary, ransomware attacks have increased by 13% in the last year. Yet only 50% of businesses have an effective cybersecurity plan in place. Having said that, cybersecurity metrics depend on which report you read.
But how serious is ransomware really and should it be something that business owners should be more worried about?
According to one insurance firm – selling cybersecurity insurance, obviously – 84% of small business owners are being nonchalant about the threat of cybersecurity. Or words to that effect.
To cut to the chase, the fact of the matter is that businesses do need to be aware of cyber threats. Keeping up to date with the latest techniques used by hackers and installing appropriate technologies is sufficient.
You don’t need to spend thousands of dollars on cybersecurity solutions. Having said that, the amount you should spend is determined by the complexity of your IT network.
Whatever your cyber situation is, this is why you don’t need to be overly worried about hackers and their dirty ransomware.
The Best Hackers are Sponsored
To say the best hackers are a sponsored is a sweeping statement I can’t actually prove. However, if you read a history of malware and media articles reporting a data breach, there are an awful lot of state-sponsored cyberattacks going on.
State-sponsored attacks are usually carried out by “hacking groups” that target high-profile corporations. The purpose, it is said is “corporate espionage” but it’s also known that stolen data is sold to businesses that use curated lists for marketing purposes.
It’s also well known that software companies hire crack hackers to identify vulnerabilities in their software. These genius coders need to be good enough to stay one step ahead of nefarious actors.
What all this tells us is that corporations and governments are spending a lot of money to develop sophisticated technology that is capable of exploiting employees that are not cyber aware.
I may be putting two and two together and coming up with five, but hacking kits are sold on the dark web. This means amateur hackers can get access to the sophisticated hacking strategies used by crack hackers.
Fortunately, antivirus software captures, quarantines and deletes all known viruses. This means the majority of these hacking kits will be useless providing you’ve installed anti-malware software. That’s not an expensive solution.
Cybersecurity Awareness
It is reported that over 90% of data breaches are due to human error. A minimal amount is due to misconfigured cloud software. The majority of attacks are because an employee clicked on a malicious link sent via email.
You probably know from experience that multiple emails landing in your inbox are phishing attacks. However, sophisticated hackers use spoofing techniques to make emails appear as though they have come from a trusted source such as a service provider, client, bank or software company.
Spoofing emails can easily catch people out if they are not aware of the latest techniques hackers use. This problem is also easily resolved with cybersecurity awareness training.
To sum up, you should be worried about ransomware if you have not taken appropriate precautions to defend your IT network. However, a couple of cost-effective solutions should be sufficient for the majority of small businesses.
