If I go into your house and take all of the things important to you, lock them away in a safe and I am the only one with the key and I tell you that you will have to pay me to get the stuff back, that’s ransomware.
Cybersecurity experts are warning that by 2021, businesses will fall victim to ransomware every 11 seconds. That’s down from every 14 seconds in 2019.
Can you imagine being one of those businesses?
Mobile phishing campaigns could be targeting your bank. In fact, phishing attackers are targeting bank accounts more in 2020 than ever before. Criminals found the easiest way to get in is through your mobile phone. Some of the recent targets? Capital One and Chase are two of the dozens of phished that have been identified recently.
Hackers are using automated SMS tools to blast bogus security text messages to you and have successfully snatched accounts from thousands so far—that’s of the millions receiving these texts.
Do you know where the holes in your network are? Are you concerned about them? Do you even know TO be concerned about them?
As I talk to business leaders it has become increasingly clear that network security—especially understanding where you fall in network security to secure your sensitive data—is non-existent within many organizations.
One of the easiest ways to see where your security holes are?
Sometimes persistent ransomware attacks feel like the flu. As soon as security experts find a defense against one strain, a new and more deadly version appears. All making it harder to defend against and certainly difficult to keep up.
With cryptic names like WannaCry, Petya and SamSam, leadership all too well have familiarized themselves with names of attacks and many even know someone who have fallen victim to the latest strain.
While ransomware campaigns have targeted pretty much everyone, they are becoming more tailored to your industry, finding technical vulnerabilities to exploit your network and your software and customizing their attacks to target specific roles within your organization. Unlike flu epidemics, there is less of a cycle or timing of when catching a virus is more or less likely. For ransomware, infections are becoming more persistent day after day.
Ransomware attackers are targeting everyone. In 2018, for instance, attackers were breaching networks in technology, manufacturing, financial and healthcare industries at alarming rates. All industries showed an uptick in the sophistication of attacks targeting each industry.
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Many of you probably live in fear. Fear of a data breach.
While a breach may sound innocent enough—simply someone on your team that might have lost, misplaced, or mis-transferred some data—your clients, patients and regulators may think otherwise.
In 2019, the average breach affecting relatively small organizations costed them the likes of $73,000. The cost of reputational damage to vendors and clients may actually be far greater.
I’m sure it’s of little surprise that in recent accounts with CEOS, their two greatest worries ranged from a list of technical-related developments that have recently arisen surrounding stolen and breached data and being victim of a ransomware attack.
Many CEOs know firsthand of their company experiencing a ransomware attack. Those that have lived through a ransomware attack understand the devastation and ruin involved in recovery efforts. When recovering from a ransomware attack, one thing is clear—there is no free lunch (everything will cost you).
Is your likelihood of a breach or attack REALLY that low?
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Windows end of life approaches today. Cybersecurity experts are hoping you’re paying attention to this as January 14, 2020 marks the final day for Windows 7 support.
From a security perspective—as you might appreciate—monthly security patches as well as hot fixes for pending cyberattacks (think the latest risks from the state of Iran) will no longer be available to any machines running Windows 7. Microsoft will no longer be detecting threats and risks associated with the platform, so in the event a hacker discovers a new vulnerability, you won’t even know before it’s too late!
Digging in a bit deeper…
The reality is that all software contains bugs. You see, Windows—just like any program—is designed with the best intentions to meet users’ needs. Sometimes in creating a feature that someone really finds helpful for their productivity, a software developer overlooks security implications.
In practice, many security bugs surface only following an imminent threat or detected vulnerability from the cybersecurity community.
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