Infections, infections everywhere! Ransomware!

Who’s most susceptible to Ransomware?

Whilst the country goes into mass hysteria regarding the Coronavirus disease (COVID-19), CTO has turned its attention to those sectors that are most likely to be impacted by another infection namely, Ransomware.

A recent European study of MSPs by one of our trusted vendors -Datto – reveals that in Europe it is companies which operate in the Professional Services sector who are the most targeted by ransomware. Companies operating in this sector typically hold data containing large amounts of personal information, which would be very attractive to cyber criminals.

But it’s not just Professional Services which are being targeted by vicious bugs. Below shows the other sectors that are most susceptible to infection.

Industries Rocked by Ransomware

47% Professional Services (lawyers, advertising professionals, architects, accountants, financial advisers, engineers, and consultants, among others)
35% Construction & Manufacturing
25% Retail
22% Non-Profit
17% Healthcare
17% Architecture/Design
17% Finance/Insurance
14% Legal
14% Real Estate
14% Government
11% Education
11% Travel/Transportation
9% Media/Entertainment
9% Other/None
8% Consumer Products
5% High Technology
3% Telecom
1% Energy/Utilities

Survey respondents were able to select multiple answer choices.

Is your organisation in one of the most targeted and high-risk sectors?

Prevention is better than cure

Here at CTO we are great believers in the phrase prevention is better than cure. This is particular relevant in terms of the steps that can be taken to mitigate the risk and effects of Ransomware. Datto’s most recent European State of the Channel Ransomware Report reveals the following solutions as the most effective to combat Ransomware.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR)
Employee training
Patch management
Unified threat management
Identity and access management solution
Antivirus / Anti-malware software
Email / Spam filters
Endpoint / Mobile management platform
Browser isolation
Endpoint detection and response platform (NEW!)

Many years ago anti-virus may have provided enough protection. But in the modern workplace traditional anti-virus solutions are limited in only really detecting threats that have been seen before, and ransomware is particularly good at evading these detection engines. CTO’s combination of solutions look at how incoming traffic interacts with an operating system and prevents activities that behave like malware.

How many of the above solutions do you have in place?

CTO can work with you and run through a checklist of security options to ensure your network and systems are given a clean bill of health. We can then tailor the most appropriate to your organisation, budget and working practices.

Interested? Then call CTO today for a free, no-obligation consultation.

Thanks

Richard