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It seems that pain of the ransomware attack might have concentrated minds and resources on effectively mitigating a future incident .
Finding three : Ransomware victims have different motivations for adopting a Zero Trust approach
Respondents were asked about their motivations for adopting a Zero Trust approach and , while there were several commonalities , there were also clear areas of difference . ‘ To improve our overall cybersecurity posture ’ was the most common motivator among both victims and non-victims .
The second most common motivator among ransomware victims was the desire to ‘ simplify our cybersecurity operations ’ ( 43 %), potentially reflecting that complex security had contributed to their previous attack Ransomware victims are also heavily motivated by ‘ supporting our move to increased use of the cloud ’ ( 42 %). This dropped to 30 % amongst those that hadn ’ t experienced a recent attack .
Similarly , ransomware victims were also much more likely to say that ‘ to move from a CAPEX to an OPEX model ´ was one of the main factors behind their Zero Trust approach adoption ( 27 % vs . 16 %, and rising to 34 % among those that had been hit by ransomware and paid the ransom ).
Finding four : The pandemic was more likely to positively impact the Zero Trust adoption plans of ransomware victims
For many organisations the pandemic had a positive impact on their plans for adopting a Zero Trust approach . For many , it created a need for Zero Trust that they didn ’ t have before . This is understandable : many companies and public bodies were previously wholly office-based and so didn ’ t have a need to provide secure remote access .
Half ( 50 %) of ransomware victims and 36 % of nonvictims reported that the pandemic enabled them to move budget to adopting a Zero Trust approach , while many also reported that it enabled them to divert people and / or money from other activities to the move to Zero Trust .
The survey findings highlight that organisations that fell victim to ransomware and paid the ransom were most likely to experience a positive pandemic impact on their Zero Trust adoption . It seems that pain of the ransomware attack might have concentrated minds and resources on effectively mitigating a future incident .
Introducing Sophos Zero Trust Network Access ( ZTNA )
Sophos ZTNA is a much more secure and easyto-manage remote access solution that delivers a
transparent , frictionless experience for end-users .
• By removing the need for VPN clients , Sophos ZTNA reduces the attack surface , making it harder for ransomware actors to get on your network
• Sophos ZTNA constantly checks user and device security , delivering continuous high-level of controls and preventing attackers from exploiting a previously authenticated user ’ s access
• Granular access controls enable you to easily restrict access to specific resources to those who need them , preventing adversaries from moving laterally across your network
• Sophos ZTNA uses the same agent as Sophos Intercept X endpoint protection , enabling customers to enhance their protection without adding device overhead
• It is managed from the cloud-based Sophos Central platform , enabling customers to manage all their Sophos solutions via a single interface for enhanced day-to-day management and control
With the average cost of ransomware remediation now US $ 1.85 million for small and mid-sized organisations , moving to secure remote access via Sophos ZTNA is a sensible investment . p
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