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HOW TO PREVENT RANSOMWARE FROM BECOMING A CYBER DISASTER
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Ransomware is one of the largest cybersecurity threats every year and particularly today . Every week , we get new disclosures that some strategically important company has been breached , paid a ransom or has had their revenues and customers threatened . For example , roughly 40 % of the United States population had difficulty purchasing gasoline after a ransomware attack
closed the major pipeline supplier for the East Coast . The President of the United States then mandated new security measures2 for the U . S . Government and , in a separate directive , recommended that all businesses adopt Zero Trust principles as the only solution for defending against ransomware . These unprecedented actions point to the size and significance of the disruption to lives and the broader economy .
• Steals credentials to administrative systems
• Encrypts as much as possible , rendering it unusable
• Destroys backups , so restoration is impossible without paying
• Publicly exposes victims to intensify pressure to pay
• Leaks stolen data , potentially violating contracts or compromising competitiveness
• Threatens victim ’ s customers to increase pressure to pay quickly
• Uses time-based ratchets to encourage fast payment “ before the price rises ”
These characteristics make dealing with a ransomware attack more costly than ever before . Most small businesses pay the ransom , and then still have cleanup and remediation costs , not to mention the loss of revenue and distraction from other projects .
Cost of breach is skyrocketing
Modern ransomware has several key features that make it difficult to remediate an attack :
Most analysts expect ransomware-related costs to increase substantially as the criminal business model evolves . On a global basis , reports estimate that remediation costs will exceed US $ 20B in 2021 . p
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