Five worthy reads is a regular column on five noteworthy items we’ve discovered while researching trending and timeless topics. This week, we discuss the growing concern about ransomware-as-a-service among organisations across the globe.
In a hyper-connected world, the threat landscape is undoubtedly evolving. Ensuring the security of your enterprise networks on a daily basis is essential to protect your business, no matter how big (or small) it is. According to SophosLabs’ 2019 threat report, one dangerous ransomware called SamSam cost companies $6.5 million ($10K to $50K per ransom).
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It’s official. Ransomware isn’t just one of the most common types of malware, it is the most prevalent malware used in cyberattacks according to the 2018 Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report (DBIR). This report found that of the data breaches involving malware in 2017, 39 percent made use of ransomware, which was twice the amount used the previous year.
Recently, there has been a string of attacks affecting some ransomware victims who pay their ransom in an attempt to regain access to their encrypted data. These ransom payments are being intercepted by a third party, ironcally turning the ransomware attackers into the second victim. As a result, the original ransomware victims are victimized a second time, as they won’t get their data back since the ransomware attackers never receive the ransom money.
