The Impact of Ransomware
For vulnerable companies who have their guards down, it is no secret that cybercriminals can and will find a gateway to cause damage. In most modern-day cyberattacks, the culprit is none other than ransomware.
Ransomware is the star of today's cybersecurity show. Major destruction can begin with little action, such as when an employee clicks links in phishing emails and inputs company information. The effects of ransomware on an organization can vary from minor disruptions in service to a full shutdown. Ultimately, the result depends on their level of cyber resilience and incident response planning.
Facts about the impact of ransomware:
- Companies impacted by ransomware lost an average of six working days.
- An estimated 37% of companies experienced downtime that lasted one week or more.
- About 60% of companies that suffer a cyberattack like ransomware go out of business.
To pay or not to pay?
Once hackers gets in to your network they will lock you out and ask for a payment to regain access to your system. But the big question now is - should you pay the ransom?
Paying the ransom may seem like the easiest way to get back to normal operations, and many companies are choosing to go this route. Looking at the bigger picture, paying the ransom is a bad idea due to the following reasons:
- Ransom payments are increasinglyand are unlikely to be covered by cyber insurance.
- Paying the ransom makes no guarantees that stolen data won’t be sold or copied.
- Payment does not ensure that the cybercrime gang won’t leave a backdoor in the systems
- Only 1 out of 3 organizations that paid a ransom got what they were promised.
- It’s illegal in many regions.
Don't let cybercriminals win...
One goal of every cybercriminal is to obtain credentials that will allow them to penetrate systems, steal data, and deploy ransomware. Paul Jackson, CEO, and Cybersecurity Specialist, encourages all businesses to invest in cybersecurity risk assessments, which will give your company a closer look into their vulnerabilities, security gaps, and incoming threats.