Ransomware is a type of virus that infiltrates your computer and then locks up all your data. It does this by encrypting your files and making them inaccessible. Then, the hacker demands money to re-access these files. Unfortunately, this type of cyber-attack is on the rise. Ransomware damages will exceed $20 billion by the end of 2021, 57 times more than the losses in 2015. Every 11 seconds on average, a company is attacked with ransomware.
So, what should you do if you find yourself in this situation? Should you pay the ransom fee or not? Unfortunately, payment does not guarantee that the hackers will give back the password, which could worsen the problem. Thankfully, some programs secure your data in advance, allowing you to quickly recover without paying the hackers. This article will discuss the dangers of ransomware and what you can do right now to protect yourself and your business from the damages caused by ransomware attacks.
The Dangers of Ransomware
Ransomware can infect your computer through spam emails, drive-by downloads, or compromised websites. It encrypts your files and locks you out of them until you pay a ransom. Cyberattacks such as data breaches are a risk to any company. According to a 2020 study by Thales Group, 49% of companies had experienced a data breach at some point in 2019. However, ransomware is a particularly fast-growing cyber threat that significantly impacts a company in a negative way.
Here are a few dangers of ransomware:
Data Loss
Ransomware targets data and networks. Once encrypted, if you don’t have protections in place, then you are at the mercy of the hacker. The data may be made public, sold on the Dark Web, or kept for future assaults. When ransomware strikes, you never know what will happen to your data, but you can always assume it won’t be good for your company. Unfortunately, 43% of companies that suffer significant data loss never reopen, and 51% close within two years.
Downtime
Minimal interruptions in day-to-day business activities are essential for keeping a company operating efficiently. Ransomware is bad for the company in and of itself, but the downtime that comes with it does the most damage. According to Coveware, ransomware assaults have a 21-day average downtime. Without access to essential data, a business cannot operate, and employees won’t be able to work, resulting in unsatisfied customers and lost sales.
Reputation Harm
Businesses that appear not to have their cybersecurity under control are at risk of losing customers. Unfortunately, there is no way to hide ransomware; it is designed to draw attention so that victims will notice and pay up. Trying to regain lost consumer confidence may be difficult and time-consuming. Depending on how the ransomware assault happened, your company may suffer brand harm.
Lost Ransom Money
In 2018, 39% of ransomware victims paid ransom demands, and that figure rose to 45% in 2019 and around 58% in 2020. Paying the fee is usually a bad idea for several reasons. First, the costs are frequently excessive; often customized to the targeted company, demands may approach millions. It hurts your bottom line. Second, paying the ransomware does not ensure the hackers will restore your data. If they do restore it, there’s a possibility that it will be corrupted. According to a 2021 study, 46% of businesses got access to their data after paying the hackers, but most of it was corrupted.
Financial Loss
All the aforementioned dangers of ransomware lead to financial loss. Often, companies are unable to recover from the cost of ransomware. According to National Archives and Records Administration in Washington, 93% of companies whose data centers were lost for ten or more days filed bankruptcy within one year of the incident. Additionally, 40% to 60% of small businesses never reopen after an incident resulting in data loss.
Prepare in Advance to Protect Your Business from Ransomware
There are several ways to protect your company from the dangers of ransomware, ranging from training employees to not fall victim to cyberattacks to making sure your data is backed up. However, it’s always possible that cyber thief will find their way into your system or that your backup data will be encrypted by hackers too.
The best option is to prepare in advance for cyber-attacks. Panoply IT Solutions provides a backup, disaster recovery, and continuity solution that backups the client’s whole server environment as an image locally and in the cloud. If attacked, the company will not be forced to pay a ransom. Panoply’s solution will enable the customer to continue working on a server installed locally or in a cloud environment while the servers are rebuilt.
Contact Panoply IT Solutions today to secure your data in advance. So even in the face of unprecedented disasters and cyberattacks, your company never stops working.