Ransomware Attacks Leave Lasting Damage

ransomware blast radius cyberattack

From securityboulevard.com

Organizations hit by ransomware attacks also report tightened budgets and lingering impacts on productivity, profitability and security posture, suggesting the extensive damage caused in the wake of ransomware attacks has long-lasting effects.

Keeper Security survey of 2,000 U.S.-based workers found that nearly all companies targeted by a ransomware attack paid the ransom, and another 22% did not disclose whether or not they paid, which suggests the real number could be much higher.

The vast majority—87% of impacted companies—said they enacted stricter security protocols after the attack.

More than three-fourths (77% percent of respondents) reported being unable to access systems or networks as a result, with 30% down for a day or less, 26% offline for up to seven days and 27% getting knocked out for more than a week.

As for causes, 42% of ransomware attacks originated from phishing emails, 23% from malicious websites and 21% from compromised passwords.

Oliver Tavakoli, CTO at Vectra, an AI cybersecurity company, explained that ransomware starts out like all cyberattacks—but it differs in that it ends in data exfiltration, data encryption and extortion.

Read more…