How cloud-based file systems can protect your business from ransomware
Ransomware has rapidly become the number-one cyber threat, with attacks becoming more numerous and aggressive -- a trend that’s not likely to change anytime soon. According to a report from SonicWall, during the first half of this year, ransomware attacks in Europe climbed an astonishing 234 percent compared to 2020, while U.S. incidents soared by 185 percent. Worldwide attacks weren’t far behind, up 151 percent from the same period the year before. The attackers are equal-opportunity criminals, striking organizations of all types and sizes nearly every week.
There are several reasons for the steep and steady increase. The surge in remote workers using poorly protected home systems and networks has created many more opportunities for hackers. At the same time, the growing use of cryptocurrencies has made it easier to extort payment. Emboldened by these trends, cybercriminals are becoming more aggressive, threatening to publish sensitive data if targets refuse to fork over the ransom. They’re also demanding more money; research from Unit 42 puts the average ransom payment in 2021 at almost double the prior year.
Cyber insurance ransomware claims decline but costs remain high
Research from commercial insurance provider Corvus reveals that the cost of ransomware to businesses remains high.
Ransomware claims that resulted in payments to fraudsters are down though, mostly due to improved backup processes and greater preparedness. In the third quarter of 2020, 44 percent of ransomware claims involved a successful payment, but that decreased to just 12 percent by Q3 of this year.
How to get your business ransomware ready [Q&A]
Taking proactive measures like updating and patching systems promptly and undertaking penetration testing improves the ability to withstand a targeted attack.
But when security teams are flooded with non-critical alerts 'vulnerability fatigue' can set in. We spoke to Amitai Ratzon, CEO of penetration testing specialist Pentera, to find out how enterprises can avoid this and improve their ransomware readiness.
80 percent of CISOs will consider paying a ransom to recover data
A new survey of more than 250 CISO reveals that more than half have been hit by ransomware in the past year, with 69 percent saying it is likely they'll be successfully attacked at least once in the next year.
Those who were successfully hit by ransomware are more inclined to pay up, with 65 percent actually doing so. However, full recovery of data occurred only 55 percent of the time. When asked about willingness to pay, 13 percent say they definitely would, but only 20 percent say they definitely wouldn’t.
Industry leaders comment on Cybersecurity Awareness Month
Most things have a day or a week or a month nowadays, and as you're reading a tech news site it probably hasn't escaped your attention that October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month.
But just in case you missed it in all of the Windows 11 excitement, here's a round up of what some leading industry figures have to say on cybersecurity, and why we need to be aware of it.
Majority of AWS accounts are vulnerable to ransomware
As more data moves to the cloud, platforms like AWS are becoming an increasingly attractive target for ransomware operators.
A new study by cloud infrastructure company Ermetic finds that 70 percent of environments studied had machines that were publicly exposed to the internet and were linked to identities whose permissions could be exploited to allow the machines to perform ransomware.
Qualys offers free ransomware risk assessment
Ransomware continues to be a major issue, with the FBI recently reporting a 62 percent year-on-year increase for the period ending July 31.
Unpatched vulnerabilities, device misconfigurations, internet-facing assets and unauthorized software rank consistently among the top attack vectors, but how can businesses track them down?
High-profile attacks have sharpened organizations' focus on software security
High-profile ransomware and software supply chain disruptions are driving increased attention on software security, according to the latest Building Security In Maturity Model (BSIMM) report from Synopsys.
The BSIMM12 data indicates a 61 percent increase in software security groups' identification and management of open source over the past two years, almost certainly due to the popularity of open source components in modern software and the rise of attacks using open source projects as vectors.
Ransomware dominates attacks and new malware targets Unix systems
Ransomware now accounts for 69 percent of all attacks involving malware, according to the latest threatscape report from Positive Technologies.
The researchers have also identified a growing pattern of new malware specifically designed to penetrate Unix systems.
First half DDoS attacks up 11 percent over last year
In the first half of 2021, cybercriminals launched approximately 5.4 million DDoS attacks, representing an 11 percent increase over the same period in 2020.
The latest threat intelligence report from NETSCOUT shows that in the first half of the year cybercriminals weaponized and exploited seven new reflection/amplification DDoS attack vectors putting organizations at greater risk.
Second quarter of 2021 sees huge spike in ransomware
The latest threat report from Nuspire shows that the second quarter of 2021 saw a massive 55,239 percent increase in ransomware activity during the second and third weeks.
This took place just prior to the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack conducted by the DarkSide ransomware group. The reason for the increase is not known, however, and it may not be related to the attack.
The threat of ransomware through Active Directory [Q&A]
Ransomware has hit the headlines in recent months with attacks on infrastructure and supply chains closing down operations. But ransomware has the potential to be even more devastating if it’s spread via Active Directory, as demonstrated by the SolarWinds attack.
We talked to Derek Melber, chief technology and security strategist of Tenable to find out more about AD attacks and how to combat them.
Protecting Kubernetes from ransomware [Q&A]
Many organizations have been quick to adopt containerization and particularly Kubernetes. But while there are advantages in scale and flexibility, it also raises issues around cloud-native data protection practices.
So how can businesses adopt the technology but still protect their information? We spoke to Gaurav Rishi, VP product, at Kubernetes backup specialist Kasten by Veeam to find out.
Ransomware attacks are now the second most commonly reported security incident
Analysis by CybSafe of incidents reported to the UK's Information Commissioner's Office (ICO) shows that ransomware attacks made up 22 percent of all reported cyber security incidents in the first half of 2021. This is up from 11 percent in the first half of 2020
Phishing still leads, accounting for 40 percent of all cybersecurity cases reported to the ICO, slightly down from 44 percent the year before, but ransomware has now edged into second place.
Confidential data leaked online following Gigabyte attack
Earlier this month Taiwanese hardware maker Gigabyte confirmed that it was under ransomware attack from a hacker group calling itself RansomEXX.
Now researchers at CyberNews have discovered that confidential data apparently belonging to Gigabyte has been leaked on a hacker forum.
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