Ransomware up by over 200% in the first half of 2021 – what can an employer do to advise staff?
ProLion, a best-in-class proactive ransomware and data protection solution for ONTAP storage, has today issued five top tips for employers looking to secure their organisations from ransomware attacks as a direct result of insider threats or plain negligence.
Ransomware is on the rise globally targeting industry and organisations with a number of high-profile attacks already this year. It is without doubt creating a number of significant cybersecurity challenges.
Robert Graf, Founder, ProLion, stated: “Ransomware is a type of malware where key files are encrypted by hackers that then renders data inaccessible to the victim. To put it bluntly it is criminal extortion which sees hackers promising to restore systems and data when ransom is paid by the victim.
“But with many employees still working remotely, many organisations are struggling with breaches as a direct result of poor security management. This can and does open the door to an insider threat – either through negligence or malicious intent. As a result, we have developed a Five Point Plan for HR and risk and compliance teams which, if implemented throughout a distributed enterprise, will lead to reduced risk of attack.”
Graf concluded: “Today’s distributed business and IT environment, when seen in conjunction with the inter-connectivity of digital commerce, means an expanded attack surface for bad faith actors. Like the bank robbers of old, cybercriminals go where the money is accessible, and the easier it is the easier for them to reap benefits from extortion.
“It only takes one click by an employee to infect an entire network, spreading from a local computer to Network Attached Storage. That is where our solution sits, detecting and blocking attacks aiming to access proprietary data.
“For the distributed organisation the challenge is to protect and defend the enterprise across a far greater estate. Now is the time for business leaders, risk and compliance experts, IT departments and HR to work in tandem to reduce that exposure and call time on the hackers.