Can you say “Marked Safe from Ransomware” today?

The world is experiencing the largest Ransomware event in history, but can you say that you are “Marked Safe from Ransomware” today?

Over the holiday weekend, we have been tracking the largest Ransomware event EVER.  This event impacted over 1,000,000 machines.

It was executed by professional hacker group REvil. They timed the attack perfectly (over a holiday weekend in the US), and executed it with a speed never seen before.

Hackers demand $70 million to end biggest ransomware attack on record – CBS News

It impacted small companies and large. The cleanup costs from an event such as this could prove fatal to some of these companies that were already struggling as the world tries to emerge from the pandemic.

It is estimated that 60% of small businesses fold within 6 months of a Cyber Attack. Think of that for a moment.

In our conversations on CyberSecurity with hundreds of business owners over the last couple of years here are common themes:

1. Businesses do not take security seriously. Common Myths:

  • It hasn’t happened to us before, therefore it won’t happen.
  • We are “too small” to be interesting to hackers.
  • We have “nothing to protect”.

2. Business Leaders often consider it someone else’s job without understanding or clearly defining “who”?

  • IT is doing it. Often IT has never been given a mandate, training, tools, or resources to be successful. Internal IT teams are rarely skilled in CyberSecurity – it is an entirely different discipline, like Accounting and HR, they share common elements, but are not the same.
  • My MSP (Managed Service Provider or “IT guy”) is doing it. Unless specifically contracted, they are not. Outsourced MSP firms often have offered security services, but clients often declined them (usually because of costs).
  • My ISP is doing it. Unless specifically contracted, they are not. They are also the least capable inside the network.

3. There is rarely any external oversight on CyberSecurity. No assessments, no audits, no accountability.

4.  There is an assumption that insurance will cover it.

  • More and more, this is simply not true unless you have specific coverages.

The bad-actors such as REvil have improved their skills at an incredible pace. The velocity of breaches in general are accelerating as well. There is no doubt in our minds this is the first in a series of attacks this year.

Are you prepared?

If you need some assistance or an unbiased opinion, please book some time with us for a complimentary cyber checkup to see if we can steer you in the right direction.

For over 34 years PCS International has been trusted by our clients to offer sound technology advice and Business CyberSecurity Solutions (our sister company) has specialized in CyberSecurity since 2016. We have and will continue to adapt to the changes in the technology world and bring them to you to best serve your business.