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If you Google ransomware, the cyber attack in which hackers commandeer a company’s data until a ransom is paid, the search will show a sobering reality: Malware is the most prominent threat to business cybersecurity today. Most recently, GoldenEye.
GoldenEye Makes Headline News
Thousands of computers around the world are being locked up by a fast-spreading ransomware. Big business are getting hit. An entire hospital is shut out of its system. Suddenly, it’s everywhere: the next big ransomware attack. GoldenEye, a new strain of the Petya ransomware, took the world by storm on Tuesday morning (June 27, 2017) after starting from a cyberattack in Kiev, Ukraine. From there, it spread to the country’s electrical grid, airport, and government offices. At the Chernobyl nuclear disaster site, workers had to monitor radiation manually because of the attack. Then it started to go global, according to CNET and multiple global news outlets. Russia’s largest oil production company, Rosneft, suffered a cyberattack. AP Moller Maersk Group, the largest shipping company in the world, had to shut down several of its systems to prevent the attack from spreading. Merck, based in Kenilworth, New Jersey, and one of the largest pharmaceutical companies in the world, also suffered a massive hack.
The list of affected victims goes on, just like it did for WannaCry when the ransomware hit in May and locked up more than 200,000 computers. Now GoldenEye has mercilessly reared its ugly head.
Companies and governments around the world on Wednesday morning (June 28, 2017) counted the cost of the software epidemic that disrupted ports, hospitals, and banks. Ukraine, which was hardest hit and where the attack likely originated, reported it had secured critical state assets — though everyday life remained affected, with cash machines out of order.
Trending Now: Ransomware Alert: Your Business at Risk
According to Datto, this latest worldwide outbreak of ransomware works just like the WannaCry epidemic from early May. Unpatched versions of Windows are open to the ETERNALBLUE exploit, which then delivers a payload like the Petya malware from last year. This latest variant is called…NotPetya, interestingly. Petya and its variants lock up the Master File Table (MFT) of your computer, making it unable to boot unless you pay a ransom. The instructions are posted as a BIOS-like screen and shows you how to pay. Don’t do it. If you do, you will paint a red bullseye on your back to cyber criminals, just like the South Korean firms that shelled out roughly $1 million in Bitcoin.
As data is the nucleus of today’s businesses, ransomware has the potential to take out even the most stable businesses in a matter of minutes.
While a growing number of companies are leveraging the recommended solutions for protection, such as backup and disaster recovery technologies and anti-virus software, many are not. The latter group includes a large number of small businesses who typically operate without a dedicated in-house IT expert and from antiquated systems.These businesses rely just as heavily on data as bigger organizations, yet they often operate without the proper data protections in place to defend against, prepare for, and recover from ransomware.
Datto surveyed 1,100 MSPs about ransomware and cybersecurity and published the key findings in a report. The goal of the report was clear – provide a perspective on this growing epidemic and highlight the current prevalence of the malware, its behavior, its target, and its impact within the global small business community. Four interesting perspectives were observed in the Datto findings.
- According to 97% of IT service providers, ransomware attacks on small businesses are becoming more frequent, a trend that will continue over the next two years.
- There is a large disconnect between IT service providers and their small business customers when it comes to feelings on the ransomware threat. The majority of former are “highly concerned” while only 34 percent of end users feel the same, likely due to lack of awareness.
- More than 91 percent report clients victimized by ransomware, 40 percent of whom have experienced 6 or more attacks in the last year.
- Around 31 percent of IT service providers have experienced multiple ransomware incidents in a single day.
Unfortunately, ransomware attacks have become a common, growing occurrence for small businesses around the world. According to IT service providers, the majority of end users aren’t as concerned as they should be, making them even more vulnerable to an infection. Today’s leading security solutions are no match for today’s ransomware, including anti-virus software and email filters. The most effective means for business protection from ransomware is a backup and disaster recovery (BDR) solution. Malicious emails coupled with a general lack of employee cybersecurity training is the leading cause of a successful ransomware attack.
Trending: Why Do You Need Managed IT Services?
Today’s businesses must provide regular cybersecurity training to ensure all employees are able to spot and avoid a potential phishing scam in their inbox, a leading entrance point for the malware. Standard preventative measures, such as anti-virus software, SPAM filters, and regularly updating systems should be taken, but there is no sure fire way of preventing ransomware. Instead, businesses should focus on how to maintain operations despite a ransomware attack. There is only one way to do this: with a solid, fast and reliable backup and recovery solution.
CompuData, a Datto Business Partner, can provide best practices and solutions for businesses looking to ensure total data protection, business continuity and disaster recovery.
Contact CompuData today to protect your business!
