Clicking on those links, downloading those files, and entering your details on those suspicious sites can result in not just your personal data being stolen, but sensitive data from your company can also be affected.

How is that possible? Because cybercriminals use those phishing messages to trick their targets into installing ransomware on their personal or company devices.

What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of malware (malicious software) that is designed to lock systems, files, or applications, preventing its user from accessing them. To regain access and prevent sensitive data from being leaked to the internet, users will have to pay a specific amount of ‘ransom’. Cybercriminals who use ransomware to attack their targets usually accept payments through wire transfers, credit card payments, or cryptocurrency.

However, even though ransomware itself has been around since 1989, the shift in working patterns ever since the COVID-19 pandemic has contributed to why ransomware attacks have been on the rise since 2020, as the Working From Home (WFH) policy has made it harder for companies to keep track of their corporate and employee devices, networks, and systems. This also explains why we have been getting lots of phishing messages lately.

Research  also found that 3.4 billion phishing e-mails are sent daily. Data from Statista also revealed that 2 out of 3 ransomware attacks are being carried out through phishing e-mails, and other sources of ransomware attacks include malicious file downloads and/or online advertising that tricks people into getting infected by malware, or malvertising.

Nowadays, even people who don’t have the specific skills or resources needed to launch a ransomware attack can easily attack with the availability of Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) on the dark web. With RaaS, ransomware developers can sell ransomware variants to all kinds of buyers, making ransomware an even more urgent problem in society.

Ransomware Statistics and Trends

In 2020, the US FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center (IC3) reported that based on the cases reported to them, approximately $30 billion is the total amount of combined losses due to ransomware attacks. The 2022 Data Protection Trends Report by Veeam also found that out of the surveyed individuals and businesses, only 24% were not attacked by ransomware — or they were unaware of an attack, and only 16% were attacked once in 2021, while 60% were attacked twice or more.

Another factor that contributes to the rise of ransomware, in addition to the shifting working patterns, is the lack of proper cyber security training that companies give to their employees. Research by Statista has found that in 33% of ransomware infection cases, the factor that contributed to the attack was the lack of training that the employees receive.

Recent Ransomware Cases

Over the past 2 years, there have been a lot of cases where giant companies get infected by ransomware. These are some of the notable cases:

Nvidia

Nvidia, a manufacturer of Graphics Processing Units (GPUs), recently got their data stolen by ransomware group Lapsus$ on February 2022. The group claimed that they had stolen around 1TB of Nvidia’s sensitive data. Nvidia has also confirmed that it has been hacked and that the hacker has leaked employee credentials and other information on the internet. Have I Been Pwned (HIBP), a data leak monitoring website reported that 71,000 Nvidia employees’ credentials and passwords of their windows accounts have been stolen and shared on hacking forums.

University of California, San Fransisco

The University of California, San Fransisco’s School of Medicine’s IT environment got attacked by The Netwalker Ransomware operators in June 2020. The attackers obtained some of the university’s data and also made some of the School of Medicine servers inaccessible through malware that they launched. The university has confirmed that it paid approximately $1.14 million, to the attackers to unlock the encrypted data and get their data back.

Colonial Pipeline

Colonial Pipeline, a pipeline operator in the US, experienced an attack on May 2021. The ransomware program that attacked the company was created by DarkSide. The hackers gained access to the company’s shared internal drive, and the company has confirmed that it had paid the $5 million ransom to get the pipeline back up and running. The attack was caused by a breached employee password found on the dark web that was not protected by a Multi-Factor Authentication and not caused by a direct attack on the company’s systems.

Quanta

Quanta, Macbook’s supplier, was attacked on April 2021 by ransomware group REvil. The attacker claimed to have stolen the blueprints for Apple’s latest products at that time. REvil demanded $50 million ransom fee from both Quanta and Apple.

Accenture

Accenture, a global consulting firm, also became a victim of an attack carried out by ransomware group LockBit in August 2021. The group demanded $50 million for 6 TB of data from the company. According to VX Underground, which has a collection of malware source codes on the internet, stated that the attacker has released more than 2,000 files from Accenture to the dark web for some time. The files include case studies and presentations.

How You Can Protect Yourself from Ransomware?

There are several things you can do to protect yourself from ransomware, these are some of them:

Regular backups

We learned that ransomware attacks cause companies to lose access to their systems and data, so regularly backing up your data can help you ensure business continuity as you can always still restore your data. We recommend you invest in reliable backup software instead of relying on manual backups. Veeam is a backup software that can help you by providing 100% ransomware-proof backups, and we can help to deploy Veeam for your enterprise.

Access control

It’s important to only give users access to the data that they need for their work so that monitoring can be done easier. We also recommend you always require Multi-Factor Authentication for users who want to access the company’s systems or data, to prevent unwanted parties from gaining access.

Employee training

We have learned from Colonial Pipeline’s case that ransomware attacks can be carried out as a result of an employee’s mistake or lack of security awareness. Companies can prevent this by regularly providing security training for their employees, and why is it important to always connect to the company’s VPN, regularly check for software updates, use Multi-Factor Authentication, and beware of phishing messages.

Endpoint protection and monitoring

Protecting and monitoring all your organization’s endpoints is very important in preventing ransomware, but relying on manpower or having traditional Antivirus software may not be enough for this. We recommend you invest in endpoint protection software that can automatically detect and respond to threats before they infiltrate your corporate systems and networks. SentinelOne is an autonomous endpoint protection software that we offer and utilize here in Wowrack, and we can help you deploy it for your enterprise as well.

Read More: 3 IT Strategies to Combat Ransomware 

How Wowrack Can Help

Ransomware is a very urgent and crucial issue these days. Cybercriminals don’t only target big corporations for their next ransomware attack. They can also attack end-users and/or small and medium-sized companies.

However, protecting yourself and your company against ransomware doesn’t have to be a complicated process. Your data security matters and we want to help prepare you so your business can continue to move forward in this era where cybersecurity is a top priority for everyone.

Wowrack Security Operation can help you prevent data loss and data breaches from ransomware by regularly monitoring your systems and networks for any compromised user. Wowrack Managed Services can also help you deploy Veeam, a reliable backup software that can help you to recover all data quickly.

As mentioned previously, we also believe that protecting all your endpoints is important, and we can help you deploy SentinelOne for that. Moreover, with the growth of fake websites, we also think it is important for you and your employees to have a tool that can prevent you from clicking on suspicious links, and we can help you deploy Cisco Umbrella for that.

Ready to protect your business from Ransomware? Schedule a consultation with us now and let us know how we can help you.

The post What is Ransomware and How to Deal with It appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

To begin with, we can agree that “the good, the bad, and the ugly” are growing even faster in this digital era. Specifically, cybersecurity and cyberthreats. For instance, during this pandemic alone, FBI has reported a 300% increase of cybercrimes.

Accordingly, it’s true that cybersecurity tools have been evolving even quicker than we’ve ever witnessed before. However, the rising question is, if such tools are getting more sophisticated, how do cyberattacks keep on rapidly growing in numbers each day?

Sometimes, the problem does not lie within the tools. What most people don’t realize is that it happens due to lack of proper workflows, processes and experienced workers who understand remediation. In other words, it is an operational issue and operational issues require operational solutions.

That’s why you need Security-Operation-Center-as-a-Service.

What is Security Operation Center?

Security Operation Center (SOC) is a unit consisting of cybersecurity specialist and professionals that deal with high-quality IT security operations. On everyday basis, not only SOC monitors and manages all cybersecurity tools, but also responsible in conducting IT security tasks appropriately.

SOC works as the first line defense in an infrastructure to detect and prevent any cyber incident from happening. Besides that, SOC team will analyze, respond, report, and come up with solution on how to prevent or handle cyberattacks.

Why do we need Security Operation Center?

Company with SOC will more likely be able to proactively fight cyberthreats even before the company’s higher-ups know about the issue. For instance, here are several benefits that you can get for having SOC.

Maximum prevention with minimum cost

By continuously monitoring and analyzing the IT-related activities, the SOC team becomes greatly effective in preventing and responding incoming cyberattacks. This way, it will significantly reduce the risk of having financial loss caused by cyberattack with affordable recurring costs. Looking from a financial standpoint, it is more cost-friendly rather than having to invest a huge capital in building your very own team from the scratch.

Improved trust from employee and client

SOC teams offer a real-time and high data protection against any potential cyberattack. Therefore, by having them in your company, it will indubitably increase your company’s credibility to gain trust from your clients, business partners, and employees.

Enhanced Collaboration

SOC team is a group of IT security experts. They will continuously monitor your IT tools and ensure their upmost performance. Especially, during this pandemic, where most of people are working remotely, having a secure IT infrastructure will be an advantage. So, every department in your company will be able to collaborate without having any restless anxiety about any possible cyberattacks.

How Wowrack can help?

Wowrack’s value is to give a maximum support for our clients. Thus, we keep on providing the necessary services for our clients, so they can develop their business without having to worry about their IT needs.

Because of that, we are happy to announce that we will provide more cybersecurity services, including SOC. We are ready at your disposal.

To help us understand your IT needs better, let’s schedule a free consultation with our team, so we can figure out what your actual needs are and how we can help you.

The post Security Operations: The Solution for Modern Cybersecurity Needs appeared first on Wowrack Blog.

Unfortunately, providing a secure platform for your users that’s also efficient AND is priced within a reasonable budget can be a daunting task. But, what if you could meet your network needs without sacrificing your security? What if it didn’t have to cost you anything extra?

If you go with the right managed service provider, you can do just that and much, much more.

The Need for Regulatory Compliance

One great thing a managed service provider does is that they constantly keep tabs on your network. Whether they are designing a specific infrastructure for you, helping with backups, or they’re simply on call in case you have a hold up, they help make running a business a little more manageable.

But, really, a managed service provider’s job should go way beyond that. In addition to providing you with a managed service, they should also be monitoring your network’s security on a consistent basis. They should also know what your company’s security needs are and make sure that whatever compliance laws you’re expected to follow are being met.

Be Audit-Ready

These days, regulators and auditors have higher expectations for security. They won’t just be coming to ask you whether or not you’ve had an assessment or that you’re compliant. They want solid proof. They want to know exactly what you’re doing to protect yourself against internal and external threats. They want to know that you’re taking any threats seriously and constantly updating your network to keep those threats at a distance.

But, that’s a lot to worry about, huh?

Luckily, a competent and dedicated managed service provider knows what regulators and auditors are expecting from your company, depending on what industry you’re in. When your managed service provider cares as much about your security as building your network infrastructure or getting you on the cloud as quickly as possible, you’ll have so much less to worry about. More importantly, you’ll be ready when those auditors come.

Wowrack provides great managed service options that incorporate the maximum security standards. Whether you need to be HIPAA Compliant or you want to be protected against DDoS attacks, we’ve got you covered. Contact us today to learn more.

Overall Security

Let’s be honest. Being prepared for those auditors is necessary if you want to avoid fines and other costs that could take a big toll on your business. It’s probably one of the biggest reasons companies decide to invest anything at all in their security in the first place.

That being said, don’t forget that “security” has a lot of different meanings. For one, it means protecting your business against hackers that could potentially steal sensitive information of both you and your customers.

But, it also means securing your data and backing up your site; the site you’ve worked so hard on and spent so much money on. The data that you’ve collected over a number of years since you’ve been a business.

Part of a managed service provider’s job is helping you protect your customers’ data, yes, but also helping you to protect your own. A good provider will make sure your data is constantly being backed-up and encrypting your data so nothing leaks through to anyone who shouldn’t be looking. And, that you’ll never have to worry about starting over from scratch if for some reason your data gets wiped.

When you go with the right managed service provider, you can easily kill two birds with one stone. Security doesn’t have to be managed separately from your network that’s already being managed. Doesn’t it make sense to have both things taken care of simultaneously? We think so.

The post Kill Two Birds: Security as Part of Your Managed Internet Service appeared first on Wowrack Blog.