These days, it seems that half of the online business management revolves around cybersecurity, and for good reason. Malware attacks and ransomware threats are expensive, time-consuming, and can even lead to bankruptcy in isolated scenarios.

Indeed, there are several costly ransomware threats to business that enterprise executives may be unaware of. Let’s break down some of these threats in detail so you can grasp the full danger that even a single successful ransomware attack may pose to your company.  

The Ransomware Payment Itself

Naturally, any ransomware attack will include a ransom payment by its very nature. Most ransomware attacks are unreported and many enterprises are advised not to accept any demands. But plenty of firms do so regardless. Some estimates indicate that average ransomware payouts are over $300,000.

Some enterprises may have no choice when paying a ransom fee. If sensitive company data is on the line, they might not have enough time to come up with an alternative solution if they want to prevent sensitive information from leaking to the public.  This could include customers’ credit card numbers or other identifying information.

In this way, ransomware attacks may cost a business money twice: first when the business pays the ransom fee, and another time when the business repairs any damage done by an attack.

Read more in our blog: 4 Dangerous Ransomware Attacks Proven False

Downtime and Disruption

In addition to the cost of the ransom payment, ransomware also typically costs companies thousands of dollars at minimum from disruption and downtime. When a company’s website or database goes down, it impacts its customers, their operations, and more.

In short, it tanks productivity and may have downstream effects for weeks, months, or even years to come. The cost of downtime is sometimes estimated to be much higher than the cost of even the most exorbitant ransom demands.

For example, an international currency exchange named Travelex was attacked by ransomware. The costs of disruption were so great that the company later had to file for bankruptcy.

Downtime to company services or websites costs more than money as well. Many online consumers don’t have any patience for websites that crash. In this way, companies may lose cash that they would otherwise receive as revenue when their customers go to their competitors or stop patronizing their online establishments.  

Data Loss (and Fees)

In this day and age, enterprises that do online or international business must be very careful about their data security. Not only is it important for their operations, but it’s also crucial for the safety and security of their customers.

Data loss can take a heavy financial toll on ransomware attack victims. Some estimates indicate that 90% of ransomware attack victims don’t get all their data back, even if they pay the ransom fee.

If customer data is compromised, it can also lead to legal injunctions, particularly in light of legislation like the GDPR and CCPA. These fees can be quite exorbitant, just like ransom demands themselves.

Even after fees are paid, companies may be forced to undertake additional cybersecurity practices, adjust their procedures and policies, and implement other expensive fixes by legal mandate. All of those requirements can add up quite quickly, especially if a company’s security was subpar beforehand.

All told, the complete cost of data loss and security breaches can’t be fully tallied. In some cases, companies may lose the trust of their customers so much that they have no choice but to go out of business.

Forensics and Recovery

Enterprises must also consider the costs for forensic investigations and recovery when tallying the total cost of a ransomware attack. No company wants to be hit by the same attack twice, which means in-depth investigations are always required.

It often means hiring detailed cyber forensics specialists, leveraging certain types of expensive software, or shutting down company operations for some time while the investigation proceeds. Such adjustments may also cost the company in terms of productivity and customer loyalty, leading to further losses down the road.

Furthermore, recovery efforts, even when disaster recovery or business continuity plans are in place, can still cost hundreds of thousands or millions of dollars. Depending on the quality of forensic equipment and processes used, the investigation alone can cost tens of thousands of dollars. 

Infrastructure Repair and Recovery

Some ransomware attacks incur additional costs in the form of broken or damaged infrastructure, such as decimated servers, irreparable platforms, and more. On top of that, you’ll have to purchase or rent infrastructure to recover after a ransomware attack, costing you more money in the short term.

Furthermore, in the immediate aftermath of a ransomware attack, many companies find that their cybersecurity insurance premiums have skyrocketed. They may choose to purchase additional infrastructure and security measures to prevent the same attack from happening again.

Reputational Losses

All these factors don’t even touch the potential reputational losses an enterprise may face when they are the victim of a ransomware attack. Even a single attack is enough to shatter the public’s perception of a company being safe and secure, especially if the public stores a lot of sensitive financial or personal information on their servers.

International customers, B2B clients, and other involved parties may simply stop doing business with an enterprise if they discover that it was the victim of a preventable ransomware attack. Even if the attack wasn’t preventable or was novel, the reputational losses are often impossible to stem. 

Where Does That Leave Businesses?

Ultimately, no company wants to be the victim of a ransomware attack. That’s why high-quality IT security and managed IT services are more important than ever before.

When it comes to IT security in Long Island, look no further than LI TECH. As experienced data protection specialists, we offer a number of cloud management services, ranging from data protection cloud services to cloud infrastructure services and more.

We follow all the cybersecurity best practices for securing a cloud environment and put the safety and peace of mind of our clients at the forefront of each operation. Contact us today for more information.

Although ransomware has long been a serious concern for business owners all over the world, the COVID-19 pandemic has created new opportunities for this threat to flourish, and the attack vector is likely to become even more dangerous in the coming years. We discuss the need for additional backup to tackle ransomware.

According to a report, 304 million ransomware attacks occurred globally in 2020, with ransomware affecting over 65% of global businesses. Experts suggest that this is only the tip of the iceberg. Unfortunately, even though SMBs continue to be disproportionately affected by these nefarious attacks, reporting and notifications rarely make the news.

When it comes to cybersecurity and ransomware, the biggest mistake SMBs make is assuming hackers only target large enterprises. This is why many SMBs still rely on simple backups and don’t have a solid ransomware backup strategy in place. 

The truth is that hackers are counting on smaller businesses to have fewer security measures in place, making it easier for them to get into your systems. While it’s good to have a data backup, it’s high time you take its security a step further.

4 Dangerous Ransomware Myths Proven False

The 3-2-1 Backup Strategy for Your Business

This is an industry best practice for reducing the risk of losing data in the event of a breach. The 3-2-1 strategy involves having at least three copies of your data, two on-site but on different mediums/devices, and one off-site. Let’s examine each of the three elements and the issues they address:

• Three copies of data

Having at least two additional copies of your data, in addition to your original data, is ideal. This ensures that, in the event of a disaster, you will always have additional copies. The first backup copy of data is usually kept in the same physical location as the original, if not the same physical server.

• Two different mediums

Storing additional copies of your valuable data on the same server/location won’t be helpful in the event of a breach. Keep two copies of your data on different types of storage mediums such as internal hard drives, and removable storage like an external hard drive or a USB drive. If this isn’t practical for your business, keep copies on two internal hard disks in separate storage locations.

• One off-site copy

Keep one copy of your data off-site, far from the rest. This helps safeguard against worst-case scenarios.

In addition to the 3-2-1 backup strategy, consider applying the concept of layered security to keep your data and backup copies secure.

Importance of Layered Security in Cyber Defense

Most SMBs have an antivirus or firewall installed, but this is usually insufficient to combat today’s sophisticated threat landscape, necessitating the application of a layered security approach. 

Because no security technology or measure is flawless or guaranteed, layered security assumes that attackers will infiltrate different layers of an organization’s defenses or have already done so. The goal of this approach is to provide multiple security measures so that if an attack gets past one security tool, there are others in place to help identify and stop the attack before your data is stolen.

The THREE ELEMENTS of layered security are: 

• Prevention 

Security policies, controls, and processes should all be devised and implemented during the PREVENTION phase.

• Detection 

The goal of DETECTION is to discover and notify a compromise as soon as possible.

• Response

A quick RESPONSE is crucial for the detection phase to be meaningful.

Layered security is divided into seven layers by security experts. Hackers seeking to get into a system must break through each layer to gain access. If you want to keep cybercriminals out of your systems, concentrate on improving these seven layers:

1. Information security policies

Implement security policies that restrict unauthorized access because the security and well-being of IT resources are dependent on them. This will help you raise information security awareness inside your organization and demonstrate to your clientele that you’re serious about securing their data.

2. Physical security

Physical security measures, such as fences and cameras, are critical to prevent unwanted intruders from breaking in. It also helps monitor employees with access to sensitive systems.

3. Network security

All it takes is for hackers to exploit a single vulnerability to get access to a company’s network. They can easily break into computers and servers after they’ve gained access to your network. Therefore, establishing effective network security measures is essential.

4. Vulnerability scanning

Vulnerabilities that occur because of factors such as inadequate patch management and misconfigurations open the door for cybercriminals. However, vulnerability scans help detect these missed patches and improper configurations.

5. Strong identity and access management (IAM)

Because of technological advancements, acquiring passwords and hacking into networks is easier than ever. IAM restricts access to critical data and applications to certain workers, making unauthorized access hard.

6. Proactive protection and reactive backup + recovery

Proactive protection detects and fixes security risks before they lead to a full-blown breach. The goal of reactive backup and recovery is to recover quickly after an attack.

7. Continual monitoring and testing

Failure to regularly monitor and test your backup and disaster recovery strategy is a major oversight and can result in a breach.

While it’s your responsibility to make sure your business doesn’t get sucked into the quicksand of data loss, it’s easy to become overwhelmed if you’re attempting to figure out everything on your own. Working with data protection backup providers at LI Tech gives you the advantage of having experts on your side. We’ll make sure your backup and security postures are capable of tackling ransomware threats. Li Tech Solutions offers clients in Long Island and Brooklyn the mission-critical services every business needs to succeed.  Reach out today to schedule a consultation.