UK’s National Cyber Security Centre and the National Crime Agency on a joint note have lined out the top 3 myths about ransomware which are prevailing in the cyber space world. And the debunked myths are as follows-
Myth 1- Backup of data is enough to recoup all your stolen data-
First CIO’s need to figure out the fact that not all backups are equal, as there are backup systems out there that aren’t able to do so as promised. Secondly, even if the organization which had a data backup avoided payment of ransom, they need to know the fact that cyber criminals were still able to get into their systems and access their data. What if they chose to replace the data…?
And according to a new European Union General Data Protection law which will come into effect in 2018, companies need to inform related authorities and sometimes customers of a data breach within 72 hours of its discovery.
Myth 2- Only large companies are preferred by cyber criminals
This is completely false, as the cyberspace is filled with crooks who can target any individual or company irrespective of the size and business vertical there are operating. In fact, a research carried out by IDC suggests that cyber criminals view SMBs as most lucrative targets as they are resource limited and may not have a ransomware protection system in place. What’s disappointing is that over 60% of SMBs operating in the world are treating this myth as a fact and so are avoiding the deployment of ransomware protection schemes in their data center environments. A research conducted by Backblaze showed that only 16% of SMBs test their backups on a regular note.
Myth 3- If you have a firewall, then your data is 100% safe from ransomware attacks
The fact is that ransomware can hit a database from a variety of avenues and not all of these are covered by a firewall. Remember, cybercriminals are more sophisticated than you think and know the basic fact that firewalls will prevent threats in cyberspace to a certain level. What if they launch a phishing attack which goes undetected by the firewall…?
Thus, the threat landscape is evolving so quickly, that sophisticated attacks such as zero-day attacks will surely come in your way. Hence, it is too easy for malicious actors to trespass on your network, especially when you are only deploying the basics related to cyber security.
So, businesses which value their reputation and assets owe it to themselves to remember to not believe the myths and instead go with a proactive approach of “prevention is always better than cure”.
