Reports: SMBs lack data protection, fraudsters attacking big retailers
According to new Infrascale data one in five small businesses don’t have the proper data protection in place to protect their company or their customers from fraudsters. Digital thieves and scammers have their radar pointed to small businesses and new data out from Infrascale indicates a growing number are targeted SMBs with ransomware. Researchers found that nearly have of small businesses have been targeted in this way and that three in four of them have paid the ransom.
“[It] is surprising how many businesses are unprepared for a ransomware attack. It is shocking that during a time in which the world should be coming together in the fight against COVID-19, criminals are preying on unsuspecting people and organizations for personal – usually financial – gain,” said Russell P. Reeder, CEO, Infrascale. “And, in many cases, these bad actors are actually benefiting. With appropriate strategies using preventative measures like internet security and education, and protection measures like data backup and disaster recovery, you should never have to worry about paying ransomware.”
Other interesting findings from the report include:
• 83% of small businesses say they ‘are prepared’ for a ransomware attack
• 32% say they ‘lack time’ to fully research how to fight ransomware
• 78% of B2B small businesses have paid ransomware ransome, 63% of B2C small businesses have
• Of those who have paid, 43% say they paid between $10,000 and $50,000
More data from the Infrascale report can be found here.
But it isn’t only small businesses who should upgrade their security or pay close attention to their brand security during this crisis.
According to Mimecast, big brands are being impersonated at an alarming rate because of Coronavirus. They’ve found an increase in fraudulent sites using names that are similar to big-box stores including Walmart. These sites are counting on stressed out consumers not noticing minute changes to site names or .com/.org addresses
Other interesting datapoints from Mimecast include:
• 15% of blocked spam for the week of April 1 were related to Coronavirus
• Spike in clicks of unsafe/malicious email links, including links using COVID-19 to fool users
• Spike in fraudsters using video conferencing softward, including Zoom, to try to take over online meeetings
Some examples of site imitation that they have seen include a fraudulent site using the address ‘Walmartone.fyi’, and another imitating Costco using the address ‘costco-online-shopping.com’.
