Study: Half of ransomware attacks begin with phishing

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Researchers further disclosed that the cost of ransomware isn’t just the ransom itself, but the follow-up costs of increased and improved security measures from the business held hostage. According to the report most (83%) of businesses surveyed said they performed ‘major tech upgrades’ post-attack, and that nearly three-quarters (71%) said those upgrades also impacted productivity as employees got back up to speed.

“With each new ransomware incident that makes the news, onlooking companies gain a better understanding of just how financially devastating an attack can be, especially once a ransom is paid” said Mark Cravotta, Chief Revenue Officer at Keeper Security. “Yet, given the overwhelming prevalence of these attacks, it’s shocking to see how many employees are left in the dark until it happens to them. Investing in cybersecurity measures like MFA, password management solutions and awareness training might seem like an unnecessary expenditure to companies with tighter budgets, but the costs pale in comparison to the ramifications of being the victim of a ransomware attack.”

Other interesting findings from the report include:

• 64% of those affected by a ransomware attack permanently lost login credentials
• 29% of employees report not being aware of ransomware risks pre-attack
• 49% of those targeted by ransomware paid the ransom
• 77% say ransomware made them unable to access systems/networks

About one-third say a ransomware attack put their business down for at least one day; about one-quarter were down for seven days.

Darren Guccione, CEO and Co-Founder of Keeper Security said, “Unfortunately, the aftermath of a ransomware incident is often when organizations start to prioritize cybersecurity, which, as this survey proves, isn’t a rewarding strategy. Though highly controversial, paying the ransom is extremely common, and many of us can empathize with leadership teams who are doing their best to put out the fire. But the aftereffects of this approach can be detrimental and long lasting.”

More data from the Keeper Security report can be accessed here.

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ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Kristina Knight-1
Kristina Knight, Journalist , BA
Content Writer & Editor
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Kristina Knight is a freelance writer with more than 15 years of experience writing on varied topics. Kristina’s focus for the past 10 years has been the small business, online marketing, and banking sectors, however, she keeps things interesting by writing about her experiences as an adoptive mom, parenting, and education issues. Kristina’s work has appeared with BizReport.com, NBC News, Soaps.com, DisasterNewsNetwork, and many more publications.