Ransomware

Ransomware is an epidemic. And with the average cost per attack to businesses being $133,000 last year, it’s a significant risk to not prepare for it. This cost includes ransom demands, downtime, manpower, device and network costs, and lost opportunities and productivity. Our backup and business continuity partner, Datto, surveyed 1700+ IT professionals who deal with ransomware attacks every day. Here’s what they learned.

  1. An estimated 5% of global small to medium-sized businesses fell victim to ransomware in 2017.
  2. 97% of IT pros report that attacks against businesses are occurring more frequently this year, a trend that will continue over the next 2 years.
  3. 6 in 7 report business clients recently attacked by ransomware.
  4. 6 in 10 reported attacks in the 1st half of 2017 alone.
  5. An unlucky 26% reported multiple attacks against SMBs in a single day.
  6. The most common strain of ransomware: CryptoLocker. But new and aggressive variants pop up every single day.
  7. While small business clients are quick to call their IT pros when victimized by a cyberattack, less than 1 in 3 incidents are reported to the authorities.
  8. What’s behind a successful ransomware attack? Today’s IT professionals blame the overwhelming lack of cybersecurity training across businesses worldwide.
  9. 75% report that an attack has lead to business-threatening downtime.
  10. 57% report critical data and/or hardware loss.

So, what can you do to aid in the battle against the ransomware epidemic? The first step: Education. SysGen offers a comprehensive enhanced security offering that includes twice-yearly corporate education programs to ensure employees are up to speed on current cybersecurity best practices. This ensures you don’t have to worry about arriving to work on Monday morning with the office in a whirlwind of chaos because someone clicked on another malware link that has unleashed a virus company-wide. It also saves you from the possibility of data corruption, extensive company downtime, and paying ransomware demands. Protect yourself today instead of paying exorbitantly for it later.

Find SysGen’s IT support and managed IT services in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, Vernon, and Kelowna. Learn more about SysGen’s cloud offering, cybersecurity services, managed security, and Digital Advisory team by clicking here.