Since you’re leading a business, that means you already have a healthy attitude toward risk. You understand its importance (and unavoidability), but you also understand that your best bet, in all cases, is to mitigate your risks by focusing on preparation and planning. That also applies in the case of network and computer risk, especially in our current ransomware-filled world.
Luckily, it’s now easier than ever to plan smart to avoid cyberattack, because you have access to critical numbers and statistics you can rely on. Read on to understand how you can keep your business safe from ransomware.
The Data Behind Ransomware Risks
Want the facts right now? You got it.
Datto, a leading global company in business continuity and disaster recovery, has recently released a brand-new report that compiles survey responses from more than 2,400 managed service providers (MSPs), so you can get the insider perspective from the professionals who deal with these issues every day.
Since the report is packed with great information, SWK Network Services is now bringing this report to you.
With a focus on ransomware, the 2018 “State of the Channel Ransomware Report” offers the data you need behind the cyber threat’s:
- Year-over-year trends
- Targets and impact
- Frequency
In addition, the report also includes recommendations you can use to help mitigate your risk and lower the impact of a ransomware attack if the worst-case scenario occurs and you fall prey to ransomware.
What Are the Real Risks of Ransomware?
We’re going to come right out and say it: ransomware is pretty nasty stuff. We’ve seen a few examples… and, from that experience, we can assure you that you don’t want to deal with it or its aftermath.
Some quick facts on ransomware:
- Ransomware is the most prominent malware threat to SMBs and the costs of recovery can be much more than they seem. In fact, the ransom payment is only one of the ways that ransomware attacks steal money from your business because, as the report shows, the cost of business downtime can be 10 times greater than the cost of the ransom requested.
- Despite what some may think, an Apple operating system does not make you immune from these malicious attacks and neither does the cloud. Ransomware infections in both of those environments have increased year over year, because cybercriminals are crafty; they’ll follow businesses onto any platform.
- Over the past 2 years, reported ransomware attacks have continued to increase. However, MSPs say that only about 24% of attacks are reported to authorities. This means that the problem is likely to be even bigger than we can see.
- 92% of MSPs report that ransomware attacks will either continue at their current rate or increase and get even worse.
Luckily, there is a way to protect your business from the effects of ransomware and thereby lower your risk. We’re talking about business continuity.
What Is Business Continuity?
You’ve been reading for a while now and we understand that you probably have to get back to work, so we’ll start with the quick answer: business continuity is the new and improved version of backup and disaster recovery, which significantly reduces the recovery time for businesses that experience a cyberattack or natural disaster. In fact, business continuity services can reduce your recovery time to a mere 5 minutes or, with some business continuity solutions, you can achieve an immediate failover to a replicated, real-time system (i.e. you have essentially no delay after experiencing an attack).
You probably want to know more, so here’s the longer answer.
In the past, a full business backup and restoration from tape or disc typically took days or weeks to accomplish, which caused its own disaster of slow business responsiveness that resulted in lost profits and lost customers. In fact, businesses that were hit with a disaster sometimes didn’t survive the subsequent downtime costs. This is still the case for businesses that don’t use business continuity services.
These days, business runs faster around the clock, and ransomware attacks strike without warning, which means companies need a faster restoration solution that reduces downtime – and that’s exactly what business continuity does. Using a combination of local and replicated cloud backup “snapshots,” business continuity preserves all your user settings and permissions, all your apps and network settings, and all the other details that cause so much downtime.
As the “State of the Channel Ransomware Report” shows, without business continuity, 53% of MSPs state that clients have experienced downtime so lengthy it threatens the life of their business.
Get Prepared with All the Facts
Understanding how to protect your business from ransomware begins by getting an accurate account of the facts surrounding ransomware attacks. Don’t wait to learn this important information from first-hand experience.
Download Datto’s “State of the Channel Ransomware Report” and get a unique look through the knowledgeable perspective of the professionals dealing with these attacks day to day.
