The year 2017 was a whirlwind year with respect to ransomware attacks, as these attacks surged in organizations, especially those holding critical information.
Talking about ransomware, it simply starts with opening a link in a harmless looking e-mail, followed by the PCs running at crawling speeds. To make things worse, a message pops up: “All your files and the hard drive have been locked. Pay us within 24 hours or all your files will be deleted.” Then, a bright red clock begins the countdown. In such a situation, no antivirus will save the business machine. Organizations have no choice but to pay the fee or lose everything.
There is no escape from Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), especially for businesses, at a time when the RaaS platforms are growing in the dark web at a rapid speed. Let’s support this sentence with some relevant statistics from past years:
- Every 40 seconds, an organizationis hit by a ransomware
- Ransomware attacks grew 167 times, from 4 million in 2015 to 638 million in 2016- SonicWall Threat Report
- Biggestattack of 2017 was theWannaCry ransomware attackwhich impacted over 230,000 systems across 150 countries, demanding over $300 in Bitcoin to unlock victim files
Is Your Business Ransomware-proof? If Not, Don’t Fret!
If somebody told you a few years ago that executives would be paying malware distributors, you would not have believed it. However, that’s exactly what is happening today as businesses big and small have all fallen prey to this growing type of cyberattack. Beyond the staggering volume of the attacks, there is the huge sums of money that organizations must pay to get their files decrypted. According to the SonicWall report, around $209 million in ransoms were paid in the first quarter of 2016 alone.
With the increasing frequency of cyberattacks, businesses cannot afford to be complacent about their cybersecurity and online defenses. Their ability to prevent data breaches will be determined by the accuracy and speed of response. Investing in an effective preventive measure sounds like a savior!
So, businesses can turn to IT security service providers, also known as managed security service providers (MSSPs), who can ensure the accuracy and speed of security management and provide a strong line of defense against emerging threats.
How Can IT Security Service Providers Help?
Dynamic IT security service providers help ease the pressure related to information security concerns such as targeted malware and customer data theft.The security services may be conducted in-house or outsourced to a service provider who oversees the organization’s network and information system security. The functions of a managed security service include:
- Round-the-clock monitoring of security detection systems and firewalls
- Carrying out security assessments and security audits
- Monitoring security gateways for web and e-mail traffic
- Managingvulnerability scanning of networks, servers, databases,andapplications
- Responding to emergencies
- Overseeing security upgrades
Currently, there are a number of vendors of dynamic IT security services to help guide the procedures and divert the burden of performing the chores manually.
Benefitsof Hiring a MSSP:
Services for all Organizations Big and Small!
The IT security service is channelized as a packaged solution bundle, which is coupled with expert management and automated tools to help remove the day-to-day complexities of compliance and data protection. While the providers manage the security services, organizations can operationalize their expenses, simplify their programs, and keep their team focused on business priorities.
For large organizations that already have advanced security infrastructure, IT security providers can help evolve processes, elevate data protection strategies, and even advance the way to manage threats. So, with deep security expertise and unmatched threat intelligence, these providers help businesses design programs that support their specific needs while giving them complete visibility and control.
Customize Security Your Way!
We know that all businesses differ in their own ways and that’s why the IT security services are designed for all kinds of flexible needs of the business. The providers can help install, configure, and tune the solution for businesses to drive it or can completely manage the program for them.
Minimum Intrusion in Business Activities!
The ability of security providers to manage security processes offsite allows businesses to conduct operations as usual with minimal intrusion due to security initiatives. At the same time, the security interface maintains a constant line of communication and seamless reporting to the business. They ensure that IT is always upto date with respect to audits, security issues, and maintenance.
Reasons to Go for A Managed Security Service:
- Cyberattacks are evolving every day, leading to one new threat after another. Without proper security resources, keeping up with evolving threats, addressing them, and recovering from them can consume substantial resources
- Reputed security service providers have operations across the globe.They have a distinct advantage over enterprises with a core business function unrelated to security and technology
- Such MSSPs specialize in early threat detection and protection, allowing businesses to focus on core business activities while leaving security concerns to the experts
Conclusion:
A few more preventive measures at business and user levels are:
- Do not open e-mailsfrom unknown sources andclick on linksthey contain
- Prepare an up-to-date inventory of all ‘digital assets’ at various locations
- Back up all digital content to a secure, secret offsite location
- Don’t place all data in one backup file
- All devices and systems must be well protected with latest firewalls
So, businesses must take all the precautions they can to protect their confidential data. There is no need for businesses to build any sort of security offering from the ground up as it can be time-and resource-intensive. Opting for the right security service provider can make businesses ready for RaaS and help address the security challenges in the future as well.
