The Hard Truth Behind Ransomware

Ransomware and cyberattacks have become more sophisticated, more costly and increasingly damaging. 

“Ransomware is a serious threat to our public safety and national and economic security,” said Richard W. Downing, Deputy Assistant Attorney General, Criminal Division, U.S. Department of Justice in a recent interview. “It has been used to attack municipal governments, police departments and critical infrastructure.” 

According to the Federal Bureau of Investigation, ransomware is “a type of malicious software, or malware, that prevents you from accessing your computer files, systems, or networks and demands you pay a ransom for their return.” 

Last year, it was estimated that there was one ransomware attack every 11 seconds and the average ransomware payment is just north of $900,000. Unfortunately, on average, organizations who were hit were only able to recover just 64% of their data after a ransomware attack. To prevent service outages and debilitating data loss, your agency needs to increase its resilience.  

In order to defend your organization from bad actors, here’s a few steps you can take to protect your data: 

• Install immutable secure backups to protect against data loss. 
• Utilize a modernized back-up and recovery solution. 

• Make sure your back-up strategy meets your business needs. 
   

For more on how your agency can boost its cyber resilience, check out this e-book to hear from government and industry experts on why you should use a modernized backup and recovery system to protect your sensitive information.