{"id":1985,"date":"2017-02-22T17:39:19","date_gmt":"2017-02-22T16:39:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/blog\/en\/ransomware-is-on-the-rise-%e2%80%93-and-smes-increasingly-under-fire"},"modified":"2024-05-07T19:06:01","modified_gmt":"2024-05-07T17:06:01","slug":"ransomware-is-on-the-rise-and-smes-increasingly-under-fire","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/blog\/en\/ransomware-is-on-the-rise-and-smes-increasingly-under-fire\/","title":{"rendered":"Ransomware is on the rise \u2013 and SMEs increasingly under fire"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">In 2016 the number of blackmail attacks by means of software multiplied strikingly. And ever more often such \u201cransomware\u201d is now aiming to squeeze money out of small and medium-sized enterprises. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">According to a <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fastcompany.com\/3066836\/tech-forecast\/ransomware-is-getting-more-agressive\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">report by \u201cFast Company\u201d<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">, recent estimates claim that there were a remarkable 638 million ransomware attempts over the past year, a drastic increase from the 3.8 million attacks registered in 2015. Nevertheless, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/now.avg.com\/1-in-3-small-businesses-is-clueless-about-ransomware\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">AVG Business reports that every third small business has no inkling<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> that this threat even exists. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">Ransomware has long established itself as big business for cyber criminals. <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/blog\/en\/companies-more-willing-to-give-in-to-ransom-demands\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">According to an IBM estimate<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> they managed to blackmail a total of around a billion dollars out of their victims over the past year. During the first half of the 2016 calendar year, one single gang is said to have pocketed 121 million dollars. The internet thugs, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.theinquirer.net\/inquirer\/news\/3004593\/kaspersky-russian-cyber-crooks-develop-75-of-all-ransomware\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">who Kaspersky claims are often of Russian origin<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">, first set their sights on private persons. But in the meanwhile, they also attack small and large firms alike, as well as public services. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">Small and medium-sized enterprises are <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.fbi.gov\/news\/stories\/incidents-of-ransomware-on-the-rise\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener nofollow noreferrer\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">especially at risk<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">, because they are often lacking in expertise, time or money for IT security. They are often also unaware of the value of their own data, the report goes on to say. Cyber criminals, on the other hand, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wired.com\/2017\/02\/ransomware-turns-big-targets-even-bigger-fallout\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">have it much easier<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> \u2013 they can buy pre-configured ransomware or simply rent a botnet consisting of computers which have already been infected, in order to infect other PCs. <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/info.phishlabs.com\/2017-phishing-trends-and-intelligence-report-pti\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">According to Phishlabs<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> it is by no means only Windows PCs which are now coming under attack, as ransomware is now also specifically being written for macOS, Linux and server operating systems. Attacks on Android are still low in terms of numbers, but are also on the rise. And blackmailers are also not holding back from the <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/blog\/en\/ever-more-things-connected-to-the-internet\/\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Internet of Things (IoT)<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">The means of attack for ransomware, and the other malware out there, has hardly changed over the years and 2017 should prove to be no exception &#8211; someone has to open a dodgy email, surf on an infected website or download dubious software. And to err is human. \u201cThe basic problem is that small businesses don\u2019t often have the knowledge or bandwidth to deal with cyber security,\u201d explains Professor&nbsp;<\/span> Mark Skilton <span lang=\"EN-US\">, of the Warwick Business School.<\/span> <span lang=\"EN-US\">&nbsp;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">Most common anti-virus software has struggled to cope with the challenge that ransomware poses. That\u2019s why Skilton advises companies to protect themselves, for instance by encrypting their data to prevent criminals from stealing it and publishing it on the (dark) web. He moreover recommends using a good public cloud service to provide a remote backup. Cyber-security could easily be exaggerated, however, warns the security expert: &#8220;You also need to think about what is the proportional level for your company.&#8221;<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">Tony Anscombe of AVG Business recommends using traditional security measures, such as anti-virus software (sure, that\u2019s what his company sells) and backing up data regularly. The security firm Cybereason has developed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.forbes.com\/sites\/leemathews\/2016\/12\/20\/this-free-app-can-protect-you-from-ransomware\/#1b5a0813387d\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">a free security app called \u201cRansomFree\u201d<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">. This software safeguards Windows computers by looking out for typical patterns in ransomware behavior. Once data has already been taken hostage by ransomware blackmailers, the project <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.nomoreransom.org\/en\/about-the-project.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">\u201cNo More Ransom\u201d<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">, which is run by Europol, the Dutch police, Kaspersky and Intel Security (formerly McAfee), may be able to assist by providing useful information in addition to &nbsp;helpful tools.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">Warwick professor Skilton underlines the human risk factor. \u201cIncrease your employees\u2019 awareness by asking them to think twice about clicking on links in a suspicious looking or unexpected email, especially if it\u2019s <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/services\/email-security\/tech-specs\/#cxo-fraud-detection\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">purporting to have come from a more senior employee<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> who happens to be on holiday,\u201d the expert advises. Malware can be prevented from spreading, by restricting which person can see what in the system. \u201cDon\u2019t assume the brand-name internet-enabled printers or machines you buy are protected. Check first.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">By the way, IT security and cloud computing are also the most crucial topics for the German digital industry in 2017, <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.bitkom.org\/Presse\/Presseinformation\/IT-Sicherheit-Cloud-Computing-und-Internet-of-Things-sind-Top-Themen-des-Jahres-in-der-Digitalwirtschaft.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">according to the latest Bitkom trend survey<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">. The runners up are the Internet of Things and Industry 4.0. Two-thirds (67 percent) of the companies surveyed cited IT security as the most significant technology and market trends of the year. \u201cIT security is becoming even more important, because in the course of digitization critical systems such as vehicles, medical technical devices and machinery are increasingly being networked,\u201d comments Bitkom CEO Bernhard Rohleder.<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><span lang=\"EN-US\">Businesses of all sizes can protect themselves from ransomware and other malware by securing their email inboxes with a managed cloud service such as <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/products\/retarus-email-security\/\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">Retarus E-Mail Security<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">, in addition to having an up-to-date scanner on their end-points. Our <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/campaigns\/patient-zero-detection\/\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">brand new option \u201cPatient Zero Detection<sup>\u00ae<\/sup>\u201d<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\"> can even determine retroactively, which persons may already have received brand new, and therefore as yet unknown, malware. For more details, please get in touch with <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/contact\/\"><span lang=\"EN-US\">your local Retarus contact person<\/span><\/a><span lang=\"EN-US\">.<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>In 2016 the number of blackmail attacks by means of software multiplied strikingly. And ever more often such \u201cransomware\u201d is now aiming to squeeze money out of small and medium-sized enterprises. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":1986,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_et_pb_use_builder":"","_et_pb_old_content":"","_et_gb_content_width":"","_s2mail":"yes","footnotes":""},"categories":[8,15],"tags":[102,172,198],"dipi_cpt_category":[],"class_list":["post-1985","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news","category-security","tag-email-security","tag-it-security","tag-ransomware"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.9 (Yoast SEO v23.9) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>SMEs under fire<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"In 2016 the number of blackmail attacks by means of software multiplied strikingly.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/blog\/en\/ransomware-is-on-the-rise-and-smes-increasingly-under-fire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Ransomware is on the rise \u2013 and SMEs increasingly under fire\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"In 2016 the number of blackmail attacks by means of software multiplied strikingly.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.retarus.com\/blog\/en\/ransomware-is-on-the-rise-and-smes-increasingly-under-fire\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Retarus Corporate Blog - 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