Ransomware becoming a serious business

In late February, several surprising admissions indicated the true scope of ransomware.  First, a hospital in Los Angeles was hit and paid a whopping $17,000 to get critical medical files unlocked.  Then, several police stations in Massachusetts all got infected and most spent thousands getting serious police records unlocked.

Ransomware has grown beyond the $500 mom-and-pop attacks that were the hallmarks of early versions of ransomware.  Most of the attackers are foreign – in fact, the latest attacks ask for Bitcoin payments – and the network is very sophisticated.  Small targets rarely tried to prosecute and even when they did, distance and the anonymity of the internet made it all but impossible.  And now ransomware is moving into the SMB world – bigger risks but much larger payments.

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So what can you do?  There are a number of things – in the next few days we’ll look at ways you can – and should – protect your business from ransomware.   And don’t be mistaken – being hit once doesn’t mean you’re immune.  This is cybercrime – they will try again.