With the compromise of South African company Liberty by a ransomware, the cybercrimes are on the rise.
According to Chief Executive Officer of MyCybercare Simon Campbell, it is not only the sensitive data of businesses that is in harm’s way but also the individuals’. This means as a ransomware attacks a business, the consumer data can lead to crimes like identify theft.
Moreover he said that from 2016, the ransomware attacks have increased enormously as well as the amount of ransom in comparison to past attackers.
Views on SamSam
Mr. Simon also offered views on SamSam ransomware. It has become a common occurrence in ransomware removal cases in various industries, especially healthcare industry. SamSam infects security patches of organizations which not only locks documents but does a greater damage by affecting essential software and also attacking backups.
According to Mr.Simon, he has witnessed almost a dozen SamSam attacks in ransomware removal cases in 2018. Moreover, ransomware attacks account for almost 30 percent of all cyber attacks. Furthermore, ransomware attacks have risen by almost 35 percent. He believes that this is only the beginning and with the rising success of cybercriminals in ransomware removal cases, the future is going to be tougher.
The Need of a Cyber Insurance Policy
The amounts of ransom dictated by these cybercriminals have increased three times in the international market. While the biggest amount demanded in 2016 was $18,000, the figure has risen to $60,000 in 2018. So how are these criminals doing it?
According to Mr. Simon, as the security tools and methodologies to remove ransomware keep improving, attackers have also become more cunning. They first try to analyze the internet activities of their victims and try to attack those with computer illiteracy. Thus, companies have to expand their attempts.
Mr. Simon recommends companies to create a cyber insurance policy. It will help companies to save themselves from all kinds of security risks and malwares and ensure the safety of the company’s money from going into ransoms. Most importantly, these policies are helpful to guide in the wake of a ransomware attack.
