Real Ransomware Risk vs. False Sense of Cybersecurity

According to a new poll, three-quarters of security professionals say their business is well-prepared for a ransomware assault. Even more, people believe they will be able to recover in a day or two without paying the ransomware. The unfortunate truth is that real-world statistics contradict these claims.

In fact, eight out of ten of the same survey respondents believe they’ve been successfully targeted by ransomware, with nearly four out of ten paying the ransom and experiencing considerable disruption. Furthermore, the respondents award themselves low marks on a variety of security recommended practices that may help avoid future assaults. For example, just around half of those polled claim they have a disaster recovery strategy in place.

A False Sense of (Online) Security

The gaps between real-world readiness and individual’s beliefs about readiness are frequently large.

How frequently do we see someone upload a snapshot of their driver’s license on social media to commemorate their first time behind the wheel, or share a photo of themselves on vacation with their home location geo-tagged? Most folks don’t even notice it since it’s so prevalent.

Imagine someone standing up at a restaurant and flashing their driver’s license to everyone in the room, or someone yelling their vacation plans and address to everyone in the grocery store.

The scenario appears to be ludicrous, but this is precisely what happens online on a daily basis.  People are willingly disclosing their private and intimate information to the public, and cybersecurity threat actors have taken note. The information on a person’s driver’s license can be used to steal their identity, hack into their bank account, or conduct social engineering assaults.  These are just a few reasons to implement cybersecurity awareness training in your organization, which we’ll be talking about in a future post.  To get started in protecting your organization from these types of attacks right away, reach out to us at JENLOR today.