Ransomware is Another Pandemic
800% Surge* Since the COVID-19 Pandemic
As we all struggle to navigate through these uncertain times of a global pandemic, we now face a new threat that is impacting a tremendous amount of organizations. Successful ransomware attacks are at new all-time high and successful attacks are happening daily- reports say as many as 4,000 attacks per day**.
Cyber criminals are taking full advantage of the pandemic and aiming cyber attacks at major corporations, healthcare organizations, governments, and critical infrastructure. But they are also hitting mid-size organizations opportunistically.
4 questions to ask yourself that can help stop the spread
1. Is my Email Security Platform capable of identifying malicious emails?
a. Do I have Sandboxing capabilities?
b. IS my Sandbox configured properly?
c. Can I scan and pull malicious emails out of user mailboxes?
2. Is my Endpoint protection capable of blocking malicious executables or identify malicious processes?
a. Can I go past Signature based identification?
b. Can I block East – West traffic?
c. Do I have EDR capabilities
3. What safeguards do I have on my Network?
a. Is my Network flat?
b. Do I have Network visibility and alerting?
c. How long will it take to identify and remediate and issue?
4. Are my users properly trained?
a. How regular do we test our user’s ability to identify malicious emails?
b. Do my users know who to contact if they find a malicious email and what to do with it?
c. Do we have a training program for our new WFH users?
“Cybercriminals are developing and boosting their attacks at an alarming pace, exploiting the fear and uncertainty caused by the unstable social and economic situation created by COVID-19.”
Jürgen Stock, INTERPOL Secretary General
In these unprecedented times of disruption and vulnerability, cyber security has never been more critical. Organizations need to make sure they have the security measures and training in place to handle the influx of remote workers, ensure their endpoints are protected and their networks secure.
With SMP’s experience with security, networking, collaboration, and cloud we can help you answer these questions, and define a path forward to increased security. While organizations can never be 100% secure, SMP can help you identify any gaps which will help you minimize the threat window.
*Cybersecurity companies, and law enforcement report 800% surge.
**Top Cyber Security Experts Report: 4,000 Cyber Attacks a Day Since COVID-19 Pandemic.