HackerIn any profession we get caught up with our own jargon and because something is basic knowledge to us, we assume everyone knows what it is and what it means.  For example, I spoke at a legal conference in November and one of the presenters was a digital marketing firm.  After about 30 minutes of discussion on SEO, an attorney finally had the courage to ask “What is this ‘SEO’ you’re talking about?”  Because I’m in an industry where ‘ransomware’ and ‘breaches’ are in every other article I read, I mistakenly think everybody “gets it.”

Breach: Theft of Your Data

Think of your company’s connection to the Internet as your Internet front door. This is what a Firewall is.  A breach occurs when a human being ‘picks the lock’ on your front door to gain entry.  Another type of breach occurs when the criminal disguises themselves as someone innocent party and an employee invites them past the Internet front door. This occurs from a phishing email, such as a fake UPS shipping attachment or a fake IRS demand attachment.  Once inside your company the criminal can sit and watch all activity.  The average time before they are discovered is over 200 days.  That’s over half a year! They steal anything of value. This is a very lucrative criminal enterprise, but it’s labor intensive. What’s a good criminal business man to do in situation to improve revenues?  Automate!

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Ransomware: Your Data Held Hostage

The criminals were raking in money from breaches, but it wasn’t enough.  In 2013 the criminals automated their criminal theft in a new way called Ransomware.  This is a process by which your data is made unusable until you pay the criminals a ‘ransom.’ Money you certainly didn’t put into this year’s budget. They have automated this theft so well the cost to businesses has grown from $24 million in 2015 to $1 Billion in 2016 to $5 Billion expected in 2017.  What’s worse is paying the ransom is no guarantee your data is made usable again.  In 25% of the cases reported, your data is gone forever. Oh did I not mention they target your backup too? These ransomware landmines are found on previously safe websites that have been hacked, email attachments through phishing emails and even packed into free apps for your phone or desktop. Criminals have now combined the 2 and some types of ransomware in 2017 breach & take your data before they ransom it.  Truly evil.

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Both approaches can devastate your company & particularly your reputation.  Smaller companies can be particularly at risk as they don’t have a dime to spare on this type of theft. If they don’t steal your money, a successful attack will still bring your work to a grinding halt while you recover from the attack. This is no small task and will likely take hours if not multiple days.  For this reason our firm recommends the best backup and business continuity protection available.  You’re NOT spending everyone’s bonuses on this technology, but rather protecting everyone’s bonuses. You can’t get a bonus if you aren’t working.

About the Author, Rick Rusch

For over 25 years Rick has helped companies utilize technology safely & productively. Recognizing the dangers of the Internet age several years ago, Rick has passionately focused on cybersecurity to help clients guard their reputations & their most precious asset, their digital data. Learn more about Rick at https://www.secureerpinc.com/about-us/