Ransomware is a type of malware designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid. Typically, a ransomware attack starts with an innocent-looking email with an infected link or fake document attached. In fact, the average company received a whopping 90% of their detected malware through email, according to…

As IT systems and data play increasingly important roles in business, opportunities for cybercriminals continue to grow. For the first time, the annual Allianz Risk Barometer Report found cybercrime to be the number one concern for companies around the globe. The increase in concern over cybercrime coincides with a rise in the number of ransomware…

Ransomware is a growing cyber risk threat impacting organizations in all sectors. This Q&A details why having a cloud-based backup solution in place can help organizations mitigate exposure, promote business continuity in case of a security event and avoid paying a ransom.

A Q&A with Winston Krone, Kivu Unfortunately, for now, it appears that ransomware attacks, wherein hackers encrypt data and hold the decryption key for a sum of money, are here to stay. That leaves the attacked organization with a tough quandary: whether or not to actually give in to the criminal’s demands. We talked to…

A Q&A with Sherri Davidoff, CEO of LMG Security and BrightWise, Inc. One of the most disturbing developments in financial cybercrime is the advent and increasing popularity of banking Trojans, which pose a grave risk to both consumers and financial organizations. To find out more about banking Trojans and how to avoid them, we spoke…

A Q&A with Chris Nyhuis of Vigilant Technology SolutionsCyber security threats are always evolving, but in the last six months, a vicious new breed of ransomware attack has emerged, powerful enough to take down an enterprise organization. To learn more about it, we talked to Chris Nyhuis, President and CEO of Vigilant Technology Solutions, an…

A Q&A with Asaf Cidon of Barracuda The recent reports about Popcorn Time—a ransomware attack that involves a Ponzi scheme encouraging targets to in turn spread the malware to contacts—show that criminals are becoming ever more creative in their approaches to cybersecurity exploits. I spoke with Asaf Cidon, VP of Content Security at Barracuda about…

Q&A with Chris Novak of Verizon Even as public awareness around ransomware grows, many companies find they are still unprepared for this malicious exploit when it hits. Often, organizations find that despite their best intentions to cooperate with the perpetrators, they still may not get their data back. I talked to Chris Novak, global director…

A Q&A with Matt Ahrens, The Crypsis Group Last week, the devastating WannaCry attack— considered unprecedented in its scale and speed—hit more than 230,000 computers in 150 countries, including the National Health Service, FedEx, Deutsche Ban and LATAM Airlines, among others. I asked Matt Ahrens of The Crypsis Group about the attack, what made it…

A Q&A with Bob Bell and Luke Emrich of RSM US; Sudhir Bhati of Symantec; and Ondrej Krehel of LIFARS Once a crude way for hackers to gain access to sensitive data, phishing attempts have now become increasingly sophisticated and more commonplace. Most concerning, this attack vector relies almost completely on human error, making it…