"Orgs Report Mixed Progress on Ransomware Defense"

HYCU, a data protection provider, surveyed 400 technology, financial, and security leaders, finding that most organizations are better prepared to thwart a ransomware attack, with 54 percent reporting they are either mostly prepared (32 percent) or as prepared as possible (22 percent). Of the respondents, 42 percent said they now spend one to five hours a week preparing for ransomware, while 28 percent said they spend 10 hours or more. Over 55 percent of the respondents said they could recover from a ransomware attack in one day or less. Only 45 percent of respondents thought recovering from an attack would be very or somewhat easy. Of the respondents, 65 percent said their existing backup and recovery tools were either somewhat or not adequate. The biggest barriers to improving recovery time and recovery point objectives were found to be financial constraints, followed by staffing constraints. According to HYCU CEO Simon Taylor, most organizations still do not fully comprehend the total cost of a ransomware attack because the value of lost data is not as easily quantifiable as ransomware payments. The likelihood that organizations will lose some data will only increase as the cost of launching a ransomware attack falls and the total number of platforms that must be protected grows. Taylor noted that it is not uncommon for some organizations to have as many as 170 different data platforms requiring protection. However, only 44 percent of respondents said that the rise of work-from-home opportunities has created new risks and complications in the fight against ransomware. It remains unclear how the relationship between cybersecurity and data protection will evolve as the volume and sophistication of ransomware attacks increases. However, it is clear that if organizations hope to limit disruption and eliminate the need to ransom data, the backup and recovery process must become more automated. This article continues to discuss key findings from HYCU's new report that examines the state of ransomware preparedness across multiple industries.

Security Boulevard reports "Orgs Report Mixed Progress on Ransomware Defense"