Helping Enterprises Battle Ransomware

By Christine Kern, contributing writer

Holistic approaches to cybersecurity threats helps protect data better.

Ransomware is one of the latest, most dangerous forms of cyberattacks targeting vulnerable enterprises across industries from finance to retail to healthcare. In fact, ransomware was one of the most prominent themes at this year’s DattoCon event, as Business Solutions Magazine reported. According to George Anderson, product marketing director at Webroot, polymorphic malware is now the norm with 97 percent of new malware unique to a specific endpoint. That means signature-based security is no longer effective.

Cybercriminals are also jumping on the as a service trend, selling Ransomware as a service (RaaS) allowing criminals to quickly get into the extortion business. And mobile apps are now attractive targets for cybercriminals as well.

All this means enterprises need a new, holistic approach to security to combat this rapidly expanding threat. A Web Root White Paper offers 10 fundamentals for protecting customers from ransomware, while their webinar examines why security alone isn’t enough to combat ransomware.

This reality has prompted vendors to take a new tact according to Datto’s chief revenue officer Brooks Borcherding who said, “The ransomware threat is creating business-relevant conversations for partners, enabling them to discuss business risks and business continuity with their customers.”

Security Solutions and Software provider Trend Micro reports it has blocked more than 100 million ransomware threats for their customers in the last six months alone, with 99 percent of threats blocked from email and web traffic. Recognizing the growth and impact of ransomware, the company has taken a holistic approach to helping customers defend against ransomware, and is delivering a host of services to help combat attacks.

“Trend Micro is actively assessing the threat of ransomware and acting to protect against it,” said Eva Chen, CEO of Trend Micro. “We understand this pervasive form of cyberattack can be debilitating to enterprises, regardless of size or industry, and can cause grave amounts of stress and costs to consumers.”

According to Trend Micro, when it comes to ransomware protection, there is no silver bullet, and protection must fall across four key layers to be effective including email, endpoint, network, and servers.

“The bottom line is that it’s more important the ever to have a multi-layered approach to security for enterprises,” said Doug Cahill, senior analyst covering cybersecurity at ESG.”