Prevent Ransomware with Sophos Intercept X

It’s no new secret that cyberattacks and breaches have been on an uptick over the past few years. With technology at the fingertips of billions, there are more attacks now than ever before. While any type of malware is terrible, one form that is far more prevalent and devastating in nature is ransomware. Given recent events, it has never been more important for businesses to seek expertise from specialized professionals on this matter and what can be done to prevent ransomware from happening.  

Unlike other malware and spyware, where the main goal is to steal your passwords and personal information, ransomware does just what it sounds like: it holds your computer and data ransom in exchange for a fee. This can be especially alarming if you don’t have an effective backup of your data, considering there is no way to get your information back other than to comply with the ransom request, which could cost a business serious dollars or possibly your entire business.

However, you also must consider that even if you may be prepared with a data backup, that does not necessarily leave you unharmed. Even though it may seem that your data is there, it is also possible that cyber criminals did, in fact, take your information without you realizing it.

Trends show that 2016 was no exception to recent years. In fact, studies show that ransomware attacks alone spiked 6000%, dubbing 2016 the “Year of Ransomware” and the “Year of Online Extortion” according to CNN.com.

2016 dubbed Year of Ransomware and Year of Online Extortion. Click to tweet 

Victims of these attacks range from hospitals, schools and universities, retail, finance and government to name a few. Given the industries, healthcare and finance tend to be the most sought after due to the highly valuable data stored in their databases, such as social security numbers and other personal information.

Although the year is not yet over, healthcare alone made up 88% of all ransomware attacks reported in 2016. The number may seem extremely high, but the reality is that it would be an even higher percentage had all attacks been disclosed rather than just some. Reported or not, incidents like these are still likely to turn into a monetary gain for cyber criminals.

Attacks like this in any business, across any industry, can be potentially fatal to the business itself if breaches are successful, data is lost and the ransom is steep. However, despite the need for data protection, IT Security professionals are not seeing small and medium sized companies investing as quickly as they should in cybersecurity, and even more alarming is that businesses aware of the dangers, potential attacks and detrimental outcomes is even smaller. 

Suggested Read: Switching to Next-Gen Endpoint Security

Rising threats across the globe have businesses and organizations, small and large alike, worried that they might be victim to a breach if safety measures aren’t put into effect. While there are several services and software out there that will assist you in protection against breaches, the new Intercept X by Sophos has features that are changing the way businesses are protected.

Intercept X has taken a user-friendly approach to ransomware defense, focusing on not only protecting you and your company, but also working to save its users time, money and hassle. Should an incident arise, Intercept X offers a dependable solution to your endpoint security.

Intercept X offers a dependable solution to your endpoint security. Click to tweet