Ransomware attacks on businesses are becoming increasingly common. According to a report published by cybersecurity solutions provider Hornetsecurity, ransomware attacks have affected over a quarter of firms globally, with a fifth happening in the last year.
One in five (20%) ransomware attacks occurred in the previous year, according to Hornetsecurity’s 2022 Ransomware Report, an annual study which polled more than 2,000 IT leaders.
“Attacks on businesses are increasing, and there is a shocking lack of awareness and preparation by IT pros,” said Daniel Hofmann, Chief Executive Officer (CEO) at Hornetsecurity. “Our survey shows that many in the IT community have a false sense of security. As bad actors develop new techniques, companies like ours have to do what it takes to come out ahead and protect businesses around the world.”
Microsoft 365 Users Targeted by Attackers
The 2022 Ransomware Report made clear that organizations are not well-informed about the protection options available to them. 25% of IT professionals either don’t know or don’t believe that a ransomware attack may affect Microsoft 365 data.
Another alarming statistic would be that 40% of IT professionals who use Microsoft 365 at their company confessed they do not have a recovery strategy in place in the event that ransomware compromises their Microsoft 365 data.
“Microsoft 365 is vulnerable to phishing attacks and ransomware attacks,” added Mr. Hofmann. “But with the help of third-party tools, IT admins can back up their Microsoft 365 data securely and protect themselves from such attacks.”
Lack of Business Preparedness
Industry comments demonstrated the general lack of readiness among firms and IT workers. Businesses are increasingly failing to have a disaster recovery strategy in place in case they fall victim to the increased risk of a cyberattack.
16% of respondents said they didn’t have a disaster recovery strategy in place as of 2021. In spite of an increase in attacks, this increased to 19% in 2022.
The survey by Hornetsecurity also revealed that 21% of attacked organizations either paid up or lost data, which is more than one in five. 7% of IT experts whose organizations were targeted paid the ransom, while 14% stated that they lost data as a result of an attack, giving hackers an incentive to carry out these ransomware attacks.
“Interestingly, 97% of pros are moderately to extremely confident in their primary protection method, even if they don’t use many of the most effective security measures available, such as immutable storage and air-gapped off-site storage,” added Mr. Hofmann. “This tells us that more education is needed in the field, and we’re committed to this cause.”
Hornetsecurity, with its headquarters in Hanover, Germany, employs more than 400 people across 12 regional locations. Hornetsecurity also has 11 redundant, secured data centers and a global network of more than 8,000 MSPs and channel partners. Over 50,000 clients, including Swisscom, Telefónica, KONICA MINOLTA, LVM Versicherung, and CLAAS, utilize its premium services.
