Spade Technology: Blog

You Need to Prepare for Ransomworms in 2017

That’s not a typo.  Hackers have found Ransomware to be a very profitable business and like any other group of entrepreneurs they are looking to grow their business.  Security experts see the next phase of hackers holding data hostage as Ransomworms.

What is a Ransomworm

Conficker, CodeRed, and SQL Slammer are common network worms that have been around for years.  Security experts believe in 2017 we’ll see these worms combined with common Ransomware attacks to create the first generation of Ransomworms.  These Ransomworms will encrypted and hold hostage the data from one target, then move across the network hitting multiple targets in one attack.

Security Experts Believe Ransomware Will Continue to Evolve

They believe one evolution will be to steal the data first before encrypting it so they can “double-dip” on each victim.  Some examples of this have already occurred where the victim restored the data that was encrypted from backup to find out weeks later that the data had also been stolen.

Even The Cloud Is Not Safe

The cloud also appears to be a big target for 2017 as studies have found companies are less likely to have a valid backup of data that is stored with cloud providers.  The less likely there is to be a valid backup the more likely the victim will pay a ransom.  Like any other business the hackers will go where the money is.  This is not only a big security risk for businesses but it could lead to increased infrastructure upgrades for cloud providers who will certainly pass associated costs onto their client base in 2017.

What You Can Do

There were more than 4,000 ransomware attacks daily in 2016 and that number is sure to increase in 2017.  Just because you haven’t been victim to Ransomware yet doesn’t mean you have the proper protection in place.  Proper protection is more than just anti-virus it involves several components some of which are listed below;

  1. Anti-virus, anti-malware on your endpoints and network perimeter
  2. Network traffic filtering/monitoring
  3. Continuous Security Awareness Training and Testing for all of your users
  4. Documented Policies related to proper use of company assets including computers, tablets, cell phones, cloud applications, and data
  5. Properly implemented, managed, and monitored network and server polices and security settings
  6. Regularly scheduled quarterly backup restore and full Disaster Recover testing

If you are concerned that you may have more risk or exposure then you are comfortable with be sure to contact Spade Technology via (508) 332-4849 or info@spadetechnology.com.  A simple 30 minute assessment can give you the peace of mind you are looking for or provide areas that you can focus on to reduce your security risks.