Ransomware due to rise in 2021
Summary
After a banner 2020, Ransomware is set to get worse in 2021, according to Sentinel One. “First, attackers have grown to understand the profile of an easy target, which has proved for now to be municipalities and local government organizations.” The note rightly points to a lack of resources as one reason for the persistent vulnerabilities.
Report
Analysis
As we recently outlined, 2020 wasn’t just the year of ransomware but the year the financial impact of ransomware became more apparent. Big ransomware attacks over the past 18 months have resulted in average 24% shareholder losses in the months after the breach. In 2020, Finablr did not recover at all, filing for bankruptcy. ISS World reported hundreds of millions in losses following an attack in February and is still dealing with the financial fallout.
As the piece noted, while it is clear that all companies are vulnerable to ransomware and that attacker’s tactics continue to evolve and become more dangerous, some companies are more vulnerable than others.
Unfortunately, companies that are not investing sufficiently in security alongside accelerated digital transformations will see significant financial losses similar to those experienced by ISS last year. The systems, processes and people managing the technology will continue to matter as much as the technology itself. And the incidents with large dollar figures attached to the post-breach fallout are likely to become more common as ransomware grows as a threat, drawing increasing attention from investors.