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Ransomware Attacks on the High. Are You Prepared?

Ransomware is predicted to thrive better in 2021 than 2019 records deemed to be a ripple in the ocean.

May 27, 2021, 6:11 p.m.

TL;DR

Dating back to September 4, 2020, Veamm, after undergoing a survey aided by Cyber Security Ventures, recorded a ransomware attack ratio of one organization per 14 seconds in 2019 and went on to predict 11 seconds in 2021.

Any avid cloud enthusiast, professional or veteran certainly knows ransomware and the threat it poses.

Key Facts

1
In 2020, the percentage of cyberattacks went up 150% since 2019; the figures the victims paid relatively went up 300%.
2
March 2021 saw a big name in the US insurance game, CNA Financial, pay a $40 million ransom to regain control of their systems.
3
There are spontaneous calls in the media to ban paying ransoms to hackers.
4
Veamm’s latest version of Kasten for Kubernetes storage is ransomware-deterrent.

Details

Technology has been an indispensable part of our lives. We look back to the 20th century, and we know we’re far beyond that stage of technological advancement and reliance. When we hear technology, what mostly comes to our mind are computers. Yes, the framework for everything humanity has to boast of takes its origin from the works of Charles Babbage and subsequent unsung heroes. There is a keyword we use when talking about computers, and it’s crucial to everything we do – Data!

Everything we used to put in written form and document in scrolls now has their contemporaries in the wide and endless cloud space. However, there is always a wolf amongst the sheep. Cybercrime has gained more recruits and ideas, keeping up with the speed of technological advancement. In recent years, hackers, fraudsters have been ahead of cybersecurity functions and organizations. Any avid cloud enthusiast, professional or veteran certainly knows ransomware and the threat it poses.

In 2019, it happened that every 14 seconds, an organization would fall victim to ransomware, according to veamm.com’s research. Their analytics predicted that companies would have to be ready for a worse scenario compared to previous years; 11 seconds is the figure predicted. Cyberattacks headlined 2020 after cyberattacks went up 150% since 2019. Hackers cashed out over 300% in 2020 compared to 2019.

One of the most prominent insurance companies in the United States, CNA Financial, allegedly paid $40 million in ransom payments after a ransomware attack. CNA Financial had to pay after being pushed to the edge. Close sources said employees could not access the company’s internal systems, stealing numerous confidential data.

Bloomberg reported that this figure is $10 million more than 2020’s record random demand of $30 million, and over double the demanded figure for 2019, which was $15 million. There have been panic calls from the media to the government that organizations paying ransoms would only encourage these fiends in their unruly practice.

Kubernetes and cloud computing activities are not automatically resistant to these threats, especially considering that the Kubernetes community is growing wider.

In response to its survey and their understanding of the threat that comes with this menace, Veamm has built its latest version of Kasten (K10 v4.0 release) with enough armor to keep this threat at bay.

The armor, concerning ransomware, would be storage and replication functionalities – data and application storage that places the organization a step ahead. When ransomware attacks happen, data is inaccessible, up steps K10v4.0, beating ransomware’s access restrictions. The emphasis on this functionality is simply because of its relation to the pertinent subject, meaning K10v4.0 also has other functionalities.