With 2019 drawing to a close and 2020 almost here, we can take a look sat how the cybersecurity landscape has evolved over this past year. By far the two most prevalent topics of the year have been ransomware and data privacy.

Ransomware

By far the most relevant cybersecurity threat of 2019 was the rise of ransomware. This is strain of malware that encrypts user data behind a paywall, and demands payment for its safe release. Targets have ranged from multinational corporations to governments. Worryingly, ransomware attacks have recently become more organized, as seen in an attack in August 2019 where 22 Texan governments were simultaneously hit with ransowmare.

Data Privacy

As collecting and storing sensitive user data grows as a core requirement of many companies, so too does the risk of leaking this data to unwanted eyes. 2019 saw several enterprises falling victim to data breaches, often leading to devastating financial and legal consequences. New York’s Retrieval-Masters Creditor Bureau Inc. filed for bankruptcy due to a $3.8 million dollar data breach where its customers home addresses, SSNs, and credit card information were leaked. In another attack, Capital One Financial reported between $100 million USD to $150 million USD in damages caused by a data breach leaking customer SSNs and bank account numbers.

In 2020, ransomware will become more dangerous than ever.

A new strain of ransomware named Maze has confirmed a cyberattacker’s bluff as a real threat. In a ransomware attack, data on a victim’s computer is both encrypted and stolen by cyberattackers. Until Maze, it was not known whether cyberattackers actually had access to the stolen data. In November, Allied Universal refused to pay a ransom fee of $2.5 million USD, resulting in cyberattackers releasing 700MB of the company’s sensitive data to the public.

With the threat now confirmed, organizations must prepare for more vicious strains of ransomware in the coming year. Cybersecurity company McAfee Labs predicts that “two-stage extortion attacks” will be a major threat in 2020, where stage 1 is data encryption, and stage 2 is data theft. With 2 leverage points, cyberattackers will have more extortion power than previous attacks.

To counter the new threats coming in 2020, cybersecurity will need to improve in both preventative and restorative measures in order to fully prepare organizations for attack. Call GIGE IT Solutions at +1 888 366 4443 or info@gige.ca. With over 30 years of network security and data backup experience, we can help keep you protected against cyberattack.

 

The list of ransomware victims continues to grow. Florida’s Lake City and Riviera Beach City have both fallen victim to cyberattack. Both cities have been forced to pay $500 000 each to the attackers in attempts to unlock the encrypted files.

On June 5^th, the City of Riviera Beach released an official announcement stating that a “data security event” has occurred. One day later, the Lake City Police Department released a similar announcement, detailing that a ransomware attack had disabled many of the city’s systems, including email, VoIP and credit card channels.

As a result of the attacks, both governments have been thrown back to analog working environments, hand-writing bills and permits while the systems are recovered. Despite the ransom payments, there is no guarantee that the lost data will, or even can, be decrypted by the cyberattackers.

Riviera Beach released that the ransomware virus infected their systems through a malicious link in an email. Lake City, on the other hand, stated that their system was intruded after attacks on multiple fronts of their network.

What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of cyberattack that encrypts data on a computer and asks for a ransom fee for an unlock key. Encryption renders ordinary data unreadable, and can only be decrypted by using the key supplied by the attackers.

This type of attack has seen a massive uptick in recent years. Since January 2016, over 4000 ransomware attacks have occurred daily, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security. Targets of these attacks range from households and small organizations to governments.

There are many factors that caused the widespread use of ransomware. Firstly, the rise in cryptocurrency popularity have given attackers an ideal payment channel. Recent years has seen digital currencies such as Ethereum and Bitcoin rise in both usage and value. Bitcoin, for instance, costs around CAD 14 000 as of July 3^rd 2019. Some of these currencies are designed to be difficult to track, therefore making them perfect for cyberattackers.

The unpreparedness of companies and governments to deal with ransomware attacks is another reason why this type of attack has been so successful. As demonstrated by the attacks of the Florida cities, ransomware causes significant damage to day-to-day functions. Therefore, businesses and governments are often forced to simply pay the fee to avoid compounding damage.

Don’t fall victim to ransomware. Managed IT service providers can help you design and monitor backups of your data to restore your systems in the event of an attack. GIGE IT Solutions provides customizable backup and security solutions tailored to your business goals. Call us at +1 888 366 4443 for an immediate consult.