Tech Lockdown: Prepare Now or Pay (Much More) Later.

• Author: Cousineau, Mark
• Position: TechTalk

Most businesses rely heavily upon technology and. arguably, it's one of your soundest business assets.

But what happens when your technology leaves you vulnerable, such as in the case of your IT environment suddenly held hostage by a cybercriminal?

According to Recorded future, since 2013 there have been 1 70 city, county and state governments that have been attacked using ransomware, a type of malicious software built to interrupt or shut down your business or government operations. That means it's a good lime to understand how it works and, more important, what you can do to prevent il.

How It Works

Ransomware blocks access to your data by encrypting it, then you're informed you will only receive a decryption code when a sum of money is paid to these anonymous cybera iminals. The attack is sudden and the clock begins ticking for you to pay the ransom, or lose access to your computer system forever.

Fundamentally these attacks are successful because the proper safeguards are not in place for various reasons, the main one being perceived cost. Statistics support the aphorism that it's not so much a matter of "if" your organization will get hit, but rather a matter of "when" an attack will happen.

According to Malwarebytes' Cybercrime Tactics and Techniques Q1 2019 Report, ransomware for businesses of all sizes is up 195 percent in the first quarter of 2019 since the final quarter of 2018, and up more than 500 percent when compared to the first quarter of 2018. This risk is certainly not going away anytime soon.

The financial backlash can be devastating, but even worse can be the loss of access to daily electronic processes, computer data, employee time, organizational records and invaluable information.

Recent Ransomware Attacks

* City of Baltimore: On May 7, the RobbinHood ransomware infection hit. An estimated SIB million has been reported as likely damages, with $10 million going toward the repair of the city's systems, while 38 million is in forgone interest and penalties. Some services are still not restored and others are using manual processes.

* City of Atlanta: More than a year ago the city was brought to its knees as the result of a ransomware attack, when the cybercriminal demanded So 1,000. Payment was not made and to date nearly $I 7 million has been spent repairing the damages. In addition, valuable police department clash cam video has been lost forever according to reports.

* State of New York: Hackers demanded 330,000 from...