Confronting the Threats of Cryptojacking and Ransomware
Malware is a technological scourge of the modern era – and one that no organization can afford to ignore. In this CSO paper, commissioned by Intel, discover the full scope of the cryptojacking and ransomware problem that modern organizations face, as well as how to defend against these sophisticated attackers.
Defending Your Organization Against Malware
In the quest to protect against malware, defenders are often left plugging security gaps after the fact, while the attackers are changing tactics and looking for new opportunities to wreak havoc. Ransomware and cryptojacking—the hijacking of computer resources to mine cryptocurrencies—represent critical economic threats. In this paper, you’ll explore the scope of ransomware and cryptojacking threats:
Cybersecurity Ventures projected that global spending on cybersecurity products and services would exceed $1.75 trillion cumulatively from 2021 through 2025.
More than one-third of ransomware victims reports a business disruption of at least one week, according to IDC.
Increasingly, attackers are targeting weak links in the software supply chain, such as software vendors and service providers—giving them opportunity to attack multiple companies, at scale.
According to a Cisco report, 69% of organizations experienced some level of unsolicited cryptomining in 2020, and 50% of organizations encountered malware-related activity.
Gartner Inc.’s 2021 CIO Agenda survey revealed that 61% of respondents planned to increase spending on cyber/information security in 2021.
“The ROI on avoiding potential data breaches and hacks can easily justify the cost of upgrading equipment, without waiting for the typical 3-5 year refresh cycle.” — J. Gold Associates report
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In this CSO survey commissioned by Intel, learn how your organization can best defend itself against sophisticated malware attackers.
4 Key Takeaways
An economic danger. According to a recent U.S. Treasury Department analysis, the total value of ransomware-related suspicious activity reported during the first six months of 2021 was $590 million, exceeding the value reported for the entirety of 2020 ($416 million).
Alerts aren’t enough. According to FireEye’s Mandiant Security Validation team, attack simulations determined that only 9% of cyberattacks generated security alerts, and 53% of successful intrusions went undetected.
Addressing security lags. A report by J. Gold Associates estimates that “at least 35% of enterprise endpoints deployed at the start of the pandemic were ‘old tech’ that were at least three generations behind the current offerings, and therefore much more likely to be a security risk.”
A potentially ruinous threat. According to IDC the median ransomware payment in 2021 was just over $75 million, while the average payment was over $240 million.