Image sourced from Forbes. Modern enterprises face an onslaught of cyberattacks from many quarters and must not only be prepared to contend with the direct costs of potential breaches but also with spiralling indirect costs, such as compliance fines and reputational damage. As the threat landscape continues to evolve, so do the frequency and sophistication of attacks, with companies facing anything from denial of service attacks and phishing attempts to payment card skimming, identity theft, and account takeover threats. At the same time, ransomware attacks have gained prominence over the last few years, forcing companies to continually test their data protection plans to understand the risks associated with having sensitive data released to the public. In its State of Ransomware 2021 repo...
There can be no doubt that ransomware attacks are on the rise across the globe. A simple online search will reveal thousands of statistics in this regard, and South Africa is no exception. What is also clear from numerous examples of successful breaches, is the potentially devastating effect of a ransomware attack, which can cripple a business and shut down essential services for extended periods, not to mention cost a fortune to recover from. They are, in fact, legitimate business disasters, and need to be considered as such when it comes to disaster recovery and business continuity planning. Under Siege There is no shortage of high-profile examples of ransomware attacks in South Africa over the past two years, from Johannesburg City Power to the Life Healthcare hospital group, Transnet P...
Image sourced from Finance Times. The recent ransomware attacks on the Department of Justice and Constitutional Development (DoJ) and the South African National Space Agency (Sansa) is a testament to the sophistication and aggressiveness of cybercrime in South Africa. In response to these attacks, organisations need to devise a preventative plan of action. “With South Africa having the third-highest number of cybercrime victims worldwide, and the biggest threat being ransomware, businesses are prone to being victims of ransomware traps unknowingly. In such cases, cyber-criminals pose as credible agencies with the intent of luring organisations to their demise,” says Maeson Maherry, CEO and co-founder of LAWtrust. What are Ransomware Attacks? Ransomware attacks are cyberattacks where a cybe...