Ransomware Attacks 44% of Retailers in 2020
Due to the global pandemic, many retailers are seeing an increase in online transactions. But, does this make these businesses targets for a ransomware attack? The short answer: yes. Don’t worry — QuickProtect has several steps to help you protect your business from ransomware. Keep reading to learn how!
Recent Ransomware Attacks
A Sophos study found that 44% of retail organizations were hit by a ransomware attack in 2020. Further, more than half of those affected (54%) said cyber-criminals had succeeded in encrypting their data.
Sophos’ report also found that of the retailers with encrypted data, 32% paid the ransom to get their data back. Further, the average ransom payment was $147,811. However, 56% of these victims used backups to restore their data, foregoing the need to pay the ransom. Unfortunately, of those who did pay the ransom, only received 67% of their data on average. As a result, leaving almost a third of it completely inaccessible. Just 9% of ransom-paying organizations got all their encrypted data back.
Aside from the ransomware payments, the average total cost of ransomware attacks on retail organizations was $1.97 million. That cost includes downtime, investigative staff and a data restoration team, device and network cost, lost opportunity, and the actual ransom paid.Â
Four Tips to Protect Your Data
It is obvious that ransomware can seriously harm your retail business. As a retail business owner, you need to take the following 4 steps to protect your business from ransomware.
- Have offline and offsite back-ups to ensure you can restore your data if it’s encrypted with ransomware
- Use endpoint protection to help defend your organization from ransomware
- Mandate everyone takes a cyber awareness training course to reduce their risk of unknowingly installing ransomware
- Have some form of cyber or ransomware insurance to help you recover from a ransomware attack.
QuickProtect Can Help
At QuickProtect, we understand how ransomware can affect your retail business. That’s why we offer a cybersecurity package that includes offline and offsite backups, endpoint protection, employee awareness training and ransomware insurance. To learn more about our services and packages, please visit our services page.Â
