Page 38 - Logistics News - Issue 01 - 2024.indd
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R AN S O M W AR E
The ransomware dilemma:
To pay or not to pay?
By Warren Bonheim, Managing Director at Zinia
The rise of ransomware attacks has become an alarming trend, causing
business leaders to grapple with a difficult question: Should they negotiate with
ransomware attackers and pay the demanded ransom?
his dilemma poses many challenges and businesses awareness training combined with regular assessments to
must weigh the potential consequences of their test employees’ vulnerabilities is critical.
T decisions. Many think that paying the ransom may be 3. You need a cybersecurity platform that has round-the-clock
the quickest way to regain access to critical data and systems, monitoring, built-in automated incident response and AI-led
particularly in companies where downtime translates to techniques to quickly and automatically block or investigate
substantial financial losses or even risks lives such as in health threats. Smart platforms also have data intelligence gathering
care or emergency services. of incidents from all over the world where AI analyses and
learns from this data for predictive prevention to stay ahead
There is no guarantee that the attackers will honour their of cybercriminals.
end of the bargain and provide decryption keys or release the 4. Beyond automation, you can also strengthen your security
stolen data even after the ransom is paid. Businesses may through a team of human-led threat hunters who actively
end up losing money without resolving the issue. In effect, seek out anomalies, unusual patterns and other indicators
paying ransoms provides financial incentives to cybercriminals, of compromise that automated systems may have missed.
encouraging them to continue their illegal activities. Their goal is to identify and act against security threats before
they can cause significant damage or data breaches within
Some believe that because stolen data may include sensitive your business.
information about customers or employees, paying the ransom 5. Recently, there’s been an increasing trend where attackers
can prevent the exposure of this data, mitigating the risk of only return half of the stolen data and then demand the same
lawsuits, regulatory fines and reputational damage. However, ransom again to release the remainder. To safeguard against
the real danger of this is that companies might become such scenarios, it’s crucial for businesses to implement a
trapped in a cycle of paying ransoms instead of addressing robust and secure cloud backup strategy. This ensures the
the root causes of vulnerabilities and not invest in more robust ability to restore data in the event of a ransomware attack,
cybersecurity measures. enabling uninterrupted business operations.
6. Companies do not have to invest in the latest technology,
6 tips on staying ahead of ransomware nor hire in the skills to do so; rather, you can get affordable
attackers enterprise-grade solutions by using a cybersecurity provider
1. Don’t wait to become a victim. Thinking it won’t happen for a month-to-month service. These providers have the most
to you is dangerous because hope is not an effective advanced systems in place that are constantly being updated
strategy, especially with the increasing sophistication and to adjust to different attack scenarios.
business of cybercrime. Strengthening your cybersecurity
makes it more difficult for attackers to penetrate your In conclusion, rather than facing the ransomware dilemma
defences. in the first place, companies can prioritise prevention and
2. The weakest link for cybercriminals is people. Your employees preparedness to strengthen their defences, making it more
pose the greatest danger to the business because they may difficult for criminals to launch attacks. Additionally, by having
inadvertently let ransomware pass into the company by a proper data backup plan in place, data can be quickly
clicking on links or visiting websites that pose a risk. Security recovered. •
36 I S S UE 01 – 2024 www .l o g ist i csn e w s .c o .z a
