Every other day, a survey is conducted on the landscape of cyber threats and they often suggest that ransomware attacks are constantly hurting individuals and companies. An Ireland-based IT company has recently conducted a survey among corporate Chief Information Officers (CIO) in 23 countries.
The survey concludes that the majority of CIOs are in agreement that cryptovirological attacks and subsequent extortion activities are the leading cyber threat faced by the corporate sector. This shows that ransomware removal measures have become a huge cause of concern for digital security departments. It is important to note that majority of the companies are still working without robust and independent IT security departments. Therefore, they have to resort to full-time professional digital security services for ransomware removal.
Ransomware Tops the Chart
According to the survey, more than 70 percent CIOs term ransomware and corporate extortions as the biggest cyber threat they are facing today. DDoS attacks, social engineering outings, and identity theft are rated second, third and fourth most dangerous cyber threats respectively. Meanwhile, the insider foul play is considered the least menacing cyber threat by CIOs.
It is also important to note that sometimes social engineering outings set the template for a ransomware attack. Similarly, the line between DDoS and ransomware attacks is also getting blurred with time. Now many ransomware attacks are aimed at denying the services instead of locking down the data. Especially in a corporate environment, it’s lucrative for operators to ask for extortion money to restore the affected services.
Snail-Paced Digital Transformation is the Culprit
Nearly one-third CIOs have confessed that many projects end up in cancellation because of the digital security apprehensions. A reluctant digital transformation is the main reason why the corporate sector is bearing the losses due to cyber attacks.
But it is encouraging to know that more than half of the surveyed corporations are willing to replace and streamline their existing digital infrastructure. These changes will help them in building their own in-house digital security teams, resulting in efficient ransomware removal measures.
