Intelligent CIO North America Issue 21 | Page 44

CIO OPINION
Cyber-risk quantification can be a game-changer for insurers and businesses alike .
Saket Modi , Co-founder & CEO , Safe Security

Millions lost to ransomware . What is the solution ?

With the evolution of ransomware , reactive techniques and reliance on data backups alone are no longer enough . California-based Saket Modi , Co-founder and CEO , Safe Security , tells us organizations will have to proactively prepare for ransomware attacks and have dedicated playbooks in place to manage and mitigate them .

In 2021 , we observed a resurgence of enterprise ransomware with a shift towards larger organizations . By attacking enterprises with a larger reach , threat actors are looking to increase their financial gains without increasing effort .

The rise of ransomware attacks on supply-chain and third parties is resulting in ‘ one-to-many ’ compromises .
On average , enterprises have approximately 5,800 vendors they depend on for business functionality , and 20 % of these pose a high risk . to a business , cybercriminals are targeting thirdparty vendors to laterally breach multiple larger organizations simultaneously .
Examples of such tactics include the SolarWinds attack , which will reportedly cause a cumulative loss of over US $ 100 billion .
In 2022 , ransomware is evolving ; sensitive credentials will be stolen and leaked without any waiting period , customers ’ data will be exposed and customers will be directly threatened .
Since third-party ( and fourth party ) cybersecurity is often not up to the mark , and there is a lack of visibility of real-time cyber-risk the third parties pose
Therefore , reactive techniques and reliance on data backups alone wouldn ’ t help . Organizations will have to proactively prepare for ransomware attacks and
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