EDITOR ’ S QUESTION
As the Editorial Director of Lynchpin Media , my week is spent reading the huge number of press releases we get sent in every day . From this experience , I can assure you of one thing – organizations should definitely not drop their guard against the threat of ransomware .
We see the occasional report that offers a glimpse of hope and for those we are more than grateful – however the battle against ransomware is certainly not won . . . or anywhere near it .
Anyone who thinks otherwise is playing with fire or more accurately risking the ability of their company to operate on a day-to-day basis .
A successful ransomware attack can easily disrupt an organization ' s operations , making it problematic or actually pretty much impossible to access vital critical data and systems . Not surprisingly , this can result in lost productivity and revenue , as well as damage to the organization ' s reputation – and it ’ s this reputational damage that can have the biggest financial repercussions long-term . consequences . For instance , if a hospital or healthcare facility is hit by a ransomware attack , patient records and other critical information may be inaccessible , potentially putting patient safety at risk .
Similarly , if a financial institution is hit , it may not be able to access customer accounts or perform critical transactions , causing financial losses and damaging that all-important business reputation . The longer it takes to recover from a ransomware attack , the more significant the impact on the organization ' s reputation and relationships with customers , partners and stakeholders . You don ’ t need to be a genius to work out this is going to hit the bottom line .
Organizations can alleviate the operational effect of ransomware attacks by having vigorous backup and recovery processes in place , as well as by investing in comprehensive cybersecurity solutions to avoid these in the first place . It ' s also essential to have a clear incident response plan in place to enable a swift and effective response if an attack does occur .
This is as true today as it ’ s ever been . p
The encryption of an organization ' s data and systems always leads to wide-ranging and significant
MARK BOWEN , EDITORIAL DIRECTOR , LYNCHPIN MEDIA
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