The State of Ransomware 2023 report from Sophos reported that 84% of the Singaporean organisations surveyed have been hit by a ransomware attack.
A ransomware attack is effective when the victim has no way to regain data access but to pay the attacker to get the decryption key or to lose the information in the encrypted files.
In Singapore, it is not illegal to pay for the ransomware.
The three reasons not to pay are:
- You are trusting a criminal that locked you out in the first place and you are hoping on having the decryption key in return of a payment to an unknown entity.
- The attacker could anyway use and/or sell the information obtained in the dark internet.
- You expose the company to future attacks because you are willing to pay.
The Singapore Counter-Ransomware Task Force CRTF comprising of senior representatives from multiple Government agencies doesn’t recommend paying any ransomware.
Today we have several products and services to protect these assets against several kinds of attacks and threats but not all organizations have the financial resources and/or the IT roles capable to select, implement and configure properly these solutions.
These can’t be excuses to fall victims of ransomware. Organizations with limited budgets need to work on getting the most with what they can have by starting from the basics: implement a solid disaster recovery and backup plan to assure business continuity and recovery for system failures, in this case, for inaccessible data files due to ransomware attack.
Adopting a cybersecurity framework would be ideal. It would help to understand where the company stands in mitigating its risks, it would give an overview of the existing security posture and what is needed to reach the desired state defined by business requirements and decision makers.
The truth is that knowing the overall security posture and vulnerabilities doesn’t make a company immune from these kinds of attacks, but it will help to pinpoint areas of weaknesses allowing targeted investments in the required security controls and People.
What is the prize of a successful ransomware attack?
It depends on the encrypted files type: customer orders, medical data, intellectual properties, financial data, students’ records, etc.
The failure of accessing these kinds of information would translate in an abrupt interruption of the service provided by the company with significant financial loses or, in worst scenarios, life threatening situations.
Ignoring, postponing or economizing investments in security will only make easier the attackers’ job.
Point on Quality and not on quantity when choosing your protection systems.
Singaporean organizations mustn’t ignore these numbers nor be an easy target for hackers.
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“Knowledge is Power but without Actions is useless.”
Roby Osamu
