Ransomware demands have doubled in the recent past. Armed with sophisticated technical capabilities and ambitious money goals, present-day attackers are big-game hunters. In the last week of April, REvil, a renowned cyber-criminal gang, breached and ransomed Apple's schematics for new products, demanding $50M for their release. Ransomware protection and risk management is now a critical part of expert-driven Los Angeles IT services.
REvil circulated news that it had stolen critical data and schematics from Apple's supplier Quanta Computer, threatening to sell the business secrets to the highest bidder if the tech company should fail to pay the $50M ransom demand. The hackers published several plausible insights into the official documents of the brand and its supplier concerning assemblies MacBook and iMac. These would be accompanied by "exact and detailed assembly indications."
From Quanta to Apple
Bloomberg confirmed that Quanta quanta had indeed registered an infiltration of hackers through an exploited flaw. It also specified that the organization behind the attack, active on the darknet forums, had initially contacted Quanta to blackmail them. Due to lack of response from the supplier, they took it up with Apple.
The Risk of Ransomware on The Rise
Cyber-attacks through ransomware are so profitable that they multiply and occur in the thousands every day. In 2020, data shows that there were 304 million ransomware attacks. The frequency of attacks has climbed 350% since 2018. The average cost of the attacks is now $6 trillion in 2021.
Unfortunately, corporate security systems are no guarantee against the risk of an attack. Even though they manage to slow down most of them, some cross the security system and penetrate the network. Your Los Angeles IT services should include ransomware protection through detection systems and intrusion prevention.
In most cases, the virus infiltrates a company's computer network via a single computer through attachments that can be downloaded in an email and then spread to the company's computers. Having encrypted all the data, the attacker orders a ransom (often by virtual currency to avoid any tracing) in exchange for a decryption key.
Companies attacked on all servers and backups often find themselves completely helpless and agree to pay the ransom. The company that chooses this option takes the risk that the key communicated is not the right one, and they also risk a second attack! The second option is data recovery by working with companies that recover the original data. Data recovery allows the customer not to pay the ransom and get back to business as quickly as possible.
But when cybercriminals threaten to sell or publish sensitive data, as in the case of REvil, it is checkmate. This underscores the need to invest in proactive protection measures, including vulnerability scans, pen tests, firewalls, and employee education.
At Vitalpoints, our Los Angeles IT services experts have helped many businesses reduce the risk of ransomware attacks. We employ innovative approaches and trustworthy solutions to secure your business. Contact us to keep your business protected.