Page 62 - Security Today, March 2020

The Next Victims Trucking fleets may be the next targets of ransomware
BAy Moshe Shlisel
mong the common types of cybersecurity attacks perpetrated on enterprises, arguably none are as sophisticated, effective or lucrative as ransom- ware is today. Ransomware is a cyber attack in which an actor takes control of an organization’s
internal systems and holds it “hostage” until a ransom is paid by the victimized organization.
These attacks thrive on businesses with sensitive consumer data or where the cost of halting operations would far exceed the ransom price demanded by the bad actor, who is expected to retreat and turn over an encryption key to the victim.
Based on current and forthcoming advancements in trucking, such as fleet software and autonomous technology, these com- panies and their insurance carriers are bracing to have a growing bullseye on them with ransomware attacks moving forward.
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Ransomware Continues To Target Supply Chain Businesses
Just last year, ransomware cost U.S. businesses $8 billion. This amount may be shocking at first, but when considering the asso- ciated cleanup costs, lost revenue can be 100 to 200 times greater than the ransom itself. Hence, it’s no surprise that 45 percent of ransomware victims and/or insurance companies decide to pay the ransom rather than restore the systems themselves.
Moreover, ransomware attacks skyrocketed in the first quarter of 2019, according to the Beazley Breach Response (BBR) Ser- vices team, which reported a 105 percent increase in the number of ransomware attack notifications against clients compared to Q1 2018. Additionally, the average price of ransoms in Q1 2019 increased by 89 percent as compared to Q4 2018.
According to the report, the healthcare sector was hardest hit
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