Many cybersecurity analysts have warned about an expected increase in ransomware attacks ahead of Independence Day throughout the U.S. This is a time when many people are focused on family and fun, leading to less attention being paid to digital threats.
As U.S. citizens celebrate their liberation from British rule, a lowering of threat awareness could lead to an increased level of cybersecurity vulnerability says Brian Spanswick, CISO, Cohesity.
Spanswick tells Digital Journal that these concerns tally with lessons delivered by federal officials: “The FBI and cybersecurity officials have previously issued warnings emphasizing that bad actors often deploy ransomware strikes on holidays and weekends, when offices are normally closed. I wouldn’t be surprised if cyber criminals have July 4th circled on their calendars.”
Therefore, the public need a refresher about the risks, says Spanswick: “As we approach this holiday weekend, it’s a great reminder that IT and security leaders must work together to safeguard customer and employee data, and have a data security strategy in place that’s not only focused on prevention, but also on protection, detection, and recovery.”
“Our recent research shows that collaboration between IT and security teams is often sub par,” continues Spanwick. “More than 80 percent of IT and SecOps decision-makers agree their organizations would be better prepared to recover from cyber threats, including ransomware attacks, if these groups collaborated more closely. So, to keep bad actors at bay and help ensure business continuity, including during and after the Independence Day holiday, now is the time to optimize collaboration and prioritize next-gen data management that’s inline with the NIST Cyber Security Framework.”
Digital Journal has also received cautionary advice from George Axberg, VP of Data Protection, VAST Data.
Axberg continues the theme of people putting their guard down when it comes to extended holiday periods: “The 4th of July, and other long holiday weekends, are historically some of the biggest windows for ransomware attacks.”
However, the threats are very real. Axberg stats: “The onslaught of ransomware has spawned a ‘digital pandemic’ in which any organization can suffer crippling attacks and disastrous outcomes. For many organizations, it’s not an ‘if’ scenario, but rather a ‘when’ or a ‘how often’ they will be targeted.”
Axberg recommends that businesses take action: Taking proactive measures to protect and harden backup data, while providing optimized restore speeds, should be among organizations’ top priorities in the ransomware era. Tools like VAST’s Universal Storage architecture enable fast backup and even faster restores of all data, allowing customers to recover quickly in the event of an attack.”
