the Fraudian Slip Podcast: Ransomware Attacks Viewed as The Top Cybersecurity Threat in 2021 by Many Experts

• According to a survey by Proofpoint, ransomware attacks are now viewed as the top cybersecurity threat by nearly half, 46 percent, of Chief Information Security Officers.
• Cybersecurity firm Emsisoft found that at least 2,354 U.S. government agencies, healthcare facilities and schools were the victims of ransomware attacks in 2020.
• The Emsisoft report also reports that more than 1,300 companies lost data, including intellectual property and other sensitive information in 2020.
• Ransomware attacks cause significant disruption when ambulances carrying emergency patients are redirected, cancer treatments are delayed, lab test results are inaccessible and 9-1-1 services are interrupted.
• For information about recent data breaches, consumers and businesses should visit the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) new data breach tracking tool, notified.
• Keep an eye out for the ITRC’s 15th Annual Data Breach Report. The 2020 Data Breach Report will be released on January 28, 2021.
• For more information, or if someone believes they are the victim of identity theft, consumers can contact the Identity Theft Resource Center toll-free at 888.400.5530 or via live-chat on the company website.

Welcome to the Identity Theft Resource Center’s (ITRC) Weekly Breach Breakdown for January 22, 2021. Each week, we look at the most recent and interesting events and trends related to data security and privacy.  Human beings tend to end a year by looking forward, but begin the new year by looking back. This week, such is the case when researchers, having just finished publishing their 2021 predictions, turn to sharing their annual trend reports. How many of X and the increase or decrease in Y.

Here, we are interested in the trends that impact consumers and businesses regarding data privacy and security. The first significant report on those topics concludes that ransomware attacks are now the single biggest cyber threat to companies based on what happened in 2020. If it’s a threat to businesses, it’s a threat to consumers.

You may not know the name Phil Dusenberry, but you know his work. If you saw a Pepsi commercial during the ’80s, ‘90s and early 2000s, you saw his handy work. If you ever saw the “Morning in America” film for President Reagan or the baseball movie, “The Natural”, those belonged to Phil Dusenberry, too. Now, he has contributed to today’s episode when he said: “Writing advertisements is the second most profitable form of writing. The first, of course, is…” Hold that thought, and we’ll come back to it.

Ransomware Attacks Considered A Top Cybersecurity Threat

Cybersecurity firm Proofpoint has found that ransomware attacks are now viewed as the top cybersecurity threat by nearly half, 46 percent, of Chief Information Security Officers in a recent survey. Even more alarming is research from New Zealand-based cybersecurity firm Emsisoft that concludes at least 2,354 U.S. government agencies, healthcare facilities and schools were the victims of ransomware attacks in 2020. The impacted organizations include:

• 113 federal, state and municipal governments and agencies
• 560 healthcare facilities
• 1,681 schools, colleges and universities

These kinds of attacks cause significant, and sometimes life-threatening, disruption when ambulances carrying emergency patients have to be redirected, cancer treatments are delayed, lab test results are inaccessible and 9-1-1 services are interrupted.

The Impact of Ransomware Attacks on Private Businesses

Ransomware attacks are not limited to the public sector. Private businesses are very much in the crosshairs of the professional cybercriminals who commit these crimes. According to the Emsisoft report, more than 1,300 companies, many based in the U.S., lost data, including intellectual property and other sensitive information in 2020. That’s just the number of companies with data published on websites where thieves post their ransom notes or stolen data for sale. It does not include the unknown number of companies that paid the ransom before anyone noticed.

Few cyber-criminal groups released the data they stole in 2020. Only two are known to have done so after companies refused to pay a ransom. However, by the end of 2020, more companies were paying ransom figures over $200,000 on average to avoid the release of their compromised information.

Many times, they paid the demands even if they didn’t have to do so. Emsisoft has documented cases where businesses with the necessary back-ups to restore their information still paid the ransom for fear their data would be released if they didn’t pay. Proving Phil Dusenberry’s theory, the most profitable form of writing…is a ransom note.

ITRC to Release Annual Data Breach Report

Next week, the ITRC will publish its annual report on data breaches. The report includes how many breaches occurred, who was impacted, why they occur and much more. There are some very interesting trends that we’ll discuss in our next episode.

Contact the ITRC

If you have questions about how to protect your information from data breaches and data exposures, visit idtheftcenter.org, where you will find helpful tips on this and many other topics.

If you think you have already been the victim of an identity crime or a data breach and you need help figuring out what to do next, contact us. You can speak with an expert advisor on the phone (888.400.5530), chat live on the web or exchange emails during regular business hours (6 a.m. to 5 p.m. PST). Visit the company website to get started.

If you want to work ahead and read our 2020 Data Breach Report, our 15^th annual edition, it will be posted on our website on Thursday, January 28, as part of Data Privacy Day. Just visit idtheftcenter.org.