Ecosystem of Cyber Crime

Cloud-connectivity is quickly becoming imperative for all business processes. Yet, with this change comes increased risks. Ever since the COVID-19 pandemic began, and the world had to enter an increasingly digital environment, rates of cyber crime have risen exponentially.

According to CrowdStrike’s 2022 Global Threat Report, ransomware has increased in popularity and is being used by many to hack into individual and corporate networks at record-high rates (CrowdStrike, 2022). As work-from-home policies became standard due to the pandemic, cyber criminals discovered that there were less individuals on secure corporate networks and more on personal networks. Technium’s Director of Security Analysis, Laura Askew, says it best, “People were transitioning from corporate networks, the level of security was not the same at home.” The lack of security has made it easier for cyber criminals to target individuals for their personal data or use them to bypass secure corporate networks, gaining access to sensitive information.

Due to this increase in the number of at-risk organizations and individuals, cyber criminal groups are developing and implementing new penetration tools and software to capitalize on the changing digital ecosystem. As a result, cyber criminal groups found themselves in an ecosystem all their own and operating much like traditional businesses do. Not only are these criminal groups becoming more organized, but some are also offering Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) to their own customers, lowering the technical skill gap typically needed to leverage ransomware.

What You Can Do to Protect Your Organization:

This shift in the ecosystem of cyber crime can be stressful for those responsible for their organization’s information security and IT; however, it doesn’t have to be. Here are some suggestions on how you can help ensure the safety of your data-in-motion.

• Employee awareness is vital to preventing ransomware. As cyber threats are now targeting individuals at higher rates, it is more important than ever to educate your organization’s employees on standard security protocols. By implementing regularly scheduled security training sessions and reminders for your organization’s workforce, your employees, whether on-premises or remote, can become familiar with security best practices including, evaluating the trustworthiness of digital communications, connecting to VPNs when on public and other less secure networks, and more.

• Have a security plan in place. You are setting your organization up for success should you experience a breach. A comprehensive plan should layout the necessary steps and procedures that must be completed for your organization to get back to full operating capacity. Preparation is half the battle; recovery from a ransomware infection or other cyber attack becomes much simpler when there is a pre-determined plan to address it.

• Move your security to where your employees are. Cyber criminal groups leveraging ransomware and other malicious software have already focused their sights on your employees as they work-from-anywhere. To protect your employees and organization from ransomware attacks, it is pivotal to remember that your security must meet your workforce where they are. This has been difficult to accomplish, but Technium’s new service, The Fabric, optimizes and secures every aspect of data transport between your employees’ workspaces and the cloud, allowing your workforce to work-from-anywhere while minimizing the risk of ransomware infection.

Interested in learning how Technium can secure and optimize your network? Book time with us.