After so many recent high-profile ransomware attacks, CISOs, SOC Managers and other cybersecurity leaders are certainly aware of the risks involved. Global costs from ransomware attacks are expected to crest $20 billion in 2021, according to Cybercrime Magazine. That’s a staggering 5,700% increase in just the last six years.
Whether anyone can truly appreciate how grave these risks truly are until they’re on the receiving end of a successful ransomware attack, however, remains to be seen. It’s difficult to appreciate the visceral terror of knowing that your organization’s future is, at that very moment, irrevocably tied to the whims of an attacker.
Given the stakes, why don’t organizations take efforts to harden their defenses against ransomware? Aside from inertia, some businesses may simply lack confidence about the right steps to take — and one of the most effective of these steps is a regular ransomware readiness assessment. Such assessments have become a core piece of cloud security readiness.
Why Ransomware Readiness Assessments Work
Cyberattacks are growing more sophisticated every day, and ransomware is no exception. New techniques, including “double extortion” — where attackers don’t just encrypt data, but threaten to publicly release it — have made the consequences of such attacks even more serious.
Undergoing an assessment is perhaps the most effective move an organization can make to protect against this risk. Assessments vary considerably in terms of what they offer — some are simple online tools that use a question and answer format to gauge your level of risk. While this approach is better than nothing, it does not provide truly in-depth analysis.
A better choice is a tool that provides actual ransomware attack simulation. This allows you to see through the eyes of an attacker by running automated ransomware simulation against your defenses, uncovering the key exposures that put your most critical assets at risk. These platforms are becoming an integral part of modern ransomware vulnerability management.
One such solution is offered by XM Cyber. Our attack simulation technology continuously identifies the misconfigurations, overly permissive credentials and other exposures that make your network vulnerable. Our platform outlines all possible attack paths using visualized attack graphs, showing how adversaries can move laterally to jeopardize business-critical assets.
XM Cyber technology then provides a window into the most pressing issues to fix, actionable steps that will have the most significant impact on your security posture. Prioritized remediation guidance allows users to quickly eliminate exposures and harden ransomware defenses.
Why Your Organization Should Contact XM Cyber Today
At XM Cyber, we offer 30-day ransomware readiness assessments that offer three key elements:
- Our attack modeling shows precisely how adversaries can pivot across your network to target your critical assets
- We prepare an executive report that quantifies your risk through our scoring system
- XM Cyber prepares an actionable, prioritized remediation plan that allows you to immediately begin improving your security posture
Today’s attackers are fully aware of data backup systems and other ransomware protections. As such, they are often no longer content to encrypt your information and wait for a payout. Instead, they may spend weeks or months studying a target before employing double extortion techniques and other ransomware attacks.
This means it is more crucial than ever to contract with some form of ransomware assessment service to gain deeper visibility into your current state of risk — and then take fast action to harden your defenses.
We urge you to contact XM Cyber today for your own ransomware readiness assessment.
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