IT Nation Panel: Ransomware Is The Biggest Challenge Facing
Security Firms.
One of the most pernicious threats to your customers’ IT infrastructures and businesses is crypto-ransomware. This malware automatically encrypts user files and makes them unavailable until a ransom is paid to unlock them.
Ransomware has become the most nefarious challenge for security vendors today because of the inability of existing technologies to remediate once the damage has been done, panelists at ConnectWise’s IT Nation agreed Thursday.
“Ransomware is just something that you can’t clean up,” said Marin Kleczynski, CEO of San Jose, Calif.-based Malwarebytes. “It’s gotten to the point where the FBI director basically said, ‘Just pay the ransom.’ “
Even though the frequency of ransomware attacks hasn’t much changed, the increased severity of these breaches has made it the most vexing issue facing partners and end users of San Diego, Calif.-based ESET NA, Stephen Cobb, the company’s senior security research, said during a breakout panel at the conference in Orlando, Fl.
Ransomware is a form of malware that, after infecting a device or network, prevents users from accessing their files (usually through encryption) before a ransom of some sort is paid. The most notable recent strain of ransomware was CryptoLocker, which now has encryption keys available for most of those infected (though, CryptoLocker 2.0 is making its emergence). At a recent IT Nation panel, executives said ransomware, while only accounting for about 5 percent of crimeware.
