Infographic: Just say no to ransomware demands

It’s easy to sit back and judge other security professionals and the situations they’re in from a distance. How many times over the past year have you come across a headline about a major organization—public or private—that’s paid a considerable amount of cash (or crypto) to cybercriminals who have taken their IT systems hostage thanks to ransomware? The reality is that many organizations have paid the ransom; however, an increasing number are beginning to think differently, according to a recent Twitter poll conducted by Menlo Security.

The million-dollar question: Should you pay ransomware attackers.

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The global poll, which includes responses and reactions to the recent increase in ransomware attacks, indicates that 79 percent of respondents believe that organizations should not pay the ransom.

But can you really blame those that pay the ransom? To them, it’s far easier to yield to the demands and immediately regain control over their IT systems than to deal with the fallout from a ransomware breach. Organizations that are breached typically suffer a major blow that results in public fallout and the weakening of customers’ faith in the company’s ability to keep their information private and secure, which can have costlier effects.

Data from the Menlo Security poll also sheds light on the consequences that many believe threat actors should face for stealing company data and extorting organizations. More than two-thirds of respondents believe that cybercriminals should face prison time for their actions.

The safest route, of course, would be to prevent cybercriminals from gaining access to your systems in the first place. No access, no ransom. To achieve this, many security leaders are looking to isolation-powered technology coupled with a Zero Trust approach to security. The result is that no entity is able to connect to your devices, even if a user clicks on a ransomware or malware link, visits a compromised website, or downloads a malicious document.

All the evidence points to the ransomware problem getting worse before it gets better. To bolster your knowledge on the topic, download Gartner’s latest report that highlights how you can proactively protect yourself from ransomware attacks, and be sure to view the rest of the Twitter poll results in the infographic above.