How to Prevent Ransomware Attacks Outlined at New York State Cyber Security Conference

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NYC area cyber security expert shares protection steps for business leaders fearing increased ransomware attacks at critical Cyber Security Conference session Hoboken, New Jersey (Cision) June 15, 2020 – Carl Mazzanti, President and Co-founder of eMazzanti Technologies, a specialist in cybersecurity, addressed the New York State Cyber Security Conference on the topic of How to Prevent Ransomware Attacks. His virtual 60-minute presentation was made June 8, 2021. In his presentation, Mazzanti discussed the essential facts of ransomware, including: How ransomware attacks happen in the cloud. How cyber-criminals continue to get away with it. Why 73% of Ransomware attacks are successful….

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Ransomware Insurance Coverage Disappearing, Not Enough for Robust Cybersecurity

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On May 9, European insurance giant AXA announced it will no longer provide support for ransom payments made to hackers. While AXA appears to be the first insurer to deny ransom payments, the move could signal an impending shift in ransomware insurance coverage. The AXA announcement comes as ransomware attacks prove an increasingly lucrative business model. For instance, victims paid an estimated $350 million in ransom payments in 2020, over 300 percent more than in 2019. In recent high-profile cases, Colonial Pipeline paid attackers $4.4 million, and CNA Financial Corporation paid a whopping $40 million. Meanwhile, cyber criminals continue to…

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Fight Double Extortion Ransomware Threat with Essential Security

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Late in 2019, a new cyber security threat emerged. Criminals used ransomware to attack Allied Universal. In a twist now known as double extortion, the bad actors first extracted sensitive information before encrypting company data. Then they insisted that Allied pay a stiff ransom to avoid seeing sensitive data leaked publicly. Throughout 2020, other attackers have followed suit. To convince organizations to pay a ransom, criminals threaten to publish or sell the stolen data. To prove their point, they post samples of the data on their websites. Thus, the tactic effectively combines ransomware with data breach. And it places organizations…

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Ransomware Payments Sanctions Avoided with Risk-based Compliance Program

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The U.S. Department of the Treasury’s Office of Foreign Assets Control (OFAC) recently issued an advisory to highlight the sanctions risks of ransomware payments. The advisory warns companies and others that ransomware payments to cyber criminals on OFAC’s blocked persons lists and those covered by embargoes are prohibited. Violators of OFAC regulations face financial sanctions that may be reduced if they meet certain conditions. “Under the Enforcement Guidelines… the existence, nature, and adequacy of a sanctions compliance program is a factor that OFAC may consider when determining an appropriate enforcement response,” the OFAC notice reads. “Now more than ever, preventative…

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7 bizarre security analogies about preventing ransomware hacks

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7 bizarre security analogies about preventing ransomware hacks. Ransomware is the worst. Attacks grew 250 percent last year, and 26.2 percent of those targets were businesses. Even worse, one in six businesses that paid the ransom still didn’t get their data back. WannaCry alone affected over 400,000 machines, and let’s not even get started about ExPetr—the wipervirus formerly known as Petya—or October’s Bad Rabbit. And even though you’ve already implemented as many “new” and “innovative” strategies as you can, you still can’t sleep at night. First, the good news: Some script kiddies are switching to cryptocurrency mining. Fewer new strains were discovered last year than expected, and…

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5 Steps to Prevent Ransomware from Destroying Your Business

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The message reads, “Your network has been penetrated. All files have been encrypted. We exclusively hold decryption software for your situation.” Those dreaded words indicate the presence of ransomware and the stuff of nightmares. However, with advance preparation, you can prevent ransomware from crippling your organization. Thousands of organizations, from hospitals to schools, city governments to corporations, have fallen victim to ransomware. Attacks continue to increase in frequency and sophistication. But your organization does not need to become a statistic. The key lies in minimizing the risk of attack, detecting attacks early and responding effectively. 5 Steps to Prevent Ransomware…

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eCare Secure Route Delivers Peace of Mind, Blocks DNS Attacks

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“SecureRoute is insurance that keeps you alive instead of paying off when you’re dead. You should have it already! If you don’t, you’re not doing your job.” Tim Rocks, Director of Information Technology, Mancini Duffy eCare Secure Route provides a cloud-delivered network security service that blocks DNS attacks, as well as other advanced attacks, malware, botnets and phishing threats regardless of port, protocol or application. Its predictive intelligence uses machine learning to automate protection against emergent threats before an organization is attacked. eCare Secure Route protects all of Mancini Duffy’s devices globally without hardware to install or software to maintain. Business…

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6 Email Security Tips to Defend Against Increasing Attacks

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Know what to look for and arm your organization with six simple, but effective, defense strategies. Email is Weapon of Choice Cyber criminals stole more than $3 billion over the last three years through Business Email Compromise (BEC) scams. Those scams targeted small and mid-size businesses (SMBs), in particular. According to the recently published Internet Security Threat Report (ISTR) from Symantec, email has emerged as the weapon of choice for cyber-attacks in 2016. Sadly, while one in 220 emails contained malware in 2015, that rate increased to one in 131 emails in 2016. Attackers now favor spear-phishing email campaigns that…

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3 Steps to Protect Critical Business Data from WannaCry Ransomware Attack

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On Friday, May 12, an unprecedented ransomware attack hit more than 200,000 computers in 150 countries. Experts warn that attacks like this will increase, and copycat versions of the initial ransomware have already been detected. Protect your organization’s critical data now by implementing these key security measures. In April, Symantec released its annual Internet Security Threat Report. The report warned that ransomware posed one of the most significant threats facing organizations. Just weeks later, cyber criminals launched a widespread ransomware attack. The attack crippled the hospital system in Great Britain and affected business and government networks globally. Using a hacking…

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The Rise of Ransomware & How to Protect Your Business

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Ransomware on the Rise In June 2016, our CEO, Carl Mazzanti, stated in an interview that ransomware was “the #1 growing IT security threat” to businesses. For those who aren’t familiar, ransomware is malicious software criminals use to block access to computer systems—or hold your data hostage—until you pay them. As we work our way into 2017, the threat of ransomware is still growing. Take the St. Louis City Public Library, for example. In January, 700 computers throughout the library’s 16 branches fell victim to ransomware. As of publishing, it is uncertain when the devices will be available again for…

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