As if 2020 could not get any worse, this year has also ushered in a dramatic uptick in ransomware attacks. Threat actor groups are taking advantage of COVID-19 and the sudden massive increase in remote working. While companies were struggling to remain operational despite no longer working in a physical office, threat actors were exploiting remote access and the lack of multi-factor authentication to infiltrate their computer systems.

The size of the ransom demands and the sophistication of the attacks are also increasing. Two years ago, most demands were in the mid-five figures; now, we are routinely seeing six and seven figure demands. The higher demands are generally the result of targeted ransomware attacks against major companies that the attackers know can afford to make such large payments, but not always. Any company—big or small—can be a victim of a ransomware attack.

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