Ransomware attack
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Ransomware payments peaked at $1.1 billion in 2023, making it the most lucrative year yet for attackers. Data breaches were also on the rise from 2022 to 2023 and trends show no sign of changing anytime soon. As more enterprises embrace digital transformation, cybersecurity innovation firm EverSec Group urges CISOs and other stakeholders to consider emerging alternatives and an offensive security mindset for protecting themselves from cybercriminals.

When thinking about cybersecurity threats, businesses rarely comprehend how serious and common ransomware attacks are. During these events, hackers breach a company's infrastructure, cryptographically encode data, and demand payment to provide a decryption key. In most cases, attackers will also threaten to disclose confidential information to the public if the ransom isn't paid. With the number of ransomware gangs increasing, these events are becoming more dangerous. According to a report, ransomware attacks in 2023 heavily focused on high-profile victims and critical infrastructure businesses.

Statistics show that about 70% of all cyberattacks involve ransomware and 85% of organizations have experienced one attack in the last year. In 84% of ransomware attacks, cybercriminals practice data exfiltration, which is the unauthorized removal of data from a company's database.

Entities must rethink their cybersecurity defenses in light of today's attack surface. EverSec Group, a cybersecurity consulting firm offering services for many of the globe's most high-profile and targeted organizations, is a trusted partner for navigating this complex environment. EverSec Group was founded in 2008 to disrupt the mainstream approach to cybersecurity. The company's highly experienced team fuels this unique approach. As a collective, EverSec Group has over 125 years of cyber security experience that informs their real-world security services. EverSec Group serves organizations in all verticals and of all sizes with advanced solutions that effectively identify and prevent cyberattacks.

EverSec Group advocates for businesses to have a multi-layered approach because cybersecurity is a constantly evolving landscape and there is no single solution for reducing ransomware attacks. The firm pioneers a cutting-edge offensive security methodology for enabling companies to develop more resilient infrastructure. EverSec Group surpasses traditional threat intelligence feeds by layering additional tooling and service providers within a single ecosystem. Stacking end-point detection and response software with resiliency platforms and tools like attack surface management and dark web monitoring enable ongoing threat analysis. The company boosts the effectiveness of this strategy by thinking like a hacker and selecting custom solutions. Adopting EverSec Group's offensive security mindset can transform strong cybersecurity practices into excellent defense mechanisms.

"All organizations have taken steps, deployed solutions, and implemented plans to combat ransomware and data breaches. As a trusted third party, it's our role to identify where blind spots may still exist and to advise on tactics, techniques, and procedures that should be considered for further narrowing of the complex attack surface that all entities are grappling with," says Managing Partner Tim McSherry. "Countless transformative solutions are on the market, but companies need a partner like EverSec Group to provide expertise on how to develop a resilient, diverse cybersecurity ecosystem. We want clients to understand that no company should be ill-prepared for an attack because of a lack of internal resources."

To build multidisciplinary cybersecurity protocols, EverSec Group suggests bringing together bespoke tooling to create a successful information security program. Creating a threat intelligence program and analyzing the latest tools will also be beneficial for making more informed decisions.

EverSec Group holds collaborative quarterly meetings on cybersecurity trends in relation to clients' existing security stack. Having a trusted third party who has visibility into other enterprise organizations allows clients to leverage their expertise to help eliminate tech debt. To streamline the evaluation process and decrease the time to value, EverSec Group can assist/run the vendor shortlisting and proof of concept process. Depending on the organization, the firm either advises on the implementation process or guides it themselves.

In recent years, the media has highlighted how devastating ransomware attacks

can be and how unprepared some of the biggest organizations have found themselves to be. During 2023 alone, municipalities in the US and Canada, major financial corporations, universities, airlines, and casinos all suffered from devastating cyberattacks. Integrating the right tools and taking an offensive stance toward cybersecurity can be the catalyst for avoiding catastrophic losses. If you're looking to evolve your company infrastructure, consider partnering with EverSec Group to explore next-generation cybersecurity solutions.