Quadric Software

Top 5 Ransomware Infographic Roundup for 2016 & 2017

It’s mid-October, and November is the end of hurricane season. After helping a few customers protect their systems and recover after the recent hurricanes, we decided to publish a few blog posts on disaster recovery to help companies create a comprehensive backup and disaster recovery plan. But natural disasters are not the only disasters that could potentially put a company out of business.

Fires, human error, and ransomware can also threaten your IT environment, just to name a few, which is why it’s important to know what you’re up against. So we’ve put together a roundup of ransomware infographics to provide you with some basic facts about cyber security. From surveys to helpful tips, we’ve rounded up our top 5 ransomware infographics.

1. How Ransomware Works in 5 Steps

This first infographic in our list reports $325 million dollars was paid to ransomware in 2015 in the U.S. alone, including a large number of high-profile attacks that made headlines. Then in 2016, ransomware losses continued to skyrocket with the cost of ransomware at around $200 million in the first three months of 2016 alone.

Most recently, the media blew up with stories about the 43 million American consumers were affected by the data breach at Equifax. If those numbers weren’t staggering enough, CyberSecurity Ventures reports, “Global ransomware damage costs predicted to exceed $5 billion in 2017, up from $325 million in 2015.”

Despite these startling statistics, the information security website, Solutions Review, reports that 43% of people in the US and Canada have never even heard of ransomware, let alone understand the kind of threat it holds. That’s why it’s important “know your enemy,” and this handy infographic from LogRhythm breaks down the five phases of ransomware attacks.

Click here to see the full infographic.

2. Ransomware by the Numbers by Delta Risk

Coming in at #2 is an infographic that breaks down how businesses become infected with malware and the cost of ransomware attacks. For instance, 50% of attacks come from employees who click on infected emails, and just in the first quarter of 2016, ransomware cost companies 209 million dollars! And that number has only increased in the last year.

Check out this infographic from Delta Risk to learn more.

3. 5 Phases of Crypto-Ransomware Attacks by SOPHOS

This next infographic shows the anatomy of Crypto-Ransomware Attacks with the 5 phases of crypto-ransomware.

Those 5 phases include the following:

• Installation
• Contacting Headquarters
• Handshake and Keys
• Encryption
• Extortion

The source of this infographic also provides a free whitepaper on this subject. While SOPHOS suggests using a virus removal tool and not paying the ransom, we also recommend backing up your data and having a solid BDR plan since that’s the only reliable defense against cyber criminals.

Learn more here.

4. Malware Specimen and Share of Windows-Based Malware

More recently, the worldwide attack with a cryptoworm called, “WannaCry” has made companies a lot more aware of the seriousness of the threat of ransomware attacks and how devastating they can be for small and large businesses.

The July 2017 article with this next infographic states the following: “According to analysts with IT-security software firm G Data, the number of new malware specimen is likely to reach more than 7.4 million this year alone.”

However, this type of malware only accounts for a small percentage of all malware detected, b and that certain kinds of malware do not reflect the actual potential for damage.

Here’s the breakdown of the different types of malware attacks since 2007.

5. Datto’s Ransomware Report

Closing out our list is an infographic based on Datto’s Ransomware Report in 2016, which includes some startling data acquired from over 1,100 IT service providers in the U.S. and around the globe. According to the survey, 91% of the service providers surveyed report recent ransomware attacks against small businesses. The leading industries targeted are Professional Services, Healthcare, and Construction and Manufacturing in that order. Check it out the full infographic.

Backup and Disaster Recovery Solution – Your Only Real Defense

Don’t become one of these ransomware statistics. CyberSecurity experts agree that backing up your systems with a reliable, secure backup and disaster recovery solution is your only real defense. Alike provides complete protection and offers your strongest defense against malware and other disasters. With easy-to-use offsite vaulting options and cloud storage through Amazon S3, you get peace of mind at a price you can afford.

As ransomware and other viruses are becoming more prominent and harder to defend against, you can’t afford not to protect your business against ransomware with a backup solution like Alike DR. You can start protecting your XenServer, Hyper-V, or Windows physical systems today with our 30-day free trial. Learn more about how Alike DR can save your business from cyber criminals in this video.

To read more about how to build a BDR plan to fit your infrastructure and business continuity needs, see this blog post.