Survey suggests disconnect between
the threat of ransomware and preparedness while independent comparison points
to a clear best option for blocking attacks.
Article Written by Frank Jablonski,
vice president, Global Product Marketing, Acronis
It's a message that you never want to see. A banner suddenly
appears on your screen informing you that your computer's entire file system
has been locked, along with a note suggesting how you can unlock your computer
for a fee. Your data is now being held hostage. Google the term "ransomware
message" and have a look at the dazzling number the message variations that now
exist. It is not a small problem.
For
context, ransomware syphoned off $1 billion in 2016 alone, according to the FBI. While public cases receive prime media
coverage, attacks on home computers go underreported.
"Security
threats are certainly coming after consumers, not just enterprises," commented Eric
O'Neill, former FBI counter-terrorism and counterintelligence operative, in a recent interview with Acronis. "We tend to think of
it as a problem for business or government. The fact of the matter is that most
of the malware is affecting grandparents, parents, and anyone with an email
account and a computer."
Simply keeping your data regularly backed up and physically
isolated from your system (when not conducting a backup) is a rudimentary,
although not complete, way of protecting data. However, there are options
specifically aimed at protecting your system against such malware attacks.
With these concerns in mind, noted software security testing
firm MRG Effitas conducted a battery of tests aimed at assessing the ability of
competing backup and protection software packages to block ransomware from
infecting computer systems and backups of those computers.
In
addition, Acronis, a global leader in hybrid cloud data protection and storage,
recently completed its World Backup Day 2017 Survey with the help of Google
Surveys in six different countries (U.S., U.K., Australia, Germany, France, and
Japan). The results of both reports were revealing.
Acronis Survey Suggests
Ransomware Risks
One key
finding in the Acronis survey pointed to a substantive gap between the threat
that ransomware attacks pose and the awareness of the risk by respondents-and
their preparedness to handle any such attack.
Acronis
survey findings regarding ransomware awareness:
-
Despite
the highly-publicized ransomware attacks, more than 66 percent of the
respondents said they have never heard of ransomware.
-
While
67.2 percent placed great importance on their personal information, documents,
pictures, videos, and music, only 5.8 percent realized that it can cost more
than $500 to get the data back after a ransomware event.
"This
survey exposed a serious disparity between the value assigned to respondent data
and what is actually being done to protect that data," said Serguei Beloussov,
founder and CEO of Acronis. "This is true for both the consumer market and for businesses.
"Backup
still remains the most effective vaccine against data loss. Affordable backup
software is readily available and there is no excuse for losing your data or
exposing it to cyber criminals and ransomware attacks."
MRG Effitas Comparative Test Findings
The number of tools purported to provide protection against
ransomware is growing, just as the number and kinds of ransomware attacks is
rising. But not every data protection product is created equal and it is virtually
impossible for the typical user and IT professional to divine the nuances of
effectiveness by reading a list of features. Some products simply do a better
job.
MRG Effitas, a UK-based independent IT security research
company that provides a range of efficacy assessment and assurance services to
its global client base, saw a need for an independent comparison. The test
company identified a collection of options that all claimed to provide backup-based
protection and assessed them in a head-to-head capability comparison. Their aim
was to provide a clearer view of the demands and offerings when it comes to
choosing the most suitable software for an individual.
The result was a comprehensive 2017 report entitled "MRG
Effitas Comparative Assessment of Data Protection/Backup Products on
Protection, Performance, and Usability."
The testing agency's findings were unequivocal.
"Among all
the products we tested, only Acronis True Image 2017 Next Generation was
able to protect the backups from every ransomware family," states the company's
final results conclusion. "The other solutions have basically zero backup
protection when it comes to ransomware.
"Based on the tests, only Acronis's backup file is protected
against ransomware, the other products archives are only left untouched if the
ransomware is not configured to encrypt that kind of file type."
Table 1 summarizes MRG Effitas's findings for tested data
protection options in mitigating against a number of the most well-known
ransomware threats.
Copyright 2017 Effitas Ltd.
Table 1-MRG Effitas Ransomware Protection Test Findings
That's not all. MRG Effitas also found that "Acronis won
most performance tests, and when it did not win, it finished second."
In this space, Acronis's data protection solution is without
peer.