Axio announced the expansion of its free Axio360 Ransomware Preparedness Assessment tool. In light of recent cyber attacks at Colonial Pipeline and other critical infrastructur­e operators, Axio has released an updated version of its tool that helps leaders illuminate the gaps in their cybersecurity posture that directly cause increased susceptibility to ransomware attacks. Users can leverage these insights within Axio360 to accurately quantify the financial damage that could occur to drive more comprehensive cyber risk management.

"Ransomware is a top concern for business and government leaders as cyber criminals become more sophisticated with big-game-hunting ransomware that destroys enterprise backups, blackmails victims with public leakage of exfiltrated data, and paralyzes critical systems and infrastructure," said David White, President and Co-Founder of Axio. "Leaders must assume that they will experience a ransomware event at some point during their tenure. It's imperative for these leaders to understand their security gaps to prioritize improvements and investments, while also analyzing the financial impacts stemming from ransomware for overall cyber risk management and transfer through insurance."

The assessment tool was developed based on guidance from the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), the Department of Homeland Security (DHS), the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), and Axio's Cyber Research Team that has analyzed thousands of real-world ransomware events.

The Axio360 Ransomware Assessment Tool helps users quickly assess and prepare for a ransomware event irrespective of industry, organization size, and geography. The tool helps security teams:

• Prioritize and focus on the most critical security controls to prevent, contain, and limit the ransomware blast radius
• Map their programs to the most recently published guidance from the DHS and the FBI in response to the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack
• Track and manage the implementation of program improvements through the Axio360 platform
• Establish benchmarking, which allows an organization to see how they compare against their peers
• Publish comprehensive reports of program maturity and effectiveness for other executive stakeholders, including the C-Suite and Boards of Directors.
  

The output of the Axio360 Ransomware Preparedness Assessment will be accepted as supplementary evidence in support of cyber insurance applications. For more information on how to secure your organization and improve your cyber risk management, access all of Axio's free tools here: https://learn.axio.com/free-tool.