Following
several notable ransomware incidents in 2021, the Cybersecurity and
Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) and Infosec are sharing no-cost
resources to
help businesses keep their organization secure.
Now
more than ever, ransomware is a key challenge for organizations of all sizes,
with 10% of all data breaches involving ransomware according to the Verizon
Business 2021 Data Breach Investigations Report. The growing number of
ransomware attacks has also brought a rise in payments and damages that can be
detrimental to organizations and their clients. In 2020 alone, the average
ransom paid for organizations increased from $115,123 in 2019 to $312,493 in
2020, a 171%
year-over-year increase.
With
an exponential increase of ransomware attacks in the past five years, these
attacks and degree of damages show no signs of slowing. To address the growing
need for cybersecurity training and ransomware response resources, CISA has
published a free Ransomware
Guide and
collaborated with Infosec Institute to host a webinar on available resources
and tactics.
"Education
is one of the most powerful weapons against ransomware. CISA knows that not
everyone has the same resources to prevent and fight ransomware threats, which
is why we've made it our mission to make these tools widely available and
accessible to help organizations stay a step ahead," said Amy Nicewick, section
chief of communication management at CISA.
"The
recent series of high-profile ransomware attacks presents the opportunity to
have more conversations about what organizations and their employees can do to
help prevent these types of attacks. These attacks also show that
cybercriminals will target any type of organization if they deem it
profitable," said Jack Koziol, CEO and founder at Infosec. "The good news is
that cybersecurity training and education goes a long way when it comes to
preventing these types of attacks and protecting your organization's data.
We're excited to team up with CISA to provide free tools to organizations and
build awareness around cybersecurity."
Infosec
is also offering a number of free
cybersecurity awareness training resources to help educate employees about risks
and keep cybersecurity top of mind. From a wild west malware adventure to
marine-life phishing education series, the free tools offer an engaging suite
of education materials for organizations to leverage on the path towards
inspiring secure employee behaviors.
Learn more about CISA's free ransomware resources here and more about Infosec's free security awareness tools here.