Are companies prepared for a ransomware attack out-of-hours?

Organisations are significantly more vulnerable to ransomware attacks during weekends and holidays, according to a new study by Cybereason.

The report, “Organizations at Risk: Ransomware Attackers Don’t Take Holidays,” found that the vast majority of security professionals expressed high concern about imminent ransomware attacks, yet nearly half felt they do not have the right tools in place to manage it.

It surveyed security professionals whose organisations suffered a ransomware attack during a holiday or weekend in the last 12 months and found 86% of them reported missing holiday or weekend activities with friends and family when responding to these attacks. 

Are organisations prepared to deal with cyber attacks? 

The lack of preparedness for ransomware attacks on weekends and holidays has a significant impact on victim organisations, with 60% of respondents saying it resulted in longer periods to assess the scope of an attack, 50% reporting they required more time to mount an effective response, 33% indicating they required a longer period to fully recover from the attack. This research validates the assumption that it takes longer to assess, mitigate, remediate and recover from a ransomware attack over a holiday or weekend. 

Another indicator of the disconnect between the perceived risk and preparedness includes the fact that although 89% said they are concerned about attacks during weekend and holiday periods, 49% said the ransomware attack against their organisation was successful because they did not have the right security solutions in place. Just 67% of organisations had a NextGen Antivirus (NGAV) solution deployed at the time of the attack, 46% had a traditional signature-based antivirus (AV) in place, and only 36% had an Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) solution in place.

“Ransomware attackers don’t take time off for holidays. The most disruptive ransomware attacks in 2021 have occurred over weekends and during major holidays when attackers know they have the advantage over targeted organisations,” said Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Cybereason, Lior Div. “This research proves out the fact that organisations are not adequately prepared and need to take additional steps to assure they have the right people, processes and technologies in place so they can effectively respond to ransomware attacks and protect their critical assets.”