Ransomware and other malware continue to wreak havoc on organizations, and 2018 is likely to bring even more attacks given the success cybercriminals have had so far.
That’s according to Sophos, which recently released its 2018 Malware Forecast, including the growth in sophisticated, targeted malware attacks and how deep learning, predictive technology can help defend against them in the new year.
It’s a fair bet that Android and Windows will continue to be heavily targeted, and that email will remain the primary means of entry that threatens corporate cybersecurity, especially in the case of targeted attacks, according to the company.
Sophos provides security to more than 100 million users in 150 countries.
In a Q&A with Channel Partners, Kendra Krause, Sophos’ vice president of global channels, highlights the biggest threats and talks about growing partner opportunities in security.
Channel Partners: What are some of the upcoming trends/predictions concerning ransomware?
Sophos’ Kendra Krause
Kendra Krause: The biggest thing we’re seeing is ransomware as a service (RaaS). It just continues to permeate and continues to be one of the biggest contributors to the growth of ransomware. It’s so extremely easy for pretty much anyone to go on the dark web and be able to create a ransomware attack. And the kits are getting far less expensive and there are very easy ways to follow a path and be able to create a ransomware attack. It’s definitely contributing in the growth of those types of attacks.
We’re seeing it with partners and it’s the hottest topic of what they’re looking at and what they’re talking about when it comes to security. We do all sorts of educational webinars [for] our partners and our customers, and we host one [with] ransomware in the title. The attendance is through the roof because people are very, very concerned about it and a lot of them are unsure what to do. And they’re also seeing that the cost of cleanup of ransomware is becoming more and more expensive. Obviously it’s not only hitting your costs to clean up your network, but it’s also costing you from your business alliances and from perception in the field. So we’re really pushing it with our partners and ensuring that all of our partners are selling our Sophos Intercept X product. That is our product that is basically the must-have, anti-ransomware product. It’s now just a basic security requirement.
CP: Are the victims changing? Who now will be more vulnerable than previously?
KK: I think it’s become really prevalent that anyone is now vulnerable. It used to be very high-profile organizations and larger organizations, and really now anybody’s vulnerable. And some of that has to do with the complexity of these attacks. These cybercriminals are constantly evolving what they’re creating and making these attacks …
