By Chinenye Anuforo
Sophos, a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity, has announced findings from its survey report, The State of Ransomware in Financial Services 2021, that show how mid-sized financial services organizations worldwide spent more than $2 million on average recovering from a ransomware attack.
This figure exceeds the global average of $1.85 million, even though the results also show the financial sector is among the most resilient against ransomware.
Nearly two-thirds (62 per cent) of victims surveyed in this sector were able to restore their encrypted data from backups. The survey studied the extent and impact of ransomware attacks during 2020.
Other findings include: 34 per cent of the financial services organizations surveyed were hit by ransomware in 2020; 51 per cent of the organizations impacted said the attackers succeeded in encrypting their data, and only 25 per cent paid the ransom demanded to get their encrypted data back. This is the second lowest payment rate of all industries surveyed. The global average was 32 per cent
Financial services is among the most highly regulated industries in the world. Organizations must adhere to myriad regulations, including SOX, GDPR, and PCI DSS, that include pricey penalties for non-compliance and data breaches. Many of these organizations are also required to prepare business continuity and disaster recovery plans to minimise any potential damage from data breaches or operational disruptions stemming from a cyberattack.