Up next in 10
Arizona businesses face a growing threat from costly cyberattacks and ransomware. Expert Mark Lantz negotiates with cybercriminals who are holding data hostage, demanding millions. Can businesses protect themselves before it's too late? #cybersecurity #ransomware #cyberattack #databreach #infosec
Show More Show Less View Video Transcript
0:00
Annie Seiden is the president of the
0:01
Arizona Chamber of Commerce, so he knows
0:04
firsthand the threat businesses face
0:07
when it comes to cyber attacks.
0:09
Cyber attacks in Arizona have been
0:10
costing hundreds and hundreds of
0:12
millions of dollars every single year.
0:14
And a lot of times you don't know when
0:15
those costs will stop.
0:16
Arizona currently ranks eighth in the
0:19
country in cyber crimes with school
0:21
districts, hospitals, large and small
0:23
businesses targeted. One of the biggest
0:25
challenges companies face right now is
0:28
from ransomware, which cyber criminals
0:30
use to gain access and encrypt someone's
0:33
system so it's no longer usable. Cyber
0:36
criminals will then try to extort
0:38
payment from their victims to release
0:40
the data.
0:41
With modern ransomware, you've got a lot
0:43
of different groups.
0:44
Mark Lance is a ransomware negotiator
0:46
with Guidepoint Security in Virginia.
0:49
They're holding systems hostage. They're
0:51
holding information hostage. They're,
0:54
you know, attempting to extort people in
0:56
order to monetize their efforts.
0:58
Lance tells us businesses hit with
1:00
ransomware will hire him to step in and
1:03
negotiate with the cyber criminals to
1:05
work out the payment and terms to set
1:08
their systems free. He says most company
1:11
officials have no idea what to do when
1:13
they're attacked.
1:14
We've worked hundreds of cases where
1:16
we're working on behalf of these
1:17
victims. And what we bring is uh you
1:20
know the ability to set expectations on
1:22
what's going to transpire but also
1:25
educate them on what the is is
1:28
potentially going on situationally.
1:30
They're trying to create operational
1:32
disturbances that will prevent you from
1:35
being able to continue to run it as a
1:37
business where you need to pay them to
1:39
get access back to these systems.
1:41
According to Lance, most ransomware
1:43
attacks come from cyber criminals in
1:45
Eastern Europe with a handful of gangs
1:47
working from the UK, South America, and
1:49
the US. Ransom demands can range from a
1:52
few thousand dollars to several million.
1:55
One cyber criminal asked for 700
1:57
million.
1:58
These are extremely lucrative operations
2:00
for them where they're making millions
2:02
and in some cases even billions of
2:04
dollars on an annual basis. But even
2:07
better advice is for businesses to make
2:10
sure they have a strong security system
2:12
in place to prevent hackers from getting
2:14
in.
2:15
We have seen businesses that have had to
2:17
to close their door or shutter their
2:19
business uh because of the impacts of
2:21
ransomware.
2:22
A lot of these ransomware attacks we
2:24
never hear about because companies don't
2:26
exactly want them made public. Cyber
2:29
experts tell me the better security
2:31
businesses put in place along with
2:33
better training of employees to keep
2:35
them from clicking on links they're not
2:37
supposed to will greatly reduce their
2:39
chances of being hit with ransomware.
2:42
Live in the newsroom, Jason Barry for
2:43
Arizona's family.
#Business Services
#Business News
#Technology News