Fortinet: 78% of Companies Feel Prepared For Ransomware Attacks – Fortinet, a global cybersecurity solutions company driving convergence between networks and security, today released its Global Ransomware Report 2023. This report is based on a recent global survey conducted by Fortinet and explores the views of cybersecurity leaders on ransomware, especially the impact ransomware has on their companies over the past year, as well as their strategies for mitigating attacks.
“According to Fortinet research released today, while three out of four companies detect ransomware attacks early, half still fall victim. This demonstrates the urgent need to move from detection to real-time response. However, that alone is not enough as the company mentioned the main challenges in preventing attacks related to their people and processes.”
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“It’s critical to adopt a holistic approach to cybersecurity that goes beyond investing in critical technologies, and prioritizes training,” said John Maddison, EVP of Products and CMO, Fortinet.
Fortinet’s research results reveal that there is a growing gap between the level of preparedness of respondents and their strategy and ability to stop ransomware attacks. While 78% of companies stated they were “very” or even “very” prepared to mitigate attacks, the survey found that 50% were still victims of ransomware over the past year, and nearly half were targeted more than once.
Four of the five biggest challenges in stopping ransomware are related to people or processes. The second biggest challenge is the lack of clarity on how to secure against threats, as a result of a lack of user awareness and training, and the absence of a clear chain of command strategy in dealing with attacks.
More Companies Paying Ransoms
The survey also found that while most (72%) of respondents detect incidents within hours and sometimes minutes, many companies still pay ransoms; nearly three-quarters of the respondents made some type of payment as a ransom. When compared across industries, companies from the manufacturing sector are more frequently targeted and more likely to pay ransoms.
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A quarter of attacks against manufacturing companies in particular carried ransoms of $1 million or higher. Finally, although almost all companies (88%) stated that they already had cyber insurance, almost 40% did not receive the expected compensation, and in some cases did not receive it at all because they were excluded from the insurer.
Security Budget Will Increase Despite Uncertain Economic Situation
With ransomware concerns still high and despite challenging economic conditions, almost all companies (91%) expect an increase in their security budget next year. In terms of technologies that are considered the most effective at protecting against ransomware, the most popular among enterprises are IoT Security, SASE, Cloud Workload Protection, NGFW, EDR, ZTNA, and Security Email Gateway.
Compared to 2021, the number of respondents mentioning ZTNA and Secure Email Gateway increased by almost 20%. Given that email phishing is still the second most common method of inbound attack the second time around, an increase in respondents mentioning Secure Email Gateway (51%) as a measure of protection looks promising, although other important protections such as Sandboxing (23%) and Network Segmentation (20%) ) is still low on the list.
Going forward, top priorities for responders will be investing in cutting-edge technologies powered by AI and ML for faster threat detection and central monitoring tools to speed up response. The investment will help the company address a rapidly evolving threat landscape as cyberattackers increasingly aggressively apply new elements to their attacks.
Enhancing Ransomware Protection Through a Platform Approach
In addition, this report also found that companies using customized solution products were the most vulnerable to becoming victims of attacks in the past year, while those that had consolidated with fewer platforms were less likely to become victims.
In addition, almost all respondents (99%) view an integrated solution or platform as essential in preventing ransomware attacks. These findings underscore the importance of leveraging a unified platform approach in defending against ransomware.
Fortinet supports companies seeking to improve cybersecurity processes and expertise by providing services such as Incident Readiness Assessments and Tabletop Exercises, Ransomware Readiness Assessments, SOC-as-a-Service, and SOC Readiness Assessments, as well as comprehensive training from one of the largest training programs in the industry , Fortinet Training Institute.
With an industry-leading Security Fabric that includes more than 50 enterprise-grade products integrated from the ground up, Fortinet continues to be a leading vendor in helping companies consolidate bespoke solution products into one unified cybersecurity platform.
This platform approach, underpinned by open APIs and a robust Fabric-Ready technology alliance ecosystem, enables CISOs and security teams to reduce clutter, improve ransomware prevention and detection performance, and accelerate incident investigation, investigation, and response.
Learn More about the Fortinet Security Fabric at the Fortinet Booth at RSA 2023
Fortinet becomes a Platinum Sponsor at this year’s RSA Conference, and will be providing live demonstrations of its Security Fabric and cybersecurity solutions at booth #5863. Please stop by the booth for an interactive discussion on how to protect your business from ransomware.
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