Technology Reseller v09

technolog y reseller.co.uk BULLETIN : TRENDS 5 Ransomware costs add up to more than $130K The average total cost of a ransomware attack in mid-sized businesses has reached $133,000 Sophos claims in its report, The State of Endpoint Security Today . This figure includes the ransom, downtime, manpower, device cost, network cost and lost opportunities. The worst affected 5% of organisations reported total costs of between $1.3 million and $6.6 million. Last year, more than 50% of the 2,700 mid-sized organisations surveyed suffered a ransomware attack. Of those, 77% were running up- to-date endpoint detection. This, claims Sophos, indicates that traditional endpoint security is no longer enough to protect against ransomware attacks. Coinciding with the publication of the report, Sophos has released a new version of Intercept X, offering enhanced endpoint protection through a combination of advanced deep learning neural networks and innovations in anti-ransomware and exploit prevention. www.sophos.com/interceptx Bitcoin bubble a motivation for hackers The proportion of companies experiencing financially motivated cyber-attacks has doubled over the last two years, claims Cyber security provider Radware. One in two companies surveyed for Radware’s 2017-2018 Global Application and Network Security Report says they have experienced a cyber-attack motivated by ransom in the last 12 months alone. Andrew Foxcroft, regional director for Radware UK, Ireland and Nordics, attributes the rise of such attacks to the growing value of bitcoin and other cryptocurrencies throughout the period covered by the report. He said: “The rapid adoption of cryptocurrencies and their subsequent rise in price has presented hackers with a clear upside that goes beyond cryptocurrencies’ anonymity. Paying a hacker in these situations not only incentivises further attacks, but provides criminals with the funds they need to continue their operations.” https://www.radware.com/ert- report-2017/ Six out of 10 IT channel leaders (61%) are looking for new companies to partner with as they seek to control costs and overcome challenges such as the skills shortage, claims a new report from Agilitas, a supplier of customer-driven IT solutions. The sixth report in its European Channel in 2020 series highlights the growing attraction of collaboration and partnerships for IT resellers, managed service providers and independent firms in the IT channel. The 100 senior executives surveyed by Onepoll estimate that partnerships to provide inventory support, on-the-job training or storage, for example, now generate one quarter of their revenue. Half (50%) of partnerships are formed for reasons of cost-efficiency, with nearly 30% entered into to overcome a lack of internal skills. Only 27% of those surveyed tell customers when services are being delivered by partners. Shaun Lynn, CEO of Agilitas, said: “Forming technical and training partnerships with other channel companies can prove cost-effective, while helping to overcome various challenges, such as the skills gap. I’m confident that in the next few years, the number of collaborative partnerships will only grow as the need to meet the exacting requirements of the end- user, in an increasingly customer-centric environment, becomes ever more crucial.” www.agilitas.co.uk Cyber security No. 1 investment priority Improving cybersecurity is the biggest priority for IT investment this year, according to new research from business ISP Beaming. Almost half (49%) of British businesses surveyed plan to beef up their cybersecurity, with 23% choosing to upgrade their antivirus and anti-malware software, 15% adding new network perimeter firewalls and 14% improving network access control through two-factor authentication and other measures. Other areas for investment include cloud computing, cited by 46% of businesses, and connectivity, cited by 39%. www.beaming.co.uk Channel leaders embrace partnerships to get over skills shortage Shaun Lynn Area All Micro Small Medium Large (1-9 people) (10-49) (50-249) (250+) Cybersecurity 49% 25% 46% 72% 74% Antivirus/anti-malware software 23% 13% 22% 42% 24% Network perimeter firewall 15% 4% 14% 25% 25% Network access control 14% 5% 13% 22% 22% Cloud 46% 18% 43% 75% 72% Private/enterprise cloud 23% 4% 23% 50% 33% Public cloud 21% 10% 20% 29% 33% Colocation 10% 5% 6% 11% 18% Connectivity 39% 22% 32% 53% 62% Fibre optic/ethernet leased lines 17% 7% 10% 27% 31% Superfast fibre broadband 17% 11% 18% 18% 24% Standard ADSL broadband 7% 4% 5% 9% 11% Productivity 36% 17% 33% 51% 59% Video conferencing 11% 3% 8% 17% 20% Remote office applications 10% 4% 6% 13% 20% Data analytics 10% 4% 5% 17% 17% Networking 28% 9% 24% 41% 52% Virtual Private Networks 18% 4% 14% 24% 38% Private dedicated networks 11% 2% 4% 29% 16% Managed & monitored networks 5% 3% 9% 7% 6% Source: Beaming and Opinium 2018