Published on the 08/06/2017 | Written by Newsdesk

Despite large numbers of victims, people are unsure of protection against this particular brand of malware…

Sixteen percent of Australians claim that they have been the victim of a ransomware attack while 23 percent feel insufficiently protected against a future ransonware attack. And 37 percent are uncertain if they are protected at all against ransomware.

That’s according to a survey of 492 consumers conducted by security vendor WatchGuard Technologies at last month’s Sydney CeBIT tradeshow.

The survey showed just how prevalent ransomware is: 46 percent of respondents know of an organisation which has been a victim.  Another 37 percent don’t know if they have ever been the victim of a ransomware attack, and said they may not understand what a ransomware attack is or may have inadvertently been a victim but not realised it at the time.

It’s a stunning insight into the reason why ransomware is so prevalent. Just like spam email, that reason is simply ‘because it works’. While folk in the tech industry will recognise that prevention isn’t particularly difficult, the old adage of ‘you can lead a horse to water but you can’t make it drink’ applies.

In a statement, David Higgins, WatchGuard ANZ regional director said the research mirrors findings of the company’s Quarterly Internet Security Report and added that “The survey data points to the need for Australian consumers to exercise maximum vigilance and to continue to increase their education and awareness of cyber risk at a time when cybercriminals may well take ransomware to the next level in the second half of 2017.”

And the usual fearmongering: “Whether you want to contemplate another WannaCry scenario or not, it’s only a matter of time before self-spreading ransomware – or ransomworms – begin to wreak havoc. By taking a comprehensive and multi-layered approach to security, organisations can reduce the likelihood they will fall victim to malware attacks and avoid the disruptive and potentially costly problems they can cause.”

More evidence of how well ransomware works, and which provides the motivation for hackers to use this method of attack, comes from a recent WatchGuard-commissioned global reseller channel partner survey. It found that 83 percent of resellers believe that ransomware will be their customers’ largest concern this year. In addition, 16 percent believe the majority of their customers would pay a cyber ransom, and 65 percent believe at least some of their customers would pay.

About 45 percent of reseller respondents believed that less than half their customers have the proper resources in place to adequately manage incoming security alerts.

WatchGuard said many SMBs simply don’t have the time or personnel necessary to focus on the management of network security solutions and the mitigation of growing cyber threats – and yet, it can be taken care of with basic security measures including regular backups, patching systems and, of course, using the wares of the security vendors.