How Much Did Ransomware Cost the US in 2022?

Ransomware attacks on big companies have made headlines in recent years, but did you know small and medium-sized companies experience cybercrime more often than large corporations? These attacks can wreak havoc on your business and lead to significant financial losses. Protect your business from ransomware before it happens with IT services like managed IT and business continuity from Tekie Geek, an experienced IT company serving businesses in New York and New Jersey. Here, we’ll discuss how much ransomware costs U.S. businesses and ways you can protect your company or organization.

What Is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a kind of malicious software, or malware, used by cybercriminals. It blocks access to your computer files and system and demands a ransom payment before you can get the data back. A ransomware attack can disrupt your business, cause financial losses, and even damage your reputation.

There are many ways ransomware can be injected into a computer network:

• Opening an infected email attachment
• Clicking an infected ad or link
• Visiting a website embedded with malware
• Downloading infected software, files, or other applications
• Using an infected device, such as a USB drive

Ransomware can either lock access to the files, delete them, or encrypt them, causing problems for you and your business. If you want to learn more, check out some common myths about ransomware.

The Cost of Ransomware

Cyberattacks can devastate businesses big and small, and the cost of these attacks is rising at an alarming rate. According to the FBI’s Internet Crime Report for 2022, ransomware attacks caused losses of $34.3 million in the U.S. in 2022.  That figure counts only the 2,385 businesses that reported the attacks and financial losses; not all do. The top industries for ransomware attacks include healthcare, finance, and IT.

The costs and effects of ransomware attacks are troubling, but fortunately, businesses can take steps to prevent them from occurring in the first place.

Protection Against Ransomware

Reduce your business’s chances of a cyberattack by using a multi-layered security approach that provides complete protection against malware, including ransomware. Tekie Geek offers core IT services that protect against ransomware, including:

Managed IT Services

Managed IT services can offer convenience and reliable protection for your business. Think of managed IT services as a way of outsourcing your company’s day-to-day tech issues and responsibilities to a team of IT pros, who work 24/7/365 to ensure your business stays up and running. We fix issues promptly and provide comprehensive data protection.

Some ways managed IT services help protect your business from ransomware include:

• Extensive computer virus protection
• 24/7/365 monitoring
• Proactive threat hunting
• Email protection and filtering
• Phishing campaigns
• Automated monitoring of network, server, and workstation endpoints
• Data backup and recovery

Tekie Geek also provides best-practice user policies for companies and employees to follow to ensure even stronger protection.

Business Continuity Services

The purpose of business continuity services is to prevent risks from harming a company and to have a recovery strategy in place if any threats do affect operations. At Tekie Geek, we offer business continuity solutions to help safeguard and recover your data, including:

• File restoration
• Ransomware detection
• Workstation and server protection
• Network downtime prevention
• Infinite cloud retention plans
• Daily backup tests

Don’t wait until you are cyberattacked to start developing a protection plan. Learn 12 ways to protect your business from a ransomware attack.

Schedule a Consultation Today

With the stakes of a ransomware attack so high, businesses need to take steps to protect themselves against this ever-increasing threat. Working with the experienced team of IT superheroes at Tekie Geek can help you protect your data more efficiently, develop a recovery plan, and have enhanced peace of mind. Contact us today to schedule a consultation to talk about our IT services for businesses in New York and New Jersey.

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