4 reasons you should not facilitate your own strategic planning session

by Bo McDonald, Your Marketing Co.

As employees embrace a new, flexible way of working, cyber security concerns continue to rise across the globe. Since the start of COVID-19, the FBI reported a 300% increase in cyber crime. According to the UK government 46% of businesses have faced a cyber breach in the last 12 months. It’s never been more important to protect your business and clients  from cyber-attacks.

One of the most popular ways cyber criminals (or hackers) attack users is by delivering ransomware on their devices. The FBI defines ransomware as a type of malicious software, or malware, that prevents you from accessing your computer files, systems, or networks and demands you pay a ransom for their return. When your data is held hostage like this, the consequences can be costly.

The average payment following a ransomware attack increased from $115,000 (£84,000) in 2019 to $312,493 (£228,000) in 2020. Many organizations pay the ransom in hopes of retrieving their lost data, but this only gives victims the opportunity to access their data again and doesn’t necessarily take it back from the criminals.

 

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