Secure Your Business Data

The use of social engineering techniques to trick unwary users into clicking malicious email attachments or links rose 62% from Q1 to Q2. That spike is of particular concern since 94% of malware is delivered by email. During the same period, Acronis blocked more than 393,000 phishing and malicious URLs per month, preventing attackers from accessing business-critical data and injecting malware into clients’ systems (or your own).

In 2020, more than 1,300 ransomware victims had their data publicly leaked after an attack. Cybercriminals are looking to maximize their financial gain, and these tactics increase the pressure on victims to pay up. During the first half of 2021, more than 1,100 data leaks have already been published — at this rate, we’ll be looking at a year-end increase of 70% over 2020.

The COVID-19 pandemic drove a major shift to remote-first work that continues today. Two-thirds of remote workers now use work devices for personal tasks and use personal home devices for business activities — and attackers have taken note. Acronis observed the number of global cyberattacks to more than double, with a 300% increase in brute-force attacks against remote machines via RDP.

A 2020 study conducted by Stanford University reported that 88% of data breach incidents are caused by human error. Cyberattack trends from last year show that criminals are aware of this fact, as well: For years phishing has been the most common cyberattack vector. 94% of malware gets delivered by email — using social engineering techniques to trick users into opening malicious attachments or links. It continues to grow rapidly today because of how effective this human-targeted approach is for cybercriminals.

While robust training programs and the aide of preventative cybersecurity technologies are key components to closing this security gap, it’s important not to overlook the impact a more streamlined IT infrastructure can have on reducing human error. Eliminating complexity within your IT infrastructure reduces the risk of human error and improves productivity, opening your IT team to focus more on the support they provide – rather than managing the tools they use to provide it.

A key problem with the traditional approach to data protection and cybersecurity is the lack of communication and connection between solutions. As a result, organizations open themselves to unprotected attack surfaces and the threat of reoccurring malware attacks. Because of the integrated nature of Acronis Cyber Protect, organizations can rest at ease knowing that when a cyberattack strikes their entire infrastructure will be protected – and should the detection and prevention capabilities of Acronis Cyber Protect fail to stop a cyberattack from infiltrating your organization's infrastructure – backup scanning capabilities will ensure a rapid, complete and secure recovery while forensics capabilities help to identify and close the gap that led to the incident.

“This is the core of cyber protection, where we talk about combining all these different capabilities,” said Patrick Hurley, Vice President and General Manager for the Americas at Acronis. “It’s backup, disaster recovery, anti-malware, antivirus, ransomware protection, protection management—all the different security tools, together in one solution. When there is an event—and again, there will be events—you have all these things working together.”