Layered 'defence-in-depth' approach can mitigate cyber risk: ProLion

Businesses should adopt a “defence-in-depth” approach to managing cyber risk, according to Steve Arlin, vice president of sales for the UK, Americas and APAC at ProLion, an active ransomware and data protection solution provider for ONTAP centralised file services.

This approach uses layers of defence with several mitigations at each layer, which gives businesses more opportunities to detect cyber attacks such as ransomware, and stop it before it causes real harm, Arlin explained.

Insurance premiums leapt 27 percent for the period between April and mid-May 2021 compared to the same period in 2020, according to Aon, reflecting the rise in cyber-attacks and ransomware strikes over the same time period.

According to ProLion, an active ransomware and data protection solution provider for ONTAP centralised file services, businesses face significantly more costs if they are hit by a ransomware demand.

A recent survey by the Council of Insurance Agents and Brokers found that over 70 percent of its members reported a decrease in underwriter capacity for taking on cyber risk.

Meanwhile, high profile businesses are increasingly being targeted by cyber criminals, including oil and gas provider Colonial and beef producer JBS. Even Axa was attacked in May 2021.

Arlin said: “Ransomware became more sophisticated over the past year and businesses and economies locked down. Now we are seeing attacks at an almost industrial scale with the rise of ransomware-as-a-service. Attacks are going through the roof and more and more high-profile businesses are being hit.”

Increased premiums are putting considerable pressure on businesses to improve their cyber protections, Arlin noted.

He said: “With ransomware you hear a lot when it comes to reputational risk, lost productivity and ultimately the cost of paying the ransom. What is now clear from these figures is that ransomware is impacting the day-to-day operational costs of doing business in ways no one even a year ago could have predicted.”

Arlin said ProLion’s solution, CryptoSpike, offers agentless ransomware protection for central file services stored locally or in the cloud.

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