The increased threat posed by increasing ransomware attacks, including the latest Kaseya attack that impacted nearly 1,500 organizations, has forced the C-suite to think differently about the possibility of compromised systems. In the aftermath of Colonial and JBS, this attack highlights the critical need for businesses to plan for these events. Just as business leaders have an emergency preparedness plan in a natural disaster, it is critical to implement one for ransomware.
While these attacks had a substantial impact, quick action helped mitigate the scope of the damage. Had Colonial not quickly sprung into action, the effects would have exponentially increased if leadership had stalled on response. Flights out of the southeast were already making stops due to limited fuel at their originating airports. Had the situation remained uncontained for much longer, our transportation infrastructure, which was critical to helping distribute COVID-19 vaccines and other essential services, would have been even more crippled.