By Bob Lam – If there’s one threat that keeps your average IT security leader awake at night, it’s undoubtedly the threat of ransomware that continues to plague businesses of every stripe and size across the globe. One recent report predicts that by 2031, ransomware will cost the economy around $265 billion each year, with a new attack happening every two seconds.

The ransomware epidemic has grown so dire that some of the largest cyber-insurance providers are declining to offer coverage due to the “systemic risk” that these threats represent. Insurers are increasingly reluctant to offer coverage unless an organization can first demonstrate adherence to strict compliance frameworks and certify that they have strong data security measures in place.

ven after a ransom has been paid, it’s unlikely a company’s data will be retrieved. One industry study noted that only 8% of victims were able to recover their data after paying a ransom, while nearly a third reported that they were unable to recover more than half of their data.

While businesses have gotten savvier about defending themselves against ransomware attacks, from improving employee awareness around phishing and hardening their backup and recovery systems to employing end-to-end encryption, attackers continue to evolve their tactics and techniques in their perpetual efforts to infiltrate the network perimeter. Read On: