How much money do companies pay to protect data from cyber attacks?

Company computer security is a fundamental factor today. Regardless of the economic sector to which it is dedicated, the possibility of an attack is very high, as criminals discover weaknesses and the consequences can have a great impact on the company’s finances.

An example is what happens with EPS (health promotion person) Sanitas Colombia, which has been under threat since November 27 after a ransomware attack on its servers Keralt, The group that owns the company.

According to the blog Bleeping computer Cyber ​​criminals in the group FIIN8They left a message asking managers to contact them to restore the entire operating system.

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The ransomware they use is called “Black Rabbit” And this is a very recurring case today, which has forced companies in Latin America to pay $ 1.5 million to recover information and respond to other problems that it causes.

In addition, if Sanitas ColombiaThe impact on users has been that there is no system in place to conduct medical examinations, book appointments and generally use EPS’s digital platforms normally.

Recently, there was a case of a woman at high risk for hypertension who waited three days in the hospital for tests to be completed because there was no platform to conduct them.

Money to save information

No company is completely immune to a cyber attack and being under the pressure of a situation like yours is Sanitas Many choose to pay the ransom, which specialized cyber security companies never recommend due to many reasons, such as the doubt about actually receiving the ransom, the possibility of continuing the attack despite the recovery of the data, the incentive for criminals to continue with it.

According to the survey Sophie A company specializing in computer security, 65% of Latin American companies admitted to being victims of some type of attack. Much of this is due to the low investment to avoid the situation.

Additionally, the global average ransom payment in sectors such as manufacturing was $2,036,189, while in Latin America it was $1.5 million and in Colombia it could be around $900,000, including payments to cybercriminals, overtime for engineers, fines, system recovery and other aspects.

“Today’s cyber threats are becoming too complex for organizations to fend off, and it is increasingly important that organizations, including those in Colombia, invest in fully managed and expert-led cyber security as a service offerings.” such as managed detection and response to proactively and effectively protect yourself and customer data,” said Oscar Chavez-Arrietavice president Latin America of a specialized company.

In addition to improving information security systems, response policies and protection culture in companies, experts call for increasing the workforce in the sector.

According to the ISC Cybersecurity Workforce 2021 study, there is a global shortage of 2.72 million cybersecurity professionals, and a 65% increase in the supply of professionals in this field will be needed to effectively protect organizations’ critical assets.

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