Ransomware Mitigation: An Analytical Investigation into the Effects and Trends of Ransomware Attacks on Global Business
Ghifari Ramadhika Permana, Thomas Eric Trowbridge, Bradley S. Sherborne · 2022
Abstract—Global business offerings and services are steadily expanding each year, with more registered businesses and an ever-increasing global population. An increase in population and consumers creates evermore data for companies to store, increasing the incentive for cybercriminals to target these databases. One preferred malware deployed by cyber criminals is Ransomware, locking the data away from the user until payment terms are met. Companies are not integrating sufficient protection protocols and fail-safe measures to successfully protect themselves against Ransomware. The resulting attack negatively affects core business components such as reputation, revenue, and customer safety. This investigation of mitigation methods is crucial for the future of cyber protection and without these recommendations attacks like ransomware will continue to thrive. Globally, there are concerning rates of successful ransomware attacks, each having a varying negative impact on the victims. Furthermore, we have proposed four methods of Network Controls, User Training, Two-Factor Authentication, and Machine Learning. After a thorough investigation of these mitigation methods, it has been found that the most cost-effective for any business size is User Training. Implementing our recommendation will significantly reduce the likelihood of becoming a victim of ransomware.