Monday Morning Impact – July 5

Cybereason Ransomware Study Reveals True Cost to Business

Cybereason, a Boston-based cybersecurity company, has released findings from a global ransomware study revealing that more than half of organizations have been the victim of a ransomware attack, and that 80 percent of businesses that chose to pay the ransom.

The report, entitled “Ransomware: The True Cost to Business,” added that of the organizations who opted to pay a ransom demand in order to regain access to their encrypted systems, 46 percent reported that some or all of the data was corrupted during the recovery process.

The report also indicates that 66 percent of organizations reported significant loss of revenue following a ransomware attack, and that 35 percent of businesses that paid a ransom demand shelled out between $350,000-$1.4 million, while 7 percent paid ransoms exceeding $1.4 million.

Fifty-three percent of organizations indicated that their brand and reputation were damaged as a result of a successful attack. Thirty-two percent of organizations reported losing C-Level talent as a direct result of ransomware attacks, and 29 percent reported being forced to lay-off employees due to financial pressures following a ransomware attack. Furthermore, 26 percent of organizations reported that a ransomware attack forced the business to close their business for some period of time.

“Ransomware attacks are a major concern for organizations across the globe, often causing massive business disruptions including the loss of income and valuable human resources as a direct result. In the case of the recent Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack, disruptions were felt up and down the East Coast of the United States and negatively impacted other businesses who are dependent on Colonial’s operations,” said Chief Executive Officer and Co-founder of Cybereason, Lior Div.

“Paying a ransom demand does not guarantee a successful recovery, does not prevent the attackers from hitting the victim organization again, and in the end only exacerbates the problem by encouraging more attacks,” Div added. “Getting in front of the threat by adopting a prevention-first strategy for early detection will allow organizations to stop disruptive ransomware before they can hurt the business.”

The research, conducted in April of 2021, included 1,263 cybersecurity professionals took part in the survey—with participants from the United States, United Kingdom, Spain, Germany, France, United Arab Emirates, and Singapore. Major industry verticals covered in the research include the Technology, Manufacturing, Financial Services, Retail, Healthcare, Automotive, Legal and Government sectors.

Channel Impact^®
These findings underscore why it does not pay to pay ransomware attackers, and that organizations should focus on early detection and prevention strategies to end ransomware attacks at the earliest stages before critical systems and data are put in jeopardy.

Rackspace Announces Enhanced Full-lifecycle Cloud Native Development Capabilities

Rackspace Technology, a San Antonio, Texas-based cloud technology solutions company, has rolled out enhanced full-lifecycle Cloud Native Development (CND) Professional Services capabilities to help customers build modern applications.

Rackspace’s CND capabilities leverage reusable patterns and define best practices based on two decades of expertise across various industries from healthcare and life sciences to transportation and logistics.

“Our engineering expertise in cloud native technologies, cloud platforms, modern architectures, tools, and programming languages, enables us to efficiently deliver the best outcomes for customers,” said Amir Kashani, VP, Cloud Native Development & IoT Solutions at Rackspace Technology. “We’re the ideal combination of strategic consulting and engineering excellence which allows us to deliver business outcomes and help our customers innovate.”

Rackspace services range from assessment and advisory to enablement and modernization at scale. Ultimately, the outcome for customers is to have a selection of services based on their readiness to adopt, so they plan their modernization roadmap with confidence.

Channel Impact^®
The enhanced capabilities are designed to help customers and partners develop modern applications that take advantage of cloud native technologies and microservices architectures, thereby re-engineering their legacy applications and building new applications that maximize the agility, reliability and cost-saving benefits of the cloud.

N-able Launches New Initiative for “Super Elite” MSPs

N-able (formerly SolarWinds MSP), a Durham, NC-based provider of IT management and Automation solutions for MSPs, has announced the launch of the “N-able MSP Super Elite” partner program.

“These partners represent the top one percent of our more than 25,000 MSPs worldwide and have more than 5,000 devices under management,” said David Weeks, senior director of partner experience at N-able. “We are thrilled to recognize the true business value and experience they generate, as well as the best practices and ideas they share graciously with us, their peers, and the broader IT channel ecosystem.”

The nearly 200 N-able MSP Super Elite members were selected for this designation based on overall size and service model, consecutive growth and profitability, number of IT devices under management (5,000 minimum), productivity/utilization rates of technicians, and ability to deliver exceptional business value.

Super Elite partners will engage in regular peer-to-peer business and technical discussions and explore industry topics, trends, and challenges. Additionally, the group now serves as a formal advisory council to N-able, with direct access to executives and early insights into key areas of investments and innovation. The MSP Super Elite are also on tap to influence N-able programs and alliances, weigh in on product roadmaps, and ideate around new and enhanced business resources.

In addition to the introduction of the MSP Super Elite and expansion of N-able MSP Elite programs, N-able has rolled out a new loyalty program that recognizes, encourages, and rewards MSP partners who are actively investing in the partnership.

Based on levels of engagement, advocacy, and N-able product expertise, MSPs earn points and special recognition.

Channel Impact^®
The new program complements the existing N-able MSP Elite partner designation, which acknowledges the established and growing success of more than 1,500 industry-leading MSPs from around the globe.