WatchGuard Survey: Resellers Highly Concerned About Ransomware

Eighty three percent of resellers say their customers are most concerned about ransomware as a profound threat to their businesses. That’s according to a survey of 1,400 global channel partners by WatchGuard Technologies, a, Seattle-based network security vendor.

In addition, 16 percent believe the majority of their customers would pay a cyber ransom, and 65 percent of respondents believe at least some of their customers would pay.

“The proliferation of ransomware reached epidemic proportions in 2016, so it makes sense that resellers are forecasting it as the top threat next year,” said Corey Nachreiner, chief technology officer at WatchGuard. “On top of cyber extortion, security customers are hearing about tons of other new attacks and threat vectors each day, and they’re wondering how best to protect themselves.”

In other security matters, approximately 45 percent of reseller respondents believe that less than half their customers have the proper resources in place to adequately manage incoming security alerts. Only 5 percent of surveyed resellers believe all their customers have these resources in place, while 7 percent believe none of them do at all.

Channel Impact^®
The data suggests that security customers are highly dependent upon channel partners to help them not only protect them from attacks, but also to help them understand the available technologies.