Can outsourcing increase your operational risk?

Ransomware attacks are in the news daily. This malicious software is becoming an increasing threat to financial services, as the number of managed service providers (MSPs) falling victim to ransomware attacks is mounting. Unfortunately, as with other types of malware, we can count on these hackers to continuously morph and change their strategies to try to steal important financial information.

These cyber criminals are highly organized, and ransomware attacks have become easier for them to execute on widespread territory. A recent example is that 20 local governments in Texas were hit by ransomware in just one day. Historically, ransomware encrypts a victim’s files immediately when it infects a network. The infection of 20 organizations in one day indicates that capabilities now exist for remotely activating the ransomware.

Moreover, investigators have reported that all of the Texas government organizations had one thing in common: an MSP. The error was that they placed critical parts of their business operations in the hands of the MSPs, which made those MSPs a very attractive target to the ransomware operators.

 

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