Protecting financial institutions data from ransomware threats

Introduction

The financial services industry is an attractive target for ransomware attacks. Personal and commercial financial, banking, trading and superannuation information is arguably some of the most valuable data held by an organisation today. The stakes are incredibly high for the financial services industry to adequately protect and secure their systems. Aside from the obvious financial implications of failing to protect data, it can also cause irreparable and immeasurable damage to a company’s corporate reputation: shattering trust, eroding customer bases and hindering future sales. Last year, it was reported1 that the financial services sector was the second-largest source of data breaches between
April-June, with 42 major service breaches taking place in just one quarter.

This has only worsened under the pressure of a global pandemic. In a recent paper on the rise of ransomware under COVID-192 by professional services firm KPMG, it was found that remote working significantly increases the risk of a successful ransomware attack. This increase is caused by a combination of weaker controls on home IT networks and a higher likelihood of users clicking on COVID-19-themed ransomware lure emails, owing to heightened levels of anxiety throughout our communities.

The stakes have never been so high for the financial services industry to manage, implement and execute effective data management strategies. Failure to do so will leave organisations vulnerable to potential ransomware attacks, and may have long lasting implications on the business. In many cases, ransomware attackers threaten to publish an organisation’s data or perpetually block access to it unless a ransom is paid. However, while the threat of ransomware is incredibly complex and a significant responsibility for organisations, there are steps that can be taken to mitigate risk from the outset.

In this paper, Rick Vanover, a Senior Director in Product Strategy from Veeam, will provide a number of strategies to provide the financial services industry with practical steps to protect data and avoid falling victim to ransomware attacks. These strategies will explore not only how to configure Veeam products to recover from ransomware, but also other tools and techniques to address ransomware head on.