This is an incredibly expansive data breach for an SMB, and the repercussions are bound to be both expensive and far-reaching. Even when companies decline to submit to demands, the recovery costs can easily exceed the ransom payment. Coupled with additional data exposure, the price tag on such an incident could be immense. Ransomware is a top threat for any SMB, and the only adequate recovery is to proactively prevent malware from finding its way into your organization.

Despite the best efforts of cybersecurity software, some phishing emails will inevitably make their way into your employees’ inboxes. Fortunately, these emails aren’t malicious until acted upon by employees. Comprehensive awareness training can equip all employees to identify and neutralize possible threats. It’s a low level of effort, high impact form of defense that can make a significant impact on your company’s data security efforts and ultimately, your bottom line.

Ransomware attacks inevitably have significant financial repercussions, and this is only compounded by the reputational damage that follows such a newsworthy incident. However, hackers need an avenue to deploy this malware, and companies can protect themselves by ensuring that their defensive posture is sufficient to repel today’s most prescient threats.

In today’s digital environment, cybersecurity needs to be a central component of any third-party partnership. Unprotected companies place your data at risk, potentially undermining your best efforts to secure infrastructure. In contrast, strong cybersecurity standards can serve as a competitive advantage, allowing companies to market their strong defensive posture as a reason to subscribe to their services.

The costs of a ransomware attack are enormous. Whether companies pay the ransom or restore a system from backups, the immediate expense can cripple a business, and the long-term repercussions are a serious deterrent to profitability. In this case, Boardriders offered consumers deep discounts to entice them to return to the store, and their inventory and productivity losses will further erode profitability.