What is ransomware?
Ransomware is a type of malware designed to make a victim's data or systems inaccessible, usually through encryption, then to charge for their return. The business model is simple and brutally effective: paralyze an organization and demand payment to free it.
The ecosystem has industrialized. The ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) model lets low-skilled affiliates run attacks using tools supplied by specialized groups, which multiplies the number of campaigns.
Why it matters for your organization
A ransomware incident is not limited to the ransom. It causes business interruption, remediation costs, notification obligations and reputational harm. For some organizations, prolonged downtime is more destructive than the demand itself.
The spread of double extortion has changed the game: even with good backups, the threat of publishing stolen data keeps the pressure on. Prevention and early detection therefore become decisive.
How to reduce the risk
- Isolated, tested backups: offline or immutable, regularly restored to verify.
- Multi-factor authentication and strict management of privileged access.
- Patch management on exposed entry points.
- Behavioral detection to spot encryption or exfiltration in progress.
- Response plan, documented and exercised, including crisis communication.
Where organizations most often fall short
The most common mistake is relying solely on backups, without addressing double extortion or early detection. The other pitfall is discovering the real quality of your backups on the day of the incident: a copy never restored is not a guarantee, but a gamble.