Identifying the Ransomware You’ve Been Hit With
Ransomware, first seen in 1989, has grown into a one of the largest criminal business industries worldwide, accounting for a total of $20 billion in damage costs in 2020. First starting with criminals developing their own codes to use for [...]
2020 Saw a 320% increase in Ransomware Incidents
It’s no doubt that 2020 was a tough year for everyone, and even more so for information security professionals. In fact, 2020 saw the highest increased rates of ransomware incidents than any other year. The onslaught of phishing scams, [...]
Ransomware Recovery Timeframes: How Long Does It Take to Recover? [2022]
Ransomware recovery timeframes can vary widely. In very unusual situations, companies are only down for a day or two. In other unusual cases, it can take months. Most companies fall somewhere between the two to four week range, given their [...]
The #1 Question: If I Pay the Ransom, Will I Get My Data Back?
Paying a ransom is no joke. Being victimized by ransomware can leave you breathless and concerned for the future of your business, and anyone who would inflict this type of harm cannot be trusted. You are dealing with criminals, although [...]
Cybersecurity Trends to Watch for in 2021
In the wake of the recent and widespread SolarWinds attack that compromised U.S. government agencies, as well as the increase in cyber activity across all industries and organizations, CompTIA has established an Cybersecurity Advisory Council that aims to provide cybersecurity [...]
Does Your Firm Qualify for Cyber Breach Insurance?
And if your firm buys cyber breach insurance, will the insurance pay? There are many stipulations in regards to qualifying for cyber breach insurance. Most insurance companies require you to affirm a Statement of Fact and Fraud Warning. When [...]
Smoke testing is a term used to describe the testing process for servers after patches are applied. 
Estimating an average time for patching servers and PCs can be a bit tricky. It can vary from one month to the next, depending upon the number and complexity of the patches released by your software vendors. You must consider all versions of operating systems and have a complete inventory of all your application software to do this job correctly. Our experience has shown that manual patching of systems takes on average of about 1.5 hours each.
This is a basic cost calculator for you to compute your typical monthly cost for patching your servers, PCs, laptops, tablets and associated application software. It also forms the basis for you to begin calculating your Return on Investment for software patching, or for comparison with alternatives to the manual process of patching operating systems and application software—such as Patch Management as a Service, also known as Vulnerability Management as a Service.
