Ransomware gangs skip the CEO, head straight for the 40-something IT manager

Why managers are ransomware's top targets now - and 6 ways to stay safe

Almost two-thirds of the victims targeted in a single ransomware campaign held managerial positions or higher.

Ransomware Gangs Target Mid-Level IT Staff Aged 40 as Softer Entry Points

Ransomware operators have adjusted their attack strategies in recent months, choosing to bypass chief executives and instead focus their initial social engineering efforts on mid-level information technology staff around 40 years old. Security researchers tracking these campaigns report that threat actors now view these individuals as softer targets who possess enough technical access to accelerate an intrusion without triggering the same level …

Ransomware gangs skip the CEO, head straight for the 40-something IT manager

Turns out the fastest way to get a company to consider paying a ransom isn't calling the CEO – it's targeting the 46-year-old IT manager. That's according to Zscaler, whose ThreatLabz researchers tracked 351 victims across 334 organizations caught up in a single ransomware campaign over the course of a month. The data suggests today's ransomware crews have become oddly specific about their preferred victim profile: nearly two-thirds of victims h…

Ransomware Attacks Are Targeting Managers and other Business Leaders

Ransomware attacks are often measured by their final impact: encrypted systems, stolen data, operational disruption, and multimillion-dollar ransom demands.  However, the employees compromised during the initial stages of an attack receive far less attention.  New research from Zscaler ThreatLabz suggests that ransomware operators are increasingly targeting employees whose business authority and access can provide valuable pathways into an organ…

Why managers are ransomware's top targets now - and 6 ways to stay safe | #ransomware | #cybercrime - National Cyber Security Consulting

Eugene Mymrin/ Moment via Getty Images Follow ZDNET: Add us as a preferred source on Google. ZDNET's key takeaways Managers were the prime targets in a single ransomware campaign. Managers often have special privileges, making them tempting targets. Training and network security are key to preventing such attacks. Ransomware attacks don't just target specific organizations […] Thank you for subscribing to our RSS feed! The post Why managers are …