Sophos: Preventing Ransomware Is Key To Data Protection

A new survey the CyberEdge group finds only half of those who paid a ransomware ransom in 2017 could recover their data.

The CyberEdge research surveyed nearly 1,200 IT security experts across 17 countries and found that 55 percent of responders suffered an attack in the last year. Of the 38.7 percent who opted to pay the ransom, 19.6 percent lost their data.

"Ransomware is not going away," said Erin Malone, Vice President of North America Channel Sales at Sophos. "It’s only evolving."

Malone said Sophos’ latest product, Intercept X, is a game-changer in the fight against ransomware as it can stop an attack in its tracks.

"The approach that we’re taking with Intercept X, which is our advanced deep learning, is that it’s using technology that can detect executable files and immediately see if they have malware, unwanted software or if it’s a legitimate application," said Malone.

Sophos' Intercept X launched in January. Today, it is the company's fastest-growing product.