Exploit: Ransomware
TV Eyes: Media monitoring service
Risk to Small Business: 2.222 = Severe: An unidentified ransomware strain has disabled the network’s core servers and engineering workstations. As a result, clients have been unable to access any information, which could have broad and long-lasting financial consequences for the media monitoring company. TV Eyes has declined to pay the ransom. Still, brand erosion and opportunity costs will make this an expensive attack at a critical time for the company, whose services are widely used by news outlets and PR agencies to access media content for reporting purposes.
Individual Risk: 2.875 = Moderate: At this time, no personal information was compromised in the breach. However, some PR professionals and media members had expressed fears that their data was compromised before hackers encrypted their files. Those impacted by the breach should update their account credentials while being especially critical of digital communications.
Customers Impacted: Unknown
How it Could Affect Your Customers’ Business: In addition to academic and government institutions, cybercriminals are increasingly targeting businesses that store customer data. Many are now willing to compromise customer data if ransom demands aren’t met, a new reality that significantly increases the potential damage of a ransomware attack. Since ransomware attacks always require a vulnerability to gain network access, companies should regularly assess their defensive postures to ensure that they are prepared for this nefarious attack methodology.