Ransomware attacks are known for their monetary demands - businesses hit with a successful attack see them range from a few thousand dollars into the multi-millions. Beyond a potential ransom payment is the actual cost of ransomware: business downtime. Attackers don’t always keep up their end of the bargain when it comes to decrypting business data, leaving businesses unable to access mission-critical data and unable to operate, resulting in lost revenue.
In Datto’s latest State of the Channel Ransomware Report, MSPs reported that the average downtime cost per incident has increased by 94% from 2019 and a staggering 486% from 2018. So, what does this mean exactly? At face value, it means that downtime costs are higher than reported two years ago. This may mean that downtime costs have increased, or it could mean that MSPs are getting better at calculating the real cost of downtime. Either way, MSPs understand that the damage associated with business downtime is far more costly than the actual ransom.
Downtime costs vary widely among businesses, and these numbers are based on MSP estimates. To calculate the cost of potential downtime for your business, check out our Recovery Time and Downtime Cost Calculator.
So how can you combat downtime for your business and your clients’? Having a comprehensive business continuity and disaster recovery (BCDR) solution in place can make a significant impact. In fact, 91% of MSPs surveyed for our State of the Channel Ransomware Report said that clients with BCDR products in place are less likely to experience significant downtime after ransomware.
Here are six key features MSPs should have in their BCDR solution for maximum resiliency:
- Fast Failback: Uses a “Rescue Agent” for disaster recovery while performing a continuously-mirrored bare-metal restore
- Rapid Rollback: Allows incremental reversion to a previously-backed-up state without reformatting or re-partitioning
- Instant Virtualization: Minimizes downtime after an attack or outage, with virtualization in the cloud or locally
- Ransomware Detection: Automated post-backup ransomware scans and data and boot verification lets you know as soon as ransomware is detected
- Two-factor Authentication: Secures access to your backup data to prevent ransomware attacks from compromising your ability to restore:
- Secure Cloud Backup: Offsite, secure, SOC 2 compliant, geo-replicated cloud infrastructure enables fast and secure disaster recovery
At Datto, we strive to set our MSP partners up for success in combating ransomware and restoring data quickly and seamlessly. Download Ransomware and the Cost of Downtime for more details about the impact of ransomware beyond the ransom demand and how businesses can prevent downtime as a result of an attack.
Christopher Henderson is director of information security at Datto. Read more Datto blogs here.
