MailGuard Partners Blog

It’s one of the most contentious topics facing businesses and cybersecurity professionals at the moment: Should ransomware payments be illegal? 

As the end of 2021 approaches, MailGuard would like to extend a heartfelt thank you to you, our partner community, for your continued invaluable support throughout what has been another tumultuous year.  

As the end of 2021 draws near, many of us are looking forward to a much-needed break, with many businesses shutting down and families preparing to re-connect and head away for holidays. But it’s crucial to take a moment to remind our customers to stay vigilant against cyber threats to ensure that businesses and their teams stay safe.  

The verdict is in, most industry experts and business leaders agree that Government contractors should be legally accountable for not meeting cybersecurity standards. A somewhat harsh stance perhaps, or simply being cruel to be kind? For partners, the approach could have serious ramifications.    

The holidays are fast approaching, and with customers getting ready for the biggest sales of the year on Black Friday (the 26th of November), cybercriminals, who have been perfecting their social engineering techniques, are also gearing up to wreak havoc.   

As we near the end of 2021, a year that has been difficult once again for so many around the world, I wanted to take the opportunity to share with you, our partners, some fantastic progress from my team as we strive to make our industry-leading email security services even better.

Ransomware attacks are impacting businesses every 11 seconds. That’s a staggering statistic for a threat that is all too real and wreaking havoc on companies' longevity, operations, and reputation. In Australia, the ACSC observed a 15% increase in ransomware attacks in the last year alone, whilst globally, losses from ransomware are projected to reach $US20 billion. This unfortunate global trend has called for urgent action from both the public and private sectors as we work together to combat this ominous threat.  

As part of the 18th Annual Cyber Security Awareness Month this October, with the theme, 'Do your part, #BeCyberSmart', the National Cyber Security Alliance has provided the following valuable information. Share this with customers and their teams as a reminder of some best practice tips for recognising phishing threats. 

Cybersecurity threats are at an all-time high and expected to intensify as we head into a new world of work, with a greater reliance on technology. Now, more than any other time in history, businesses need to have implemented, at the very least, baseline security measures, in order to be protected. As we near the end of 2021, and as our customers start gearing up for a more cyber resilient 2022, it can only be of benefit to review baseline cyber threat mitigation strategies to ensure we’re running a tight ship. 

Every day we read of yet another business being compromised in the news, and we know that so many more incidents are unreported. The big incidents, like Kaseya and Colonial Pipeline, are only the tip of the iceberg. So, it concerns me that there isn’t more urgency to boost cyber security for business. And more specifically, with 9 out of ten cyber-attacks starting with email, do businesses know they can be doing more to keep their teams safe?