Bengaluru: Ransomware attacks is creeping in in India, although not as prevalent as in the US. Figures show that security threats will be a major issue to tackle with given the current scenario and in the coming times.
According to a Symantec report, with 28 percent of global infections, the US continues to be the country most affected by ransomware. Canada, Australia, India, Japan, Italy, the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and Malaysia round out the top 10.
Symantec’s latest research paper on ransomware finds that Ransomware threats have now grown into one of the biggest dangers facing businesses and consumers today. The average ransom demand has more than doubled and is now US$679, up from $294 at the end of 2015. 2016 has also seen a new record in terms of ransom demand, with a threat known as 7ev3n-HONE$T (Trojan.Cryptolocker.AD) requesting a ransom of 13 Bitcoins per computer ($5,083 at the time of discovery in January 2016).
Read more: Can Channel Partners Outsmart Ransomware In 2017?
Channel Partners are taking to selling ransomware solutions as cyber-threats are all time high. But how viable is it proving given the scenario in India and what challenges and opportunities lies in their path. There are several anti-ransomware solutions to sell to the customers. Channel partners need to understand first which product would excel and what USPs will sell the most.
Are customers ready to invest
No businesses would invest on anything which would not bring a high return on investment (ROI). It is difficult for partners to convince customers to spend money on a product if the result of such an investment is not really visible. And results will not be visible unless an incident as such happens and proves the chivalry of the anti-ransomware solution’s potential. In such a state, how ready are customers, both large and small to invest in such solutions?
“Deploying anti-ransomware technologies needs big investment. This at times averts customers from adopting it. This is basically more of a preventive method than a remedy inself. Prevention though is a result in itself, but it cannot be seen. This is a dilemma where customers find them in a fix whether to invest or not.” Krishnakumar Anandan, CEO, Phalgune Infotech Pvt. Ltd.
Educating will pay off
A watchguard study states that more than 60 percent do not think the majority of their customers understand the difference between Unified Threat Management (UTM) appliances and Next Generation Firewalls (NGFW). Nearly 80 percent do not think their customers care about the difference between the two appliance categories at all – and only want to know that their business is protected by the latest threat prevention solutions.
“Ransomware is still a confusing term to many in India. No solution is 100% secure. There is no visibility in the network endpoints, this creates a problem. No one really knows what is happening at the network layers,” said, Saravanan Narayanasamy, Founder and CEO, Globe Secure Technologies.
“Education of the customer is important. We are trying to educate people that prevention is better than cure. We also have to make people understand that in case of a cyber- attack, there will be a huge lack of productivity which will lead to loss of more money than it is required while investing in anti-ransomware solutions,” explained Anandan.
Is the Market Ripe?
Anti-ransomware solutions market is still in a nascent stage in India. “We see profits coming from it next year.” He further points out that surveillance cameras are being sold in the Indian market for more than five years now, but the real and maximum demand is coming now as people are aware of its benefits and are ready to invest. Similar is the case with anti-ransomware solutions.
Clearly, Channel partners are in for a huge engagement with the customers and garner maximum profit with the coming years.