Ransomware attacks are major threats for organizations across the board — but no two attacks are the same, in part because of the industry-specific challenges and risks that businesses face.
Ransomware groups are becoming increasingly strategic about who they target, based partly on what kind of impact the attack might have and how that relates to decisions about paying a ransom.
For example, a hospital with safety-critical operations might have different risk assessments during a ransomware attack than a retail store. Both types of organizations face their own unique risks, and it’s important for MSPs to have a very specific understanding of what a cyberattack might mean for different customers in different industries.
Further reading Ransomware Protection for MSPs: How to Safeguard Your Clients’ Data
Industry-Specific Risks
MSPs with existing tight-knit customer relationships are well-positioned to understand how to defend against, prevent, or mitigate threats. Below are a few ways that MSPs can dissect customers’ specific industry risks and the potential impacts they should prepare for should they be hit by ransomware.
Business continuity: What type of direct operational impacts would a ransomware attack have on businesses in specific industries, and what would that mean for customers?
Some organizations, including those in the manufacturing or healthcare spaces, leverage operational technology devices where operational downtime could impact critical processes. For example, a ransomware attack impacting specific operational manufacturing devices could have a safety impact. Or, as in the case of the Change Healthcare ransomware attacks, an incident might have a broader impact on customers that rely on downed services — like impacting their access to care.
The following questions can help MSPs better understand the impact of ransomware on customers’ operations and business continuity:
- Can you identify the safety-critical processes and devices that your business relies on?
- What would the impact be if these processes were compromised?
- What processes are in place should these processes go down?
- What unique challenges exist in mitigating an attack against these processes?
- What does operational downtime mean for customers on a broader level?
Sensitive data and compliance: Specific sectors that handle sensitive data also face unique challenges in the event of a ransomware attack. Financial services firms, for example, deal with highly sensitive financial and personal data and face a variety of data security regulations, so compliance plays a big role in incident response. Healthcare entities also house highly sensitive medical data and need to comply with HIPAA rules.
When MSPs talk to organizations in specific industries, they need to understand the following questions about data:
- What specific data do you collect and store that is defined as sensitive or personal?
- Where is that data stored, and who has access?
- What are the industry-specific regulations that you need to comply with, and how does that impact security protections and incident response procedures?
If MSPs have a better understanding of the specific sensitive data that customers have in their environment, and the overarching industry compliance requirements that they’re dealing with, it will give them a better idea about the unique types of business risk that organizations face.
Vertical Market Expertise: Essential for MSPs
Ransomware raises concerns across the board about data loss, reputational damage, and downtime — but companies in different sectors have unique challenges that can create a different impact if they are hit by threat actors.
Further reading Ransomware Prevention Checklist
MSPs need to understand their customers’ unique challenges, business risks, and operational stakes in the event of a ransomware attack. After MSPs have gathered this information, they can better strategize about how to prioritize vulnerabilities, how to mitigate potential attack vectors, and how to proactively implement effective defenses.
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