Macro Systems Blog

Businesses have seen an increase in cyberattacks, a trend that is not slowing down in 2025. Listed below is a look at what the future could hold so you can take these insights and apply them to your cybersecurity initiatives in the coming year.

This blog post is written in the format of a daytime soap opera. Please make sure you read all of the dialogue as if being whispered by extremely attractive television stars and starlets!

Life goes on in the small town of Oak Falls, deep woods surrounding the little hamlet nestled on the coast of Cape Seguridad. Let’s follow the lives of some of the residents, their lives Of Vice… and Vulnerability.

One of the worst things that can happen to any organization is to be infiltrated with ransomware. Ransomware is a strain of malware that allows hackers to lock down files or computing systems and then ransom access back to the organization. It can really be a problem.

The last few weeks have been spent discussing ransomware's impacts on different subsets. First, we discussed how a ransomware attack impacts the customers of the infected business, and then we touched on the infected business itself. To conclude, we want to take a look at ransomware's impacts on society, specifically regarding economic health and geopolitical security, known as third-order harms.

We recently discussed the many impacts your business being hit by ransomware has on “second-order harm,” downstream businesses, and average, ordinary people. This time, we wanted to return to “first-order harms”… those the impacted business has to deal with itself.

It can be too easy to look at ransomware as a business problem; it does attack businesses, locking down their data for ransom, usually selling it or spreading it, and sometimes altering it for the business if returning it at all. It can be too easy to overlook another impacted target in all the mess.

What happens to the people whose data a business has collected and uses?

When considering your organization’s cybersecurity, it is imperative not to lose sight of the forest for the trees… or, in other words, not to forget the basics around which the rest of your protections are built.

We’re hoping that you are reading this post to prepare yourself in case your organization were to face a ransomware attack, but if you are suffering from one right now, we encourage you to reach out to us immediately, whether you are a client or not. Ransomware spreads quickly, and once it has infected a system, there really isn’t much you can do to stop it. That being said, there are steps you need to take to come back from this gracefully.

With ransomware becoming one of the most damaging threats out there for small businesses, it’s more critical than ever to know how to protect your organization from its influence. Fortunately, there are measures you can take, including some very powerful ones like zero-trust policies that can thwart attempted ransomware attacks.

You don’t need us to tell you that ransomware is a problem (or maybe you do–we mean, it’s a significant problem). It’s dangerous to both businesses and individuals, and it has become such a common threat that all organizations need to have a plan in place to address it with their staff. Listed below is a three-part strategy that you can use to approach ransomware in the most secure way possible.

There are a lot of threats to modern businesses, but ransomware seems to be the worst… or at least, the most feared. It seems as though we can’t mention cyberthreats anymore without mentioning ransomware. Alas, we’re right to do so, and the reason for this is a simple one.

Of all the cybersecurity threats out there for your business to deal with, there are going to be a few of them that are more likely to impact you than others. That’s just a statistical reality. Listed below is how these threats can be addressed.

Ransomware is one of the worst situations that any organization could have to deal with. It not only holds your data or computing infrastructure for ransom, it also creates situations where you have to explain to your clientele that you’ve been breached and that their information has fallen into the hands of scammers looking to extort your business. Listed below are details about how ransomware works and other details to give you an idea of just how unpleasant it is. 

Say you’ve been infected by a ransomware attack, and (against our advice) you’ve elected to pay the ransom. That’s the biggest cost that comes with it, right?

Alas, wrong. A ransomware attack comes with a lot more financial impact than just the payment the attacker demands. Listed below are some of these other costs that can actually outpace that of the ransom.

All businesses and industries could potentially be targeted by ransomware, regardless of their size or target audience. That being said, as of late, some industries have been targeted more and more. Listed below are some of the commonly targeted industries that ransomware is frequently waged against.

Network security could mean a number of things, but usually people are using the term as a blanket statement against the dreaded idea of malware and its numerous forms. Listed below is a discussion on how vast the world of malware can be and how often you might find yourself misunderstanding what it exactly is. Comprehending all this can help you identify if you have become a malware victim or not.

Ransomware is regarded as one of the worst modern cyberthreats out there, and there's ample evidence to support this. These attacks and their aftereffects can devastate businesses of all industries. Listed below is an explanation about why ransomware is so dangerous, and what can be done to fight it. 

Ransomware has been commonplace for years, and there's no sign of it going anywhere anytime soon. Listed below is an examination the state of ransomware right now, and tips on how to keep it from impacting your businesses.

It's very simple: Ransomware is very bad. The first half of 2021 saw a massive increase in ransomware attacks that made the lives of countless individuals and business professionals difficult. On the other hand, a new trend is surfacing, and it’s one that you might be surprised to see: fake ransomware threats.

While it only makes sense to assume that a hacker would focus specifically on those targets that would bring them the greatest profit (in other words, larger businesses), the reality of modern cybercrime renders this assumption grossly outdated. Let’s examine how different developments in ransomware have made it possible for hackers to be far less discerning in who they target.