IT-Based COVID Responses Inviting More Vicious Ransomware Attacks, Says 'MSP 501' Newcomer Middleground Technologies

WESTCHESTER, Ill., Oct. 26, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Newly released cybersecurity trends data suggest that COVID-19 contact-tracing apps and telemedicine initiatives have helped create a target-rich environment for increasingly vicious ransomware attacks against manufacturers, healthcare providers, and others, said Isaac Sajjad in remarks offered after his Chicago-area information technology (IT) managed services company—Middleground Technologies—was named to Channel Futures' prestigious MSP 501 list.

Sajjad, co-founder of Middleground Technologies, explained that a ransomware attack involves the innocent downloading of malicious software which, in effect, "kidnaps" data from the user's phone or computer.

"To get back the data, the victim must agree to pay a ransom," he said. "The trends data imply that businesses need to right now reevaluate their cybersecurity strategies in order to avoid falling prey to COVID-related ransomware attacks."

Sajjad, citing a September report from Coalition (a group that includes Lloyd's of London and other top insurance companies from around the world), said the severity of ransomware attacks is up 47 percent this year.

"There has also been a 67 percent increase in compromised business email," he added.

Sajjad observed that ransomware attacks not only are increasing in severity but also in frequency.

"The pandemic pushed a lot of companies to move large pieces of their operations out of the office and into the homes of their employees, where it's much more challenging to maintain a safe digital environment," he said. "Many healthcare providers, for example, responded to COVID by hastily introducing telemedicine services and health-monitoring applications without fully thinking-through the cybersecurity risks. Now, as a result, they've become ripe for ransomware attacks."

Expertise in managing cybersecurity risks was a key reason among many that global digital news organization Channel Futures named Middleground Technologies to its elite MSP 501 roster, according to Kris Blackmon, senior content director at Channel.

Middleground Technologies, launched in 2010, possesses exceptional fluency in cybersecurity as well as cloud computing and VoIP communications, and can lay claim to a sterling reputation for proactivity, Sajjad indicated.

Middleground Technologies was inducted to the MSP 501 list of best-in-class managed services providers after evaluators from Channel Futures determined Sajjad's company had "inspired and contributed significantly to the design, construction, and operation of a better digital world," according Blackmon.

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SOURCE Middleground Technologies

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