Cybersecurity and Ransomware: Lessons from a Record-Breaking Year

2021 will be remembered as the year ransomware became a global business risk—not just a cyber one.

With the rise of remote work, rapid cloud adoption, and increased reliance on third-party vendors, organisations across every sector saw their attack surface expand dramatically. Cybercriminals adapted fast, exploiting pandemic-driven vulnerabilities to launch the most sophisticated, frequent, and costly ransomware campaigns we’ve seen to date.

🔥 A Year of Unprecedented Attacks

From global logistics and fuel pipelines to hospitals and schools, no industry was immune. Some of the most high-profile breaches this year included:

• The Colonial Pipeline attack in the U.S., which disrupted fuel supplies across the East Coast
• Ireland’s health service ransomware event, which halted care delivery
• Widespread supply chain attacks, like the Kaseya breach, that rippled across thousands of businesses globally

These events have reshaped how boards and executives think about cyber threats: not as IT problems, but as enterprise-level risk events capable of halting operations, eroding trust, and attracting regulatory scrutiny.

🛡️ Key Areas of Concern

At Cybertech Risk Consultants, we’ve helped organisations respond to and recover from ransomware incidents—and, more importantly, design resilient cyber programs to prevent them. The most common control gaps we continue to see include:

• Weak endpoint security: Many remote users lack managed devices, allowing ransomware to enter via compromised laptops or unpatched software.
• Phishing and social engineering: Human error remains the top entry point. Attackers exploit uncertainty and urgency to trick staff into clicking links or sharing credentials.
• Third-party and supply chain risk: Many incidents now originate through trusted partners or vendors—with limited visibility or control on the customer side.
• Legacy systems exposed to the internet: Unsupported or unpatched tech remains a prime target for exploit kits and lateral movement post-breach.

🧩 What Can Be Done?

While no organisation can eliminate cyber risk entirely, the following actions significantly reduce ransomware exposure:

• Implement Zero Trust principles for access and authentication
• Harden remote work environments with modern endpoint protection and secure VPN alternatives
• Run phishing simulation training to improve user awareness
• Review third-party access controls and contractual obligations
• Patch regularly, and decommission or isolate legacy systems

🚨 Don’t Wait for a Breach

In 2021, ransomware didn’t just go viral—it went professional. Attackers are more organised, funded, and persistent than ever. Prevention is no longer enough. Organisations need detection, response, and recovery strategies baked into the business.

At Cybertech Risk Consultants, we help businesses of all sizes assess and uplift their cyber risk posture—across controls, governance, and incident response.

Let’s assess your exposure and build a plan—before you become the next headline.