IT-based COVID-19 Prevention Measures Attract More Vicious Ransomware Attacks, Reveals Middleground Technologies

Newly released cybersecurity trends data emphasizes that COVID-19 contact-tracing apps and telemedicine initiatives have paved the ground for more vicious ransomware attacks against manufacturers, healthcare providers, and others.

FREMONT, CA: Newly released cybersecurity trends data emphasizes that COVID-19 contact-tracing apps and telemedicine initiatives have paved the ground for increasingly vicious ransomware attacks against manufacturers, healthcare providers, and others, said Isaac Sajjad in a statement 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, clarified that a ransomware attack involves the innocent downloading of malicious software, which, in effect, "steals" information 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 worldwide), said the severity of ransomware attacks is up 47 percent this year.

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

According to Kris Blackmon, senior content director at Channel, 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.

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

Middleground Technologies has made 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 to Blackmon.