WatchPoint Aims to Stop Ransomware In Its Tracks

When it comes to ransomware, the bad guys don’t discriminate, which means companies of all shapes and sizes could fall victim to the scam that holds their data hostage.

Aiming to help companies in their fight against ransomware attacks, WatchPoint, a provider of advanced cybersecurity products, announced the launch of CryptoStopper.io. The new tool is geared toward protecting businesses from ransomware that infiltrates the company’s network and hijacks the data.

According to WatchPoint, CryptoStopper.io is dedicated solely to stopping ransomware, and unlike antivirus software that requires signatures, the new tool is a signature-less system that stops ransomware seconds after it’s launched. WatchPoint said traditional antivirus software relies on a signature to spot a threat, with either the threat being stopped or it causing maximum damage. Because its new tool is signature-less and uses the encryption process of ransomware as a trigger, it can lessen the damage. The tool seeds the network with files to encrypt, which creates a trap for the ransomware, because when the ransomware encrypts the seed files, CryptoStopper.io detects the activity, isolating the threat.

“CryptoStopper safeguards the most critical aspect of a business — its data. Our system of traps and decoys is more than just defense; it lowers the time-to-discovery and gives an advantage over the attackers,” said Greg Edwards, founder and CEO of WatchPoint, in a press release. “Today’s cybercriminals are more malicious than ever. Companies have massive amounts of critical data and information that are accessible and vulnerable to attacks.”

Ransomware has been growing as a popular tool for hackers because they have seen over and over to what extent people and companies will go to get their data back. What started as an attack on individuals is increasingly finding its way to businesses of all sizes. Symantec found in its recent Ransomware and Businesses report that, while individuals accounted for 57 percent of the recorded ransomware attacks in 2015, attacks on companies and larger organizations increased at the end of the year.