Criminal activity spikes during times of crises as cybercriminals try to take advantage of the situation. Unfortunately, today’s situation is no exception: most concerning is the vulnerability of healthcare facilities such as hospitals, where the systems that care for patients and lab work are often linked. Acronis believes we have a responsibility to the public, so we need to warn everyone: we foresee a further increase in ransomware attacks targeting private and government hospital systems in the coming weeks.

The global COVID-19 pandemic has changed us: shaking us to our core as a nation and as individuals as we experience something that’s never happened in modern history. People are scared, people are uncertain, and we don’t know what’s going to come next. That’s why, when speaking to Larry Walsh, CEO of 2112 Group today about the research they did regarding the pandemic’s impact on the channel, it was refreshing to hear a message of hope amid the constant stream of negativity coming at us – seemingly from every direction.

The reality of the COVID-19 pandemic has become all too real for individuals and organizations; it’s become clear that the only way to contain the virus and keep the healthcare system from becoming overloaded is to reduce close personal interactions. The need for people to work from home when possible has become critical for businesses that may have never considered the option before. As a cyber protection company, we believe strongly in protecting data, applications, and systems at all times – even when employees are working from home. As a result, the executive team at Acronis has decided to make our secure, enterprise-grade file sync and share technology available for free to partners so that organizations can remain both productive and secure during this challenging period.

As the novel coronavirus/COVID-19 continues to spread and impact individuals, organizations, and communities across the globe, we want to share how Acronis is responding to the pandemic. While our work as a cyber protection company is focused on keeping data, applications, and systems protected, in the face of this crisis, Acronis is committed to ensuring our employees, partners and their families are protected too, while we provide the same high level of support to our partners and customers.