Can you protect your business against ransomware?

Steal everything – Ransomware is a lucrative business!

Did you know that ransomware attacks a business (Yes, any business, of any size) every 14 seconds? Just recently, Garmin was taken down by ransomware with a demand of around $10 million to restore its systems. So how can you as a business protect yourselves from these vicious cyber-attacks? Well, let’s first understand what ransomware is and how you are most likely to fall victim to it.

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is a malicious type of software built to encrypt all the files on a computer and hold them to ransom. The cyber-attack will generally threaten to leak the files online and ensure that you cannot recover them locally as well. They request large sums of money (usually in Bitcoin) in order for you to get your files back and not have them leaked.

People are most likely to fall victim to an attack through a phishing scam. Most of these phishing emails will contain an attachment or download link that looks legitimate but will release the software onto the computer without the user noticing until it is too late.

Other ways that are common for businesses to fall victim to ransomware include accidental file download, remote attacks on servers, badly configured cloud setups, and more recently, the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) which a lot of businesses use to connect to their office systems remotely.

How can we protect ourselves?

There is no perfect solution to cyber protection and security, but there are certain principles that you can use when approaching the protection of your business.

Firstly, and perhaps most importantly, always assume that you will be the victim of an attack. Ransomware, and cyber-criminals in general, do not discriminate. Every business and person is a potential target. Plan your strategy assuming that you will be the victim of an attack.

You should also use a layered approach to your security. Essentially what this means is that you should have multiple backups of your data, you should have protection on your network (eg. a firewall) and protection on each of your devices (eg. Antivirus). Investing in anti-ransomware technology will help provide the best protection available.

Your IT partner is the best source of information. Listen to their advice and make sure that they are staying on top of the latest technologies available to protect your business.

Find out how our AI-based antivirus can protect your business from all kinds of threats, with rollback technology and alerting. We can provide a free demo if you are interested!

Leave a comment below if you have any tips about protecting yourself, you may help someone out!