5 Ways to Prevent Ransomware Attacks

Company size and industry are not relevant when it comes to ransomware attacks. Any organization can be victimized. Therefore, companies need to be proactive and prevent attacks altogether. In this blog, let’s review the consequences of ransomware, 5 ways to prevent ransomware attacks and how to be better prepared.

‍

What is ransomware?

‍

Ransomware is when a hacker encrypts your files and only releases the files once you pay the ransom fee. Even then, you’re not sure you’ll get access to your files ever again.

‍

Consequences of being attacked

‍

First and foremost, ransomware attacks are the downtime of your business while your files are encrypted can be detrimental to your company. Employees are limited to what they can work on, production reduces and the business in general just comes to a stop.

‍

The manufacturing industry, for example, is still a smaller percentage of ransomware attacks; however, they account for some of the largest payouts. Why? Because the manufacturingindustry has one of the highest downtime costs – about $22,000 per hour.

‍

If your business stops, you can’t serve or produce a product, you lose clients, company stakeholders pull out investment. The domino effect can be terrible. You want the least amount of disruption. You’re striving for business continuity and the least amount of money lost. So, how can you prevent an attack?

‍

5 Ways Ransomware Attacks

‍

1. Train Employees

‍

Whether you send an eBook, a tutorial or hold a seminar,inform your employees of the dangers of cybercrime. Most importantly, teach them about how cybercrime is possible. If possible, take it one step further and encourage employees to point out any suspicious emails. Here are potential topics to discuss:

‍

• How to Identify a Phishing Email 101

• Say NO to External USBs 207

• Dangers of Sketchy Ads and Websites 303

• The Strong Password Course 444

‍

2. Get Management Involved

‍

To ensure any new program runs smoothly, companies needbuy-in from high-level management. You need their full support. Especially fordata protection, training won’t be taken seriously without their approval and involvement.If possible, get high-level management to advise the other employees of theproject.

‍

3. Keep Software and Operating Systems Updated

‍

Software and operating system updates ensure you are using the latest security patches. Therefore, you are reducing vulnerabilities in your company and discouraging hackers from hacking your system.

‍

4. Install Antivirus

‍

Antivirus can prevent and detect malware as it enters yoursystem. Hereis a list of the top antivirus solutions ranked from best to worse.

‍

5. Backup Your Data

‍

Although this does not prevent an attack, backing up your data protect your business from paying ransom fees. You won’t need access to the hacker’s version because you have a backup. Backing up your data also improves business continuity and avoids huge downtimes.

‍

Here are a few tips for a strategic data backup plan:

‍

• Strive for a short RTO: Recovery Time Objective(RTO) is a time, within which all operations must be back to normal after disaster strikes. Consider downtime cost per hour to help determine your ideal RTO.

• Strive for 15-minute RPO: Recovery Point Objective (RPO) is a maximum period on which data and operations can be lost between the last backup and the disruptive event.

• Backup Offsite: Make sure to have a backup of your data offsite in case the hacker gets a hold of your entire system.

‍

 How are you preventing ransomware attacks?

‍

If you thought this blog was valuable, please share it with your network. Contact Assurance IT for more information on cloud backup and disaster recovery.

‍

__________________________________

Access The Untold Stories of IT Professionals.

Assurance IT launched IT Spotlight - a weekly newsletter putting the spotlight on IT professionals. Get the inside scoop on their careers, their predictions in the industry and more. Once a week, every week, find out what other IT professionals are up to. Learn more here.

‍

‍