Ransomware – How to Protect Your Business

Ransomware – How to Protect Your Business

I’ll cut right to it. Ransomware threats are surging at an alarming rate.

You may have never experienced what this is like, so imagine starting your day by finding everything on your computer, from customer data to financial records… everything… locked.

What happens when you click on any of your files? A scary message (or popup) asking for a ransom to unlock everything. Plus an intimidating countdown. The “pay or else” kind of message.

But…

How does it start? Where does it come from? How does it deploy?

It usually starts with an innocent-looking email. It can seem like it’s from a reputable business, social media account.. or even from a friend who doesn’t know their computer is infected and sending an email to all of his/her contacts.

Opening the email does nothing. It’s clicking on any of the links or opening any of the attachments. That’s all it takes. Click, click, boom. The ransomware is deployed almost instantly.

Should you pay the ransom?
Well, this is where it gets tricky. Paying the ransom means you are supporting their cause, but worse… you still don’t know if your files will be restored.

It’s easy for cyber criminals to deploy this. They can quite literally “rent” the ransomware tool they need to ensure it deploys flawlessly.

That’s why ransomware spiked tremendously in 2023, breaking a six-year record. The number of victims infected also increased by 75% between 2022 and 2023.

Yikes.

The consequences can be devastating if your business suffers such an attack. Your data could end up leaked on the internet, leading to significant financial losses. Not to mention all the downtime.

How can you protect your business from this threat?
– Make backups that can be stored offline (meaning not connected to your computer).
– Educate your team to spot phishing emails and to be cautious when clicking on links or attachments.
– Keep your systems up to date with the latest updates and security patches.
– Invest in some excellent security tools.
– Limit who has access to what data. No one should have access to everything on the network.
– Have a plan in place to respond to incidents quickly.

What if I get infected?
First.. don’t panic. Work with a cyber security professional like myself to help resolve the issue. Of course, it’s best not to pay the ransom if you can help it… which is why backups are so important.

Our team takes a proactive approach to protecting your data. In some cases, we can rewind the clock to before the ransomware took hold (for real). If you or your business needs help in setting something like this up, then just shoot me a message for a quick chat. 🙂