What Do I Need to Know about Ransomware Attacks My Business?
Ransomware attacks are becoming more targeted, aiming at both enterprises and public sector organizations. Small and medium-sized businesses account for 71% of all ransomware attacks, which means they need to pay special attention to protecting their computing assets against this type of cybersecurity threat.
The sole purpose of any ransomware attack is to extract money from the victim by making your business-critical data unusable through file encryption. Once hackers penetrate your systems and manage to encrypt your files, they will ask for ransom, usually paid in cryptocurrency. The size of the ransom usually depends on the size of your organization.
The most pressing problem with ransomware is that there are only a few tools to decrypt already encrypted files, and these tools are mostly useless when sophisticated encrypting algorithms are used for the attack. Thus, a ransomware attack can inflict severe damage to any business and cause losses ranging from a few thousand dollars to millions of dollars.
Five Alarming Ransomware Statistics
- Ransomware accounts for 56% of all malware attacks
- A ransom attack costs businesses $133,000, on average
- Ransomware attacks against businesses rose by 79% in 2018
- Every 14 seconds ransomware attacks a business in 2019
Ransomware is getting increasingly sophisticated, and attacks are becoming more targeted, which means that ransomware protection is a must-have for businesses of any size.
How to Protect My Business from Ransomware
The first step is to test your network for any vulnerabilities that could allow ransomware and other malware to penetrate your business systems. Essential Solutions, for instance, offers an initial security audit to new clients during which computer systems undergo testing for various vulnerabilities.
Backing up your data on a regular basis is another best practice to protect against ransomware, but you still need to have reliable antivirus protection and firewall in place. By updating and patching all your essential software, you add a further layer of protection. Nonetheless, businesses should be aware that the most common penetration tactic is called phishing and is directed toward your employees’ activity on the web and in email.
Essential Ransomware Protection Measures
- Train employees to recognize phishing attempts
- Use a reliable antivirus suite and firewall and update them daily
- Scan all inbound emails for known threats & block suspicious attachments
- Use a VPN when connecting to your systems from public networks
- Continuously assess your digital assets for vulnerabilities
How Essential Solutions Can Help My Business in Ransomware Protection
Preventive measures are the single most effective protection against ransomware attacks. It is important to test all your hardware and software for existing and potential vulnerabilities if you are to avoid the ever-growing number of cyber threats.
Essential Solutions can run extensive vulnerability tests on your systems, but you need reliable networking equipment in the first place. Any antivirus and malware scanning software slows down your systems a tiny bit. Thus, you need the right networking infrastructure and the right setup to get the best results. Network design is as important as software protection when it comes to ransomware attacks. Essential Solutions can design a business network from ground zero or revamp yours to meet best practice guidelines.
