More and more businesses of all sizes are falling victim to ransomware, a form of cyber attack where all the files on your PC (and possibly even across your network) are encrypted so you are unable to access them. The cyber-thieves then demand a ransom for unencrypting the files, hence the name.
Protect your business
Making your staff aware of the risks of clicking on unknown or unexpected attachments could mean the difference between an attack being successful or failing to take hold. Consider ongoing training and education to make sure your staff are not the weak link in your defence.
One of the best ways you can prevent your business being affected is to make sure the ransomware doesn’t reach anyone in the first place. Ensure you have strong email filtering in place, along with other security measures such as web filtering and firewalls.
Keep up to date with patches and updates to operating systems and software, as known vulnerabilities will be targeted by attackers.
Should the worst happen and you find your business has become a victim, then the quickest way to get back to business as usual is to restore data from backups. Making sure your backup plan is comprehensive and retains full backups for long enough means you’ll recover more easily.
You can read more about the rise in ransomware attacks in this article from BBC Technology correspondent, Mark Ward.
If you would like to find out more about protecting your business, or to speak to Todd, our Certified Information Systems Security Professional (CISSP) information security specialist, then please call us on 01242 505470.
