Five Ways to Prepare Your Business for a Ransomware Attack

Ransomware has become a hacker go-to in the world of cybercrime. Research detailed in the Cisco 2017 Annual Cybersecurity Report states that ransomware is growing at a yearly rate of 350 percent. The Ransomware Data Report, published by Cybersecurity Ventures, predicts that by 2019, ransomware will cause more than $11.5 billion in global damages and that one organization will be hit with ransomware every 14 seconds. The best way to ensure your business is protected from these increasingly common attacks is to plan ahead and employ the following tactics.

Educate your staff

The first step in preventing a ransomware attack is properly educating your employees about what ransomware is and how it infects systems. Instead of simply sending a company-wide email, dedicate an internal campaign to teaching staff about the ins and outs of ransomware. How is it spread? What does it do to your data? What are the consequences of an attack on the employee, the company, and the clients? Delve deep into a discussion so everyone understands what’s at stake if they’re not cautious.

Email filtering

Research from TrendLabs suggests 91 percent of ransomware attacks are deployed using spear phishing techniques. Therefore, choosing an email provider that doesn’t offer adequate filtering can be detrimental to the safety of your data. Choose your provider wisely and ensure proper spam filtration settings have been applied. To prevent email spoofing it’s also important to authenticate inbound email using tools like Sender Policy Framework and DomainKeys Identified Mail.

Anti-virus must be installed

No matter your budget, anti-virus software is not something you should skip or skimp on. It really is your last line of defense and will attempt to negate the opening or installation of malicious software. Ensure you and your team are vigilant updating software as well. Don’t forget about your firewalls. Configure them to block access to identified malicious IP addresses.

Manage and monitor administrative rights

Be sure that access to installation privileges remain in the hands of trained IT executives. This will disallow any end user from installing suspicious or infected software to their device.

Backup your data

An important measure to take in preventing possible downtime caused by a ransomware attack is to backup your data. If you’ve properly backed up, you’ll be able to access your data even in the unfortunate case ransomware locks you out of your systems. The StorageCraft® Recovery Solution™ includes easy-to-manage backup technology that works across Windows and Linux systems on virtual and physical machines. Backing up with StorageCraft means you can capture systems, applications, configuration settings, and services so all your bases are covered if a cyberattack should restrict access to your data. We offer the ability to schedule regular backups, so they become routine and will run discreetly even while employees are working. Save yourself some worry by preparing for a ransomware attack before a hacker strikes. Contact us today for more information on our backup and recovery solution and how to keep your data safe.