What is ransomware, and how it can affect your business?

A ransomware attack is a malware that blocks or hinder users from accessing their website or system and demands a ransom to be paid. The victims of such attacks cannot regain access to their computers until a ransom payment has been made, usually within 24 to 48 hours. Nowadays, most cybercrime victims are asked to pay a ransom using cryptocurrency or credit cards.

 

How it can affect your business

Every business can feel the impact of ransomware attacks, but some industries are more vulnerable than others. A cybercriminal determines who to target by looking at the kind of software that a company uses, the amount of value your data, and the impact that a ransomware attack would have on the company.

 

Academic institutions, utility and energy companies, governmental institutions and healthcare facilities are the most commonly targeted organisations for ransomware attacks. Although small businesses may be safe, it would be erroneous to think they are all immune. 

 

Ways to Prevent a Ransomware attack

 

Back up data

Data backup is one of the most effective tools to stop attacks and is usually done via an external drive or on the cloud. The program does not prevent the attack, but it enables you to recover the files without paying a ransom. Cyber security Gold Coast must also scan the backups for the infected system to ensure they are not infected. Some ransomware malware looks for network shares when it is being downloaded. 

 

Layered security framework

A few benefits of using a cloud backup service include recovering lost files and reducing downtime, but it's not a replacement for proper security. Ransomware becomes a threat once attackers are aware of your computer's vulnerabilities. You can use several measures to deter it, such as firewalls and endpoint protection done by cyber security Gold Coast, among others. The layering approach is more effective than a single-solution approach that might leave some loopholes in the future. The most important thing is that the security software must not be outdated or substandard; otherwise, it will not be able to detect or prevent ransomware infections.

 

What to do if you're the victim of a ransomware attack

Business owners are usually faced with the immediate question of whether or not they should pay the ransom when faced with a ransomware attack. Even though you may not be able to recover your data if you pay the ransom, this will allow you to continue with your business as usual and avoid dealing with this headache.

 

There may be a temptation to pay the ransom and get your data back within a short amount of time. However, businesses have paid the ransom only to be left without their data in other instances. There are usually other options for dealing with ransomware attacks other than paying the ransom on most occasions, which are not recommended. According to Netlogyx, one of the best Cyber Security Gold Coast companies, "The first step in finding out what kind of ransomware you have is to determine whether it is encrypting, locking down your screen or just pretending to be". This can easily be determined by seeing if you can access your files.

 

Since encryption software will be much more difficult to deal with, it can have much more serious repercussions than that standard software. The best course of action would be to work with professional cyber security Gold Coast team to deal with any issues. Once a plan has been devised and implemented, and the breach has been fixed, it's recommended to evaluate the IT security plan to prevent future ransomware attacks.