Protect your business from Ransomware – taking proactive prevention against cyber-crime is as important to your business as turning on the alarm and locking the door at night.
Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a system until a sum of money is paid. We like to break it down into three levels…
Scareware – is a low grade ransomware virus using fake antivirus tools which pretend to detect malware issues and demand payment to fix them.
Browser or Screen locking ransomware – is a middle grade virus. Usually law enforcement scams that use fake FBI or US Department of Justice messages to claim they have detected illegal activity on your computer for which you need to pay a fine.
Encrypting ransomware – this is the most dangerous of viruses. Pop-up messages say that your files are encrypted and demand ransom money to be paid by a deadline in order to return them.
How dangerous is encrypting ransomware to your business?
Ransomware can encrypt your company’s most important files such as accounting, medical data or confidential customer information. Once encrypted, you can’t get the files back – unless you pay the ransom. The Verizon Data Breach investigations report estimates that if 1000 records are lost, businesses can expect to lose more than $67000, the bigger the breach the higher the cost.
As well as the potential to lose data and lose money there is a real danger of losing your reputation too. Some newer forms of ransomware threaten businesses not only with encrypting files but also leaking then online.
Should you pay the ransom?
Law enforcement officials might encourage you to pay the ransom seeing it as the quickest way to retrieve your files; however cyber-security professionals don’t recommend it. 
There is no guarantee that paying the ransom will give you access to your files again, it can also make you a target for future malware infection.
So how do you protect your business from ransomware?
The best protection is prevention. Take these steps to help keep ransomware from harming your business…
Patch your system – keep browsers, general systems and oher software applications up-to-date
Educate users – one of the most common ways that computers are infected with ransomware is through social engineering. Educate users on how to detect phishing campaigns, suspicious websites and other scams.
Back up files – make secure copies of your data on a regular basis and store them offsite. Make sure backup files are not stored on a mapped drive. If backing up onto a USB or external hard drive, make sure the devices are physically disconnected from the computer. Ideally you should store backup data on a secure cloud server with a high level of encryption. We are happy to call in to meet you to discuss the best backup process for your business.
Invest in layered security – Installing multiple layers of cyber-security protection can detect and block ransomware attacks before they happen, Protect your business from ransomware with firewall active monitoring, anti-exploit, anti-virus with active monitoring, anti-malware and anti-ransomware.