How Ransomware Can Hold Your Business Hostage
Every business needs protection. Be it from physical or technological threats. There are many kinds of threats that a business might face when you’re out in the market.
Now imagine, you’re simply using your company’s system and every file on it locks all of a sudden. Won’t that be a hassle? Then you receive a notification saying that you’ll need to pay a ransom to regain access to your files. This type of malicious activity is called ransomware. How did this breach in security happen? It’s as simple as one of your employees opening an email attachment and then your data is at risk.
However, there are a few ways and techniques that you can use to protect your business’s integrity from breaching. Such as allowing Managed IT services to provide security to your data and much more. Let’s find out.
What is ransomware and why should we worry?
Now that you know that ransomware is a threat to your business and its data, it’s time to get to know it. So what is ransomware? It is a type of malware that restricts your access to your systems or the data on them. That is until a ransom is paid to free your data. After it infects your device, it tries to get access to the shared storage devices at first. Slowly it takes hold of your entire system. This leaves all your data either inaccessible or encrypted, thus making it unusable. Then the people behind it demand a ransom after which they provide you the information on how to access your data or decrypt it again. On the other hand, if you decide not to pay them, the data might be deleted, remain encrypted, or released publicly. But we have ways for you to not pay any ransom and at the same time, save you from losing any data.
The main sectors and data assets that are a target of these people are public health, economic activities, national security, and many other kinds of businesses and services.
Ransomware and its Impact on the Business
You might think that ransomware will only affect your business in terms of the ransom amount. But that’s not the end of the story. Ransomware attacks have been reported to harm millions worth of businesses and can potentially close down your business permanently. This is due to the breach in the sensitive data of your company and might cause people to distrust your company after it faces such a cyberattack. This is where Managed IT services can help you.
Choosing the Right Operating System
It is essential to recognize the requirement for an operating system. There are different operating systems to choose from, as you can either go with Microsoft Windows or Linux. It all depends on the OS your business is working with. Once you have noted down the OS for your business, you can choose the server hard drive that supports those operations.
Microsoft Windows doesn’t require too much storage capacity but if you are working with Linux, it would be best to get a massive storage capacity. You can evaluate your in-hues operations and take a decision based on that.
Start Ransomware Protection with your Company’s Employees
No doubt a large part of protection against threats is through antimalware software and regular updates, protection against ransomware is different. It starts with employees. The key factor here is usually human error that causes data to be compromised. But don’t worry. With Managed IT services you can maintain measures that you and your employees can take so your organization’s data is safe and sound.
1. Lookout for Threats
The best way to be safe is to be well-informed. Make sure to educate your employees on what is ransomware. Only telling them won’t do the trick. Instead, you’ll have to keep regular seminars and activities for them to find out the suspicious mails. This is so that they have the habit of not entertaining suspicious mails and are safe from phishing attacks. Another way of practicing this is by sending fake phishing emails to your employees occasionally, so they know what to open and what not to.
2. Use the Principle of Least Privilege
Following the principle of least privilege saves you a lot. Already, all you employees must not have access to all sorts of data. Using least privilege, you can further restrict the access of employees to files that are truly confidential. This means that even if one of your employees falls for a ransomware attack, they won’t be putting valuable data at risk.
If your employees have the access to all the data, don’t worry. Go over the policies and update the access levels of the systems used by your employees. You only want a couple of employees with access to the data so that it does not disrupt the workflow.
3. Use Multi-Factor Authentication
Using multi-factor authentication can greatly reduce the risk of a ransomware attack on your business. Multi-factor authentication is also known as two-factor authentication. That is because it uses two factors to verify the credibility of the person trying to access the password-protected files or system. It will first require your employee to enter their password which will in turn send you a code or a notification to grant access by entering a code. This makes sure that even if the hacker is able to steal or crack one password, they still can’t get in. As the access to the files or system remains in your hands.
4. Back Up Your Business’s Files
Backing up won’t protect you from ransomware attacks, but it will reduce the downtime of your business. As you will have another copy of all the data stored at a different location other than your main servers. This makes sure that if one system is locked by the hacker, you have another one ready to continue business from where you left it. This approach reduces downtime significantly and prevents many losses. You can still retrieve your data by paying the ransom. Remember to make regular and timely backups so it is readily available round the clock. If you do not have an in-house IT team you can hire external managed IT services for helping you protect your business from ransomware.
Conclusion
To protect yourself and your business from ransomware and other cyber threats, proper measures need to be in order. You and your employees need to identify threats and timely deal with them. Measures such as employee training, two-factor authentication, and backups can save your business from huge losses. you can also consult the Managed IT services available at Sibbex for professional help.
