Ransomware: What is it and how to protect your organization
Ransomware is one of the most harmful forms of cyberattacks, and can potentially lead to your business having to close its doors, for good. Every year, ransomware causes billions of dollars of damage due to rendering irreplaceable files and documents unusable. Ransomware attacks saw an increase by over 600% between 2018 and 2020, and experts are not seeing a slowdown anytime soon.
Don’t think it could happen to you? In 2017 60% of businesses hit by cyber attacks had to shutter their doors within 6 months. That number has more than likely risen since then. A significant number of those businesses reported using free, or no antivirus software.
What is ransomware?
Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts data and then demands a ransom payment to decrypt it. Ransomware can be installed both internally to a business, or externally. A USB flash drive could be infected and an unknowing employee can plug it into a computer on the network which unleashes the ransomware, or someone could click on a link in an email that has been infected. There are any number of ways that a company’s network could become infected with ransomware.
How does ransomware work?
Ransomware is a form of malware that infect files on a network. It typically gets installed unknowingly by an employee who clicks on an infected link, or downloads and installs an infected file.
Once the file has been downloaded, or the link has been clicked, the ransomware goes to work encrypting (scrambling) files all across the network. Any attempt to open an infected file is met with a message informing the user that the file is encrypted and that a ransom payment is owed in order to decrypt, or unlock the file.
There are a couple methods for decrypting files that are infected:
- Make the ransom payment.
- Use a file decrypter.
The best case scenario would be to use a file decrypter (unlocker), but in order to have a file decrypter somebody would have had to decrypt the hash that is being used. This is a rarity, because the cryptography that malicious actors use is changing rapidly, so the “good guys” are constantly having to play catch-up. There is also the off-chance that the encryption key has leaked, but this is even more rare.
The next method is to pay the ransom. This is frowned upon, because once a hacker receives payment for this malicious act, then they have an incentive to keep doing it.
So, what can be done?
Protect your organization from cyber attacks
One of the biggest reasons companies get hit with ransomware is because quite often cybersecurity prevention measures have either not been implemented, or the cybersecurity measures just aren’t adequate enough.
Prevention and protection
One of the best ways to protect from a ransomware attack is to prevent it from happening in the first place:
- Update and patch all of your organization’s computers and devices on the network.
- Use caution while surfing the internet or when opening emails.
- Verify the email sender.
- Be careful when opening email attachments.
- Use malware prevention software and methods.
- Have consistent education for employees regarding ransomware and different malware attacks.
Protecting your company’s data can be done by backing it up. A good backup and disaster recovery plan consists of having your backed up data in 3 different areas, as well as having consistent backups. In the event of a ransomware attack, then the disaster recovery plan needs to be followed for data restoration so that the company can begin operations as soon as possible to minimize downtime.
Is your organization protected from ransomware?
Does your organization have a good plan in place to protect against a ransomware attack? If not, or you don’t know, why not consider having a company like Rush Tech Solutions perform a security assessment of your network. Cybersecurity companies like Rush Tech Solutions can make recommendations and implement solutions to protect your company and its data. They serve the metro Atlanta and Athens areas and everywhere in between.
To get in touch with Rush Tech Solutions just give them a call at (470)210-7874, or email them at [email protected]
