Ransomware Archives - icsdata.com

Ransomware: A persistent threat – how to stay protected

by Jacob Acker | Aug 19, 2024 | Ransomware

Why Vigilance and Preparedness Are Your Best Defense

Ransomware attacks, where cybercriminals encrypt data and demand a ransom, remain a significant and evolving threat. The recent attack on McLaren Health Care in Michigan highlights the severe impact ransomware can have, disrupting operations and affecting patient care. This incident underscores the ongoing risk that businesses and organizations face.

To protect yourself from ransomware, consider these key actions:

1. Backup Your Data: Regular backups are crucial. Ensure data is backed up in multiple locations, including offline, to avoid paying a ransom if attacked.

2. Keep Systems Updated: Regularly update your software and antivirus programs to patch vulnerabilities that ransomware can exploit.

3. Educate Employees: Train employees to recognize phishing emails and malicious links, reducing the risk of accidental infection.

By taking these steps, you can significantly reduce your risk of falling victim to ransomware, ensuring your data and operations remain secure.

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5 Things to do Right Now to Prevent a Ransomware Attack

by Jacob Acker | May 11, 2021 | Cyberattacks, Email, Ransomware

1. GET A BACKUP AND DISASTER RECOVERY SOLUTION

In today’s world, backing up your data may seem easy, but if you attempt to restore it yourself, you may risk downtime, man hours, resources, and many other factors. By creating a disaster recovery plan, you have a concrete solution in place to ensure these negative situations don’t occur.

If a ransomware attack does occurs, but you’ve backed up your data, you’ll rest easy knowing that there’s a solution moving forward.

You may run into situations like Colonial Pipeline Co.’s (CPC) recent ransomware attack. Cyber criminals locked everything, threatened to leak it to the internet, and shut their entire business down. They requested a ransom of $200,000 to $2 million.

👉 Need your data backed up? We’re here to help.

2. INVEST IN SECURITY AWARENESS TRAINING

Ultimately, hackers rely on the “human element” more than any other factor to gain access to your information. Meaning, when one of your employees clicks on a link they shouldn’t, that’s the best time for hackers to act.

Of course, no one has the intention of doing so; however, they probably don’t think as seriously about IT security as you may.

Investing in security awareness training will help create a culture of vigilant employees working to identify and avoid malicious links, phishing emails, and dangerous behavior.

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PROTECT YOURSELF FROM RANSOMWARE

3. FILTER YOUR EMAILS

Learning to prevent phishing is one of the most important ways to protect yourself from a ransomware attack since most ransomware is distributed through email.

Implementing an anti-spam filter is one of the most efficient ways of filtering out any potential unsafe and unwanted emails.

Watch out for business email compromise, don’t click ads, keep an eye out, and always check the sender’s domain.

ICS Data - 5 Ways to Prevent a Ransomware Attack

4. INSTALL ANTIVIRUS AND NEXT GENERATION FIREWALL

Installing an antivirus protects your endpoints (computers, servers, etc.) and your firewall protects your entire network by filtering incoming and outgoing network traffic based on your organization’s security policies. Having these pieces in place will prevent your risk of ransomware attack.

5. TAKE YOUR PROTECTION AGAINST RANSOMWARE TO THE NEXT LEVEL

If you want to make sure that your disaster recovery plan is correct, that your firewall is top-of-the-line, and that your employees are well-trained to avoid getting phished in the first place, then you should consider working with a proven IT security company.

We’ll help you find the solutions that match your budget and requirements – ensuring you pay for the correct amount of security you need. Then, we’ll analyze your current security measures and suggest ways of improving.