5 steps to improve your ransomware resilience
Sooner or later your business WILL be attacked
This is a cold hard fact: Ransomware is on the rise. Here’s a quick Q&A answering the most common questions about it.
What is it?
It’s where hackers break into your network, encrypt your data so you can’t access it, and then charge you a large ransom fee to unlock it. It’s the most disruptive and costly kind of attack you can imagine. And very hard to undo.
Why is it a big deal?
Ransomware attacks are dramatically up thanks to the pandemic. All the urgent changes that businesses went through last year created a perfect storm, with plenty of new opportunities for cyber criminals.
Is my business really at risk?
Thanks to automated tools used by hackers, all businesses are being targeted all the time. In fact hackers prefer to target small businesses, as they typically invest less time and money into preventative security measures compared to large companies.
It’s estimated a business is infected with ransomware every 14 seconds. And the hackers can demand thousands and thousands of pounds to unlock your data… with no guarantee they will actually comply once you’ve paid.
How can my business get infected with ransomware?
42% of ransomware comes from phishing emails. This is where you get a legitimate-looking email asking you to take a specific action. You only need to click a bad link once to let attackers quietly into your system. And it doesn’t have to be you who clicks… it could be any member of your team. Malicious websites make up 23% of attacks. And compromised passwords account for 21% of ransomware attacks.
Why is it so hard to undo?
A ransomware attack takes weeks for the hackers to set up. Once inside a network, they stay hidden and take their time to make lots of changes. Essentially, they’re making it virtually impossible for an IT security company such as ours to undo the damage and kick them out once the attack has started.
If you haven’t thoroughly prepared for a ransomware attack before it happens, you are much more likely to have to pay the fee.
How much is the typical ransom?
The hackers aren’t stupid. They know trying to get £100,000 out of a small business simply won’t happen. But you might stump up £5,000 just to end the hell of a ransomware attack. They will change their ransom demand based on how much money they believe a business has. Nearly 50% of businesses are so under prepared they have to pay the ransom to get their data back.
Of course, the ransom isn’t the only cost associated with an attack. There are countless indirect costs. Such as being unable to access your data or systems for a week or longer. How horrendous would it be if no-one could do any work on their computer for a week? How would your customers react to that?
Post-attack, productivity is always damaged, as staff get used to new systems, ways of working and greater security measures.
What can I do now to protect my business?
This is the most important question to ask. It’s virtually impossible to stop a ransomware attack from happening. But you can do an enormous amount of preparation, so if an attack does happen, it’s an inconvenience, not a catastrophe
Be prepared! Read more on the 5 steps we recommend for maximising your ransomware resilience.
: 5 steps to improve your ransomware resilience.pdf
Get in touch with us on 01522 718192 for more information.
