Seventy percent of respondents to a recent Arcserve study on the impact of ransomware on consumer behavior say companies are not doing enough to protect user data. More than half (59%) say they will avoid doing business with a company that has suffered a cyberattack in the previous 12 months, and 84% have shared negative experiences with others as a result of ransomware, including on social media.
Recovering from a ransomware attack is expensive. Fortunately, there are steps you can take to prevent attacks and make recovery easier in the event of an intrusion.
1. Know your surroundings.
If you don’t know your perimeter, you can’t protect it. The first step in designing a ransomware protection strategy is to identify all the services, devices, and applications attached to your network.
Document known vulnerabilities, such as shared passwords, and japan whatsapp data assess potential risks and vulnerabilities, such as increased VPN access and use of personal devices due to the rapid setup of remote workstations for work during the pandemic.
2. Install all patches.
One in three intrusions occurs because a patch was not installed. Therefore, it is essential to prioritize the installation of patches for applications and operating systems. By automating patch management and updates, you will ensure that security is up to date.
3. Teach employees good online security practices.
User behavior is the primary way ransomware spreads. Implement an employee training initiative to teach everyone how to recognize social engineering tricks, safe internet browsing practices (such as avoiding malicious ads and websites), and what to watch out for when opening email attachments.
4. Minimize administrator privileges.
By limiting the number of people in your company who have elevated permissions—and closely monitoring those with privileged access—you can prevent attackers from gaining access to business-critical data and applications if a breach occurs.
Evaluate the implementation of access control initiatives such as zero trust, privileged access management, continuous access assessments, and automatic provisioning and deprovisioning.
5. Implement a proactive ransomware protection strategy.
A proactive approach to ransomware prevention will save you time and money. A comprehensive ransomware protection strategy should include tools to detect and prevent ransomware attacks, protect critical data and applications from internal and external threats, and quickly neutralize malicious activity.
There are many solutions on the market that offer only data protection or cybersecurity. For complete, end-to-end ransomware protection and data integration, look to a solution provider that integrates cybersecurity with data protection .
Proactivity and preparation are the best strategies to protect against ransomware
The best way to prevent ransomware is to be proactive, but we all know that mistakes can always be made. Having a disaster recovery plan in place is essential to minimize downtime and reduce recovery costs.
Generally speaking, your disaster recovery plan should include:
Business Impact Analysis: An analysis of business-critical systems and applications, the potential cost of extended downtime, and any compliance requirements your business must meet.
Risk assessment and management: An analysis of system weaknesses and dependencies that documents the steps that need to be taken to ensure data recovery and systems reactivation quickly and with minimal loss.
Backups: Remember to make regular backups and do not allow them to be accessed directly from the network. Some types of ransomware target backups and encrypt them, so it is important to store them off-site and isolate them.
Ransomware prevention is already a part of doing business, but with preparation and a comprehensive ransomware protection strategy, companies don’t have to accept falling victim to it. Download Having a ransomware plan in place today is critical for businesses to learn more about how to protect against ransomware attacks.