Ransomware Presents Big Risks

The business world has been presented a lot of threats recently, and perhaps one of the most notable is ransomware. The reason it has become so notorious is because it’s incredibly difficult to remove from a system; and, the way that it spreads is constantly changing and adapting to further its influence. How can your business prepare against such a volatile threat? It all starts by remaining mindful of how ransomware spreads.

First, we want to offer a little primer of ransomware in the business environment. Ransomware essentially encrypts files found on your organization’s network, locking them down so that they can’t be accessed or used by your company. With this in mind, it’s no surprise that ransomware is commonly used to cripple businesses and scare them into acting against their best interest. If the user doesn’t pay the ransom demanded of them, they could potentially lose all of their data for good. However, what the hacker doesn’t tell you is that there is no guarantee that they will give you the encryption key, even if you pay them the ransom.

You’re forced to make a difficult decision; pay up and further fund future ransomware campaigns, or hope for the best by working with cybersecurity professionals to remove the ransomware from your devices. Neither are particularly charming options--especially since nothing can be guaranteed to work.

Ransomware mostly spreads through the use of spam and phishing attacks. Since spam messages can be dispatched to countless targets easily enough, it’s simple to ensnare several users or organizations at once. As ransomware grew in popularity and efficiency, however, it began being distributed in much more dangerous ways. Phishing attacks that are much more targeted than your average spam attack allow hackers to fool even the most cautious user. In particular, these attacks are made toward businesses, who tend to value data much more than the average user--simply because there’s a lot more at stake.

If you don’t know what to look for, phishing attacks can be quite difficult to identify, and they hold the potential to cause catastrophic consequences for your organization. Therefore, your staff should be able to identify and respond to ransomware while mitigating the threat. The potential of ransomware in the future is untold and holds many dangers. Hackers have begun to find new ways to take advantage of and distribute ransomware. Ransomware can be purchased on the black market, and it’s much more accessible to even small-fry hackers. How will your business be able to protect itself from these threats?

The first step toward securing your business is being wary of how to prevent ransomware from rooting itself in your business infrastructure in the first place. Never trust suspicious messages in your inbox, and always double check who the sender is whenever possible. Ransomware likes to spread through attachments, like supposed resumes, bank statements, and other information. Never click on links or download attachments until you know they are legitimate.

Furthermore, you need to have a worst-case scenario in place by implementing a backup and disaster recovery solution. This allows you to restore data from a point before the ransomware struck your business. This is the only way that you can escape from a ransomware strike relatively unscathed. k_Street Consulting, LLC can help you implement security solutions and data backup to ensure maximum survivability in the event of a ransomware attack. To learn more, reach out to us at (202) 640-2737.