Ransomware is on the rise by the each passing day as cybercriminals today are very smart and they know how to use advanced means to monetize their cyber attacks. In fact, there are a variety of savvy and hard-to-prevent ways through which these crooks attack PCs, systems, servers and networks around the world and put users at ransom. Victims to such attacks often suffer a lot and many organizations have their operations paralyzed and performance massive affected due to ransomware attacks (Ransomware Data Recovery).
With cybercriminals finding sophisticated ways to dupe systems and networks easily, the time has come when organizations too took steps to become savvier and prevented such attacks. While it’s never easy to prevent ransomware attack altogether, being prepared with a proper backup solution is something that can at least minimize the risks and lessen the pain that often comes from losing control over the servers, systems and networks.
Preventing ransonware attack is necessary for many reasons, including –
- To save your businesses from loss of productivity
- To stop operations from going completely haywire
- To save tens of thousands of dollars that may go waste owing to time loss
- To prevent loss to data and ensure flawless operations
Some of the steps that can help businesses prevent ransomware attacks include –
Have an up-to-date antivirus installed
If an enterprise wants to keep itself protected from ransomware attack, the first thing it should always do is to install an up-to-date antivirus across all endpoints within the business. Even though an antivirus may not ensure 100% safety against such attacks and might not able to stop new variants to go past the defenses, it’s still the first line of defense which needs to be there. You however should keep in mind that most anti-viruses are based on signatures and this is why they are never a full-proof solution against new variants.
Employ a multi-faceted security solution
Having adequate security is the only thing that can stop ransomware to some extent. It’s fine to have a latest anti-virus installed but you definitely need more to stay on the right side of such lethal attacks. And when we talk of more, what could be better than like having a multi-faceted security solution that employs additional safety technologies and measures such as firewalls, heuristics and other latest threat protection based on behavior. It’s easy these days to find a suite of tools that works how ransomware interacts on the operating system.
Back up the data
Ransomware attacks are not that easy to prevent but right measures and steps can at least help minimize their harsh impact. Backing up the data is one of the best ways to handle such risks head on and prevent operation paralysis in true sense. Options are in plenty as far as backup goes, including the cloud to local storage device to network attached drives, and you can choose whichever fits the bill perfectly. But one thing is always important to note – always remove the external storage device right after taking a backup as this will ensure that the ransomware won’t harm it even if it does infect the PC.
Trust a booted rescue drive
A booted rescue drive has to be the best available recourse today against ransomware attacks. It comes with patent-pending technology which is the reason why one can keep their full-system backups protected from ransomware. It’s possible to disable the drive after a backup is complete and this will stop ransomware from accessing the drive. Even if ransomware does infect at any point of time, it’s still possible to reboot and start the same system (that is protected from the drive) directly from the drive and keep the losses to bare minimum.
Follow security awareness
Businesses that have security awareness campaigns are less likely to fall victim to ransomware attacks than the rest. The purpose of such campaigns is to give stress on avoiding needless clicking of links and attachments in email. Everyone within the organization needs to be wary of any dubious email message with a link of an attacked file and they should avoid clicking on it unless they are sure about the sender. You should understand that phishing works as a juicy entrance vector for ransomware and their design coupled with the unsuspecting ways of users make them a great success for cybercriminals (windows 10 restore from backup).
GPO restrictions and admin rights restrictions
With GPO restrictions, an organization can easily restrict not only ransomware but malware as well to minimize dangers of cyber attacks. Similarly, it’s easy and affordable to restrict administrative rights on endpoints and prevent the risks of ransomware to a great extent. By reducing privileges, a business can easily minimize the chances of attack significantly. When there is admin right restriction, chances of being infected with a ransomware attack goes down drastically.
