Ransomware represents one of the biggest cybersecurity threats for businesses in modern times. Cybercriminals are leveraging their capabilities to effectively “kidnap” the victims’ hardware and the data it contains, threatening to destroy it.
This situation leads to major losses for organizations that aren’t only forced to pay the ransom but to face the operative damaged that takes place during downtime. The flanks to fight at are too many and businesses often find themselves in jeopardy if they fall victim to a ransomware attack.
In the following lines, we will talk about several tips that will help your organization to be well suited for ransomware threats.
Understand Your IT Structure
The most dedicated cybercriminals are taking the time to understand their future victims’ IT structures and find their weak points. So, it would be odd and detrimental for an organization to be ignorant about its infrastructure.
Take the time to map your entire IT structure and find out about potential liabilities that may be exploitable by hackers. Once you find these weak points, strengthen them.
Emphasize on Updates
One overlooked piece of advice is regarding software updates. Software providers are constantly developing and launching new updates for a good reason: they aim to improve, among other things, the security of your software with new threats in mind.
If you choose to ignore new software updates, you are basically choosing to be unprotected against the latest threats in the cybersecurity panorama. Most updates are free, granted by the provider. So, make sure your organization is taking the time to apply them.
Segment and Isolate
Non-segmented networks are a huge liability for organizations, even when these enjoy high-end cybersecurity mechanisms. When there is no segmentation or isolation, the slightest breach can become a major crisis for a company.
By segmenting and isolating networks and systems, a business is dramatically reducing the risk of major losses. If a ransomware attack finds its way into the network, having it segmented can contain the attack and substantially contain the potential damage.
Back Everything Up
Ransomware threats consist of kidnapping and destroying information. But, what if we have complete backups of this data? The risk that this kind of attack supposes in real life gets reduced dramatically.
That’s why it’s common sense in terms of cybersecurity to properly back up crucial data for the company and having such backups in safe locations, out of the cybercriminal’s reach.
Test and Run Drills
How good are your defenses against ransomware and other types of attacks? The only way to know it is by making tests and running drills. In the best-case scenario, get the help of ethical hackers to put your systems under stress and determine if they are effective enough to keep threats at bay.
In the worst case, just run the mandatory and recommended tests and make sure everything is on point, guaranteeing an up-and-running shield against ransomware attacks.
Take a Good Look of the News
Finally, if you work in anything related to IT or cybersecurity, it’s better for you and your business to keep an eye on the latest news on ransomware. There are dedicated news sites where they cover recent high- and mid-profile attacks and the apparition of new malware.
By being connected to the latest news in ransomware, you will feel and be more suited to face the challenge.