Be glad Ransomware isn’t again on your computer system
ArsTechnica article headlines, “Wave of business websites hijacked to deliver crypto-ransomware.” Fairly warning and justifying yet another article on the subject. Or perhaps you’d prefer the fact that Google was forced to blacklist over 11,000 domains in a single day after a botnet compromised their websites. The ploy was a SoakSoak water gun. Exciting stuff.
In his article, A Crash Course in Ransomware and How to Protect Yourself From It, Alan Henry said, “Ransomware is particularly damaging malware, where attackers either disable systems or encrypt your data and demand money to give access back to you.”
Henry went on to say, “It’s especially important to pay attention to the whole “how you can protect yourself” aspect, because in many cases paying off attackers doesn’t work, and instead—like in any hostage situation—giving the attackers what they want only proves you’re willing to cave and boosts their resolve (and their demands.) Instead, prevention is key, and that starts with education…”
Henry distinguishes between malware – the broad term – and virus – one specific kind of malware which is “designed to replicate and spread.” Other kinds of malware: spyware, adware, nagware, Trojans, worms, rootkit, phishing.
Prevention is a key element. The attacker would like you to think that you cannot prevent the attack. But there are steps every SMB can take. Businesses can prevent Ransomware by education, frequent backups and monitoring.
- Education aims to make the weak link (users) stronger by awareness.
- Monitoring evaluates access points and breaches before damage takes place.
- Backups – But the strongest defense is frequent backups.
When the files are locked or encrypted, the only solution is to disconnect from the Internet, determine extent of damage and restore good files for those locked or encrypted. You would be wise to seek technical help in determining the best response prior to restoring.
Alliant is just a phone call away. 626-461-1300. We have fresh experience in working through this step by step.
