Ransomware is malicious software that has become very successful over the years as hackers use it to encrypt the user’s data and ask for ransom in return for it.
Ransomware attacks have become such a profitable scheme that hackers are abandoning all the traditional ways of cybercrime and adopting ransomware to target businesses.
Just like a computer virus, ransomware enters your PC without your knowledge by exploiting a security hole in your network. Once it enters your computer system, it encrypts all the data present on the computer, and you are notified that you have been compromising.
The hackers will ask you to pay money in a set amount of time; otherwise, they will delete all your data. If you think that you are at risk of a ransomware attack, here are some easy tips you can follow to protect yourself against it.
Back-Up All Your Data
First and foremost, you need to make sure that you have a backup of all your data. Backup all your data is the best defense against a ransomware attack as even if your data is compromised, you don’t care if it is encrypted or not as you can just download it back again.
However, if you don’t want others to have access to your personal files, you might need to fight the ransomware attack and go to professionals to make sure no one knows your secrets.
Educate Your Employees
The primary method that hackers use to infiltrate computer networks is with the help of phishing attacks. A phishing attack involves the use of malicious emails and links.
Hackers mostly target the employees of a company and repeatedly send them suspicious emails that contain the ransomware virus.
It is basically a hit and trial method as once any one of these employees opens the link, the system gets compromised, and they get access to all their files.
Update Your System and Block Websites
Just as I discussed before, hackers use emails to send links to websites loaded with ransomware. Once someone browses over to the website, ransomware gets automatically downloaded onto his computer.
On top of educating your employees to stay clear for such links, you need to take extra precautions like blocking these websites once and for all. Most web attacks exploit vulnerabilities in your third-party apps and extensions like Java and Flash.
So, you should also keep these apps up to date so that the latest security protocols are followed. You can also limit the usage of each computer by including permissions, such as requiring the administrator’s password if you want to install something.
Disconnect in Case of an Attack
Despite following everything, if you are still infected with ransomware, your next step should be to mitigate the losses, and you can also count it as a win.
When one computer in your network gets infected, you have to keep in mind that all the other systems in that network are also susceptible to ransomware. So, you need to keep your wits about and take calculated and immediate decisions.
First of all, instead of wallowing up in your sorrows, you need to shut down most of your organization’s network operations to prevent the infection from spreading.
After disconnecting, you need to find out which strain of ransomware infected and get the services of antivirus companies to fight it. In traditional hacks, people move on, and their business is not affected that much.
But a ransomware attack is much different as you can’t access your files. If nothing works for you and your files are invaluable; you might have to consider paying the hackers.
