Best practices to stop ransomware attacks, as they continue to be one of the top cyber threats facing organisations.
Once a tool exploited by cybercriminals in small organisations, ‘ransomware’ is currently seeing a revival within the larger organisations, who are conscious of their Data Security. Enterprise ransomware has taken advantage of the widespread adopted of digital business. Organisations regularly receive large volumes of unsolicited email, many of which have attachments of embedded links within them. Cybercriminals take a manual, coordinated, highly targeted approach to ‘ransomware delivery’. These unpredictable Ransomware attacks or approaches are far harder to detect and block. The aim of these attacks is to infect internal systems and ultimately bringing the organisation to their knees before demanding a fee to release data or return the systems to full working order.(Sophos, 2019)
Best practices to stop ransomware attacks:
- Lock down remote management – Ensure that all remote workers use a dedicated VPN (Virtual Private Network) when accessing company systems.
- Backup regularly – Ensure that you have a recent copy of all company data stored offline and off sight as well as data backed up online. It is important to regularly test backup data for accuracy.
- Monitor your network 24/7 – Business networks should be monitored for irregular traffic. This will enable prompt detection and response to ransomware. Implement firewalls that include Malicious Threat Response (MTR) to prevent ransomware entering your network.
- Educate your workforce – Almost every strain of ransomware will contain an element of phishing. Educating employees on how to identify phishing emails will significantly reduce the risk of a successful phishing attack.
- Patch IT systems regularly – Ensuring systems are fully patched will remove any security vulnerabilities that could be exploited within your network.
Applying these best practices stop ransomware attacks will help.