As if all viruses and software malware weren’t enough to worry about, a new hacking attack known as ransomware is on the rise. If you don’t already know, ransomware is malware that encrypts systems to prevent users from accessing them. This malware is created to force the users to pay a ransom in order to regain access to their systems. These are capable of doing anything from locking a computer system to encrypting files with unknown passwords.
Ransomware can be immensely detrimental to any small or large business, and this is not simply because of the payment that needs to be made but, mainly, because of all the downtime it requires to get rid of it. According to a study made by Intermedia.net, 72 percent of businesses that were attacked could not access their data for at least 2 days. If you cannot seem to fathom the thought of losing 2 days from work, imagine going 5 or more days without access, like 32 percent of the businesses studied had to.
If you thought that by simply paying the ransomware culprits would eliminate having to deal with the downtime issues, you thought wrong. Even after the ransom is paid, the affected computers would have to be completely wiped and restored in order to make sure that all malware is cleared out. This process in itself can take 2 days, sometimes more.
Having all this downtime does not only affect your business in itself but other stakeholders as well. Stakeholders like Clients could become upset at the lack of work being done, while employees would not be able to work or would be unproductive for many days. Depending on what kind of business you run there could be many more stakeholders affected as well.
Ransomware is attacking more and more businesses each year, so here are some ways in which you can prevent this from affecting yours:
- Â Invest in a sophisticated security system that could not only recognize but also block any phishing attempts.
- Educate your employees so that they can delete phishing emails before they click on it.
- Create an advanced plan in order to contain any damages before an actual breakthrough occurs.
Categorised in: Security