It is estimated that between 2019 and 2020, the incidence of ransomware attacks rose by 62 percent across the world, and 158 percent in just North America. By the end of 2020, the FBI had received approximately 2,500 ransomware complaints.
Experts at firms for cybersecurity consulting Boston-area and elsewhere will say that the average breach will cost 150 million dollars for business, and a ransomware hack happens every 39 seconds. It can happen to anyone. Learn more about what ransomware is here, and how to prevent an attack on your network or organization.
What is Ransomware?
Ransomware is a kind of malware or software that gets installed remotely on a computer, and prevents the user from being able to access their information until a ransom is paid. In most cases, the ransom demand is in the form of Bitcoin.
Ransomware is something we’ve all seen in the movies, but it’s not just movie drama. It has been happening since the 1980s, when the first recorded event of ransomware was when a health care professional named Dr. Popp had his AIDS research lifted. He had planned to distribute 20,000 floppy disks to researchers across the world, identifying the information as data that could save lives and even cure AIDS.
The disks had malware and were a form of ransomware. That’s all it takes for the ransom demand to launch. An end-user clicks on a link or downloads the wrong thing, and the system goes awry.
How to Prevent Ransomware Attacks
There is no one way to ensure that you can prevent every attack. That’s the unfortunate aspect of cybersecurity solutions. You can, however, prepare for a response if and when it should happen. Consulting with firms in cybersecurity consulting can give you some concrete solutions if this is something you are concerned about.
Prepare a protocol for your organization. Plan in advance for the event of a ransomware attack, even if it never happens. Have an incident protocol that includes a daily or weekly backup and recovery plan in case your data gets hijacked.
Train your employees on security awareness. Give them enough cybersecurity management that will help them to identify risks, and respond effectively. With that training, give your team drills on how to practice responding to and recovering from a cybersecurity disaster. Train for the worst-case scenario.
Create a Backup Plan
It’s normal to be worried about how you would recover from a ransomware attack, and it’s smart to worry about it. Create a backup plan, literally and figuratively. Use firms such as cybersecurity consulting, and get your team ready today.
