When talking about ransomware attacks it’s a matter of when, not if. Cyberattacks are a booming business, and they’re continuing to increase at a steady pace. According to Cybercrime Magazine damages from cybercrime are expected to hit $6 trillion this year—while the IDC’s 2021 Ransomware Study reported that 37% of global organizations stated that they fell victim to some form of ransomware attack in 2021. So, how can ransomware attacks be prevented?
The plain truth: ransomware attacks cannot be prevented and security backup tools alone can’t protect you from losing everything during a ransomware attack.
You need a holistic approach to be fully protected. This means you need to be prepared from every angle, every step of the way. In this blog we’ll cover the basics of ransomware best practices, answer some commonly asked questions, and explain how Ransomware Protection as a Service® (RPaaS®) is the best way to keep your data safe and secure 24/7.
How Does Ransomware Protection Work?
Although the specific needs and regulations for every organization are different, there are a few standard practices that all companies should follow to help protect themselves in the event of a ransomware attack. As a way to make this information more digestible, we created a ransomware response checklist to help you better evaluate the state of your current cybersecurity protection practices.
- Are you following ransomware backup best practices? There are many backup best practices that are recommended by cybersecurity experts. One of the most common backup security measures is the 3-2-1 backup rule. What is the 3-2-1 backup rule? The 3-2-1 backup strategy is designed to reduce the impact of a single breach in security from ransomware. This includes instances like a stolen device or a disk drive failure. Here is a brief breakdown of the 3-2-1 strategy:
3: Create one primary backup and two copies of your data.
2: Save your backups to two different types of media.
1: Keep at least one backup file offsite.
- Are you using ransomware protection software? Using software like Commvault backup ransomware protection manages your backup, disaster recovery, and data archiving processes to give you an additional layer of protection. Although these software services aren’t a fully comprehensive solution on their own, they are an essential part of fortifying your business against potential hackers.
- Are you using SIEM? Security information and event management (SIEM) is a security solution for ransomware attacks and other security needs for all of your business’ technology. SIEM will identify where your security is lacking, monitor potential threats, and update your security measures regularly. Using the SIEM toolset in addition with ransomware protection software gets your business a step closer to a fully realized protection strategy.
- Are you restricting user permissions? Your employees should not be allowed to download anything off of the internet onto their work devices. Even the most well-meaning individual could mistakenly download malware and put the whole company in jeopardy.
- Are you educating your workforce? It’s vital to keep your employees educated and aware of what a ransomware scam could look like. This includes regular training on phishing scams and other tactics. Ransomware scammers are getting MUCH more sophisticated, making it even harder for the average person to avoid clicking on risky links/downloads, which makes ongoing education for your employees all the more critical.
Additional Resources for Ransomware Protective Measures
CISA Ransomware Fact Sheet: This straightforward set of informational sheets from the CISA is designed to help organizations and individuals gain a better understanding of the threats and consequences associated with a ransomware attack. These fact sheets also provide helpful tips and resources describing what to do during the aftermath of a ransomware attack. You can view the full list of fact sheets on the CISA website.
Essential 8: These general cybersecurity protocol guidelines from the Australian Cyber Security Centre (ACSC) lay out eight essential cyber security mitigation strategies. These essential eight strategies are designed to help manage the consequences of a ransomware attack and make it more difficult for adversaries to compromise vital systems. Although these are Australian guidelines, they are widely viewed as helpful and useful for all countries and businesses to observe and learn from. View the entire list of essential 8 guidelines on the ACSC’s website.
The Most Comprehensive Option: Ransomware Protection as a Service
Although you should be following all of the best practices we listed in the checklist above, RPaaS is the only truly comprehensive ransomware protection solution. RPaaS is built to fully address all protection, detection, and recovery aspects to meet the evolving threat of ransomware. InterVision’s RPaaS solution combines people, process and technology to deliver true end-to-end cyberthreat protection that provides 24/7, follow-the-sun coverage with dedicated security and recovery team members committed to rapid response and support. RPaaS’ three primary pillars include:
- Ransomware Recovery as a Service (Contains DRaaS + BaaS) – Managed replication and recovery process to ensure rapid recovery from any service disruption
- SOCaaS (Contains EDR + MDR) – Monitoring and warning of threat activity to stop attacks before they happen
- vCISO (Security Posture and Advice) – Ongoing advisory and assistance to support the maturation of security process and ongoing business risk mitigation
At InterVision, we have all that you need to proactively and comprehensively manage threats in one place. Contact us today if you’re ready for 24/7 protection.
