The average cost of a ransomware attack is $3.8 million. Some businesses can handle that—most can’t. In fact, 60% of small businesses fold after a cyber attack. Ransomware attackers not only demand enormous payoffs, they also cost you in lost productivity while they hold your data hostage. So, what can be done to protect your company’s data and productivity?
Having a business continuity plan built around Ransomware Protection as a Service™ (RPaaS™) can both reduce how often your business is targeted by ransomware attacks and speed up your recovery should an attack happen and provides full vCISO monitoring and advisory services.
What Is Included in a Business Continuity Plan?
Business continuity plans are a set of measures for managing risk and keeping mission-critical services available. It’s important to develop a plan through testing and to improve it after needing to use it.
What Are the 3 Elements of Business Continuity?
Business continuity planning steps should account for resilience, recovery, and contingency. Whether you’re developing a new continuity plan or updating an existing one, use this checklist to make sure you leave nothing out:
Resilience
These steps are in place to reduce the likelihood of a ransomware attack as much as possible.
- Set up malware detection software or upgrade your current system. Programs that update in real-time offer the best protection.
- Train employees to recognize malware, like phishing emails, and report incidents to management.
Recovery
During recovery, you regain access to your data and maintain function of your services.
- Backup essential data to a third-party location so you have an extra copy that won’t be affected by an attack.
- Partner with a security expert like InterVision to navigate ransomware backup solutions, data management, and access to your data in the event of a ransomware attack.
Rebuild
This step is your return to normal.
- Establish a feedback process to analyze what left you vulnerable to an attack and what you can improve.
What Is the Best Solution to a Ransomware Attack?
The best solution to ransomware attacks is a combination of prevention and recovery. At InterVision, our clients have found success by leveraging advanced malware detection software, third-party data backup, and a managed recovery plan.
Can Ransomware Attacks Be Prevented?
An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, but unfortunately, even the best security systems can’t guarantee complete protection from ransomware attacks. Becoming a victim of a ransomware attack is not a matter of if, but when. In fact, 68.5% of businesses reported being victimized by ransomware despite having defense measures in place.
This definitely doesn’t mean that you should just throw your hands up in despair. You can greatly reduce your risk of a ransomware attack by taking the following steps:
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- Train Employees to Identify, Report, and Avoid Ransomware: Over 100 billion phishing emails are sent everyday. Ensure that your employees can recognize the red flags of phishing. Here’s what they should be on alert for:
- The message is too good to be true,
- There is an unusual sense of urgency,
- Hyperlinks don’t lead to where they say they do,
- The email contains suspicious attachments, or
- The message comes from an unusual sender.
- Leverage Malware Detection Programs: Most operating systems, like Windows 10, come with their own malware detection software that can recognize threats and alert you to them. With these built-in programs, you do need to make sure that they’re turned on. And while they’re much better than nothing, they don’t offer the highest level of protection. Ransomware evolves at a rapid rate, and it can quickly outpace out-of-the-box detection programs. For more reliable protection, consider security information and event management (SIEM) technology that updates in real-time to stay ahead of changing threats.
- Train Employees to Identify, Report, and Avoid Ransomware: Over 100 billion phishing emails are sent everyday. Ensure that your employees can recognize the red flags of phishing. Here’s what they should be on alert for:
Prevention methods become even more effective at protecting your business against the damages of cyber threats when paired with recovery methods.
Can Ransomware Data be Recovered?
With the right ransom recovery tool and procedures, you can recover your data and keep your business running during a ransomware attack. Here are two essential services that keep an attack from shutting your business down:
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- Backup as a Service (BaaS): Keeping a backup of your data in a location managed by a third party ensures that you’ll still have access to it even if a hacker attacks your database.
- Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS): Having a managed recovery service goes beyond just keeping a backup of your data in a secure location. DRaaS brings in expert help to upload your data to a third-party storage center, manage it, and restore it to your business.
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You can recover your data from a ransomware attack if you’re prepared with a proper backup and recovery system.
Bounce back with InterVision
Having a strategic partner can make all the difference when preparing for and dealing with a ransomware attack. Whether you need help shoring up a specific step in your ransomware continuity plan or you need a comprehensive ransom protection service, we’ve got you covered. Reach out today to see how you can protect your data and your business.
