Waking up to a virtual ransom note on your laptop or mobile phone will get your heart pumping faster than the strongest coffee.
The gist of the notes is always the same: your information (photos, files, personal or sensitive data) has been encrypted, and it will be destroyed or compromised unless you pay a ransom fee by an impending deadline.
And the threat is legitimate. People and businesses lose irreplaceable data to ransomware everyday. The healthcare industry is seeing a marked rise in ransomware attacks in the U.S.
The really scary part is that antivirus software doesn’t seem to slow down ransomware. It can creep in quietly and move around, hiding and changing to avoid detection.
How does a hacker get past antivirus software?
As amature hackers (we call them “script kiddies,” though they’re not nearly as harmless as the name implies) get creative about buying ransomware kits and using new variants to target terminal servers, they’re sneaking past the safeguards we expect to protect us.
It used to be enough to educate people about avoiding shady websites and links that can allow hackers access to their files, but defending your business against ransomware now requires a multi-tiered approach, including:
- Employing a solid firewall to block unauthorized IP addresses from accessing your files
- Generating strong passwords that can’t be deduced or guessed
- Training employees to spot suspicious activity, texts, e-mails, and links
Varay can help you build up your defenses
Don’t let script kiddies take your data hostage.
We can help protect your business from attack and keep your files under your control.
Get in touch with Varay Managed IT today for a free, non-intrusive audit and find out how well prepared you are to defend yourself against ransomware.
