Development of internet technologies brought with it a fair share of issues in the form of viruses and ransomware. While viruses can be uprooted individually, ransomware is much harder to tackle for businesses.
As a malicious program, ransomware forces the affected business to pay a huge price in the hope of gaining back data, access, or information that are locked. In today’s information age, losing even a single GB of data can be critical.
Even if we list all the ransomware that exists today, there are still new variants rising out of the blue regularly. In such a scenario, the only way we can cope with it is to learn how to protect our systems better or learn to recover as much as we can if attacked.
Let’s learn about four best practices that can help you protect your data and recover from an attack.
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4 Best Practices To Protect From Ransomware
Regular Upgrades and Updates
Ransomware can attack old versions of the softwares or solutions that you utilize for business. Keep your IT infrastructure, database, operating systems, and software applications at the latest versions. Update or add patch-ups wherever necessary. Not just the software side, ensure that your hardware is also new or is complemented with the latest security standards.
Backup Rule
Follow a strict backup rule for all the data that is utilized for business purposes. Achieve this by making multiple copies of the data, and storing it in multiple locations or devices. Even including an off-site backup is recommended. This will ensure that the internet attacker will not get access to all your data and even if you are hacked, you still have copies of the same elsewhere. You can also apply immutable and indelible storage methods.
No One-point Access
Ransomware attacks are most malicious when your network has a single-point entry. Split the network into segments where each section is cordoned off from the other. This model will allow access to those who have genuine access to get the relevant information. A good example of this is blockchain.
Employee Education
Modern social engineering, phishing, man-in-the-middle (MitM) attacks, denial-of-service (DoS), etc mostly spread among employees to a certain extent. Lack of training regarding cyberattacks is one of the reasons for this. Educate your employees on the ways of internet attacks that can harm the organization well to reduce such risks.
4 Best Practices To Recover From Ransomware
Restore From Backup
If you have taken a hit from ransomware, the fastest way to recover from the attack is to retrieve the data from your backup sources. With a recent version of your data, this task is easy. Just ensure to eliminate the malware before you backup. Generally, restoring factory defaults can do the trick.
System And File Version Restore
Operating systems provide data backup for individual computers or devices that are used to handle data. Be it Microsoft, Linux, Apple, Ubuntu, etc, if your system is affected by ransomware, just try using the system restore functions. Apart from that, there is another option to recover the previous file versions for all data handling applications.
Data Recovery Softwares
Data recovery software provides a unique option to recover files that are lost from your systems. Softwares like Recuva, Stellar Recovery, Prosoft Data Rescue, and Disk Drill can work for both system-created and user-saved data that are previously corrupted or deleted. It can also help in hard drive partitions or formatting drives.
Ransomware Decryption Tools
Another way to get out of trouble when faced with ransomware attacks is to install and run effective decryption tools. Such tools run algorithms or programs to decrypt the corrupted files methodically. Ensure that you consult with security experts to find the correct solution for such a task.
Summary
Your business data is important to your business. Ensure proper security measures to avoid being under cyber attacks. With a bit of caution, lots of training, and proper tools, you can be safe.
