Ransomware is one topic that doesn’t seem to be losing momentum any time soon..
Attacks on various industries are becoming daily occurrences. we hear of companies paying huge sums to retrieve their data from the malicious software and often failing to recover their data. The companies affected aren’t familiar with ransomware until it’s too late. so, allow us to introduce you to the infamous ransomware.
Ransomware comes in quite the variety pack these days, but ransomware is not the same as ‘malware’. ‘Malware’ is an umbrella term used to refer to a variety of forms of hostile or intrusive software, including computer viruses, worms, trojan horses, ransomeware, spyware, adware, scareware, and other malicious programs. It can take the form of executable code, scripts, active content, and other software.
While ransomware is a form of malware, it’s definitely unique in what it does. Sprinkle in some ‘ransom’ and you’ve got a malicious virus that keeps your data encrypted until ransom is paid (usually in Bitcoins) – but then again the chances of recovering your data are slim to none.
So as an SMB, why should you care?
There have been more than 700,000 ransomware attempts between 2015-2016. Source: Kaspersky Labs
It’s pretty contagious!
More ransomware attacks are hitting entire networks. The healthcare industry has recently experienced this. Source: CIO
And it’s not cheap to recover from!
In 2016 alone, more than $200 million has been paid out by victims. Source: CNN
Not only is ransomware becoming more common, but it’s also expensive and can halt an entire system. As an SMB, it’s painful to your bottom line. So what is the magic cure ? … business continuity.
While business continuity can’t prevent ransomware from attacking, it can prevent it from succeeding! When it comes to ransomware, it’s not a matter of IF but WHEN. Business continuity will give you access to your captive data, so no hostages here!
Here are the critical questions for your business:
- Do you have backup and disaster recovery system in place?
- Is all of your software up-to-date?
- How’s your antivirus?
- Is your Microsoft patched?
This is only the beginning of these vicious cyberattacks. Don’t become a statistic; let us get your business ready for what’s to come.
S+C Partners IT Solutions is just a quick call away (905) 821-9215 or email us at support@www.scpllp.com. Simply let us know what the issue is, and we will take care of the rest.