Ransomware is a big threat to data loss. A recent survey reported that there were 3.8 million unique ransomware attacks in the year 2015 and the number increased to 638 million in the year 2016. Ransomware attacks typically initiated through the mail and it can affect businesses of any size. The idea behind ransomware is simple. Once the user clicks on a malicious mail, ransomware starts encrypting the user’s data. After the encryption is complete, it demands a payment and if the payment is not received the ransom demanded increases. It also searches for other systems on the same network to infect.
There are 2 different types of ransomware – Locker ransomware (which locks the system) and Crypto ransomware (which denies the user’s access to files or data).
How data gets affected by ransomware?
The data center is like a castle. At some point of time, data is allowed to come in and go out. This creates the opportunity for the ransomware attacks. Ransomware usually gets into the data center through an infected client. It starts to encrypt all of the data it sees, including networked and cloud data. Thus the impact of ransomware is far beyond the original attack. There are so many devices that connect to the organization’s network, including BYOD and there will be a ransomware attack that gets through due to this reason. Many people are still not aware of how viruses and other malware can enter the system through emails.
The question now is that how organizations and businesses can protect themselves from ransomware and recover their data if affected by ransomware.
Damage control
A recent study reported that almost 40% companies stated that ransomware spread into their organization from a single device. So once you discover or suspect that a system has been infected by ransomware, it’s crucial to take it offline. Doing this can isolate the infected system from the network and stops the spreading of ransomware. Or else you could end up paying the ransom to find that the infection has spread throughout your network.
Disaster recovery
So what is the most effective way to recover from ransomware? An important protection technique against ransomware is the creation of air gaps between data and backups. A solid backup plan is an important way to defeat ransomware. Every backup strategy you choose should depend on the organization’s backup strategy. The most important systems should be recovered first. You can also try reloading the recovery software with the standard OS tools. It’s also very important to have 2 to 3 copies of backup data, not only locally but also in a secure location. The general rule for data recovery is to have the data securely in three places and in three copies.
Evaluate your loss
If your system has been infected by ransomware, don’t assume you can fix it easily. The ransomeware programs used by the hackers use complex formulas to encrypt files in your organization. You need the help of an expert to recover your systems. You can get the help of a data recovery expert to recover the data from your backup. Data Retrieval Ltd is a specialized data recovery company in London offering data recovery services at a highly competitive price, irrespective of the type of recovery required.
But in reality, there is only one option for you – either to pay the ransom or to lose your data. Unless you have the backup of your entire system, your only option to get back your files is to pay the ransom. So first evaluate the situation. Find out if it’s going to damage your business. Always remember that you’re dealing with criminals and so paying the ransom does not give any guarantee that you will be able to recover all your files for sure. It’s always possible that you pay the entire ransom and still lose all your data.
Listed here are a few tips to help you protect your organization from ransomware
Educate the end users about the indication of the ransomware and how it spreads through the network
Make sure that you use an updated firewall and e-mail scanners
Create air gaps between the backups and archives of the corporate network
Plan ahead for disasters like ransomware and create a backup plan. It helps in speedy recovery of your data and maintaining your business operations.
Maintain a good strategy for backups
Even if you operate on a cloud platform, you can still implement these changes. Do not assume that data is more secure in the cloud. Following these tips will help you to be ready to face any ransomware attack in the future.