There’s a Reason We Make Such a Big Deal About Ransomware

Of all the threats out there that loom over businesses, it seems as though ransomware is one of the most feared. It’s certainly one of the threats we talk about the most… and there’s good reason for this, too. If we seem to be overly alarmist, we aren’t. Ransomware truly is a considerable enough threat to warrant so much, well, consideration, and there’s a simple reason why this is.

The Reason: Ransomware Doesn’t Stop Hurting

Let’s run through a hypothetical ransomware attack for a moment and take note of all the occasions that the attacker has the opportunity to do damage to your business.

• A ransomware attack often starts with an attacker reaching out to their intended victim using a phishing message to try and gain access to their victim’s device or even network.
• Once the ransomware has the access it needs, it swiftly starts encrypting any resources it can, rendering data useless to the owner and potentially locking them out of their systems entirely. This could eliminate their productivity completely, depending on the extent of the infection.
• Often, this data is also stolen by the attacker, giving them the option to make use of it for themselves or to sell it on the Dark Web.
• The attacker then sends a message to their victim, demanding a sum of money in exchange for the safe return of their data, with a hard deadline before this data is deleted permanently.
• In the meantime, the victim is left unable to use any of their data, creating severe downtime and reducing their capacity to generate revenue to nil.
• If the victim elects to pay the ransom, they will suffer a significant hit to their finances, with no guarantee that their data will be restored.
• The victim is left with effectively no choice but to completely wipe their infrastructure to eliminate the ransomware, and if the victim has not been maintaining a comprehensive backup, they’ll still have no data.
• Meanwhile, the victim’s reputation amongst their community and their clientele will have suffered, not only because their services will have been interrupted, but there’s also the concern that their data will have been stolen and the victim can no longer be trusted.

So, even if the victim manages to make it through the ransomware attack having done everything right (besides being infected, of course)—maintaining a backup, quickly wiping and implementing said backup, and communicating with everyone who may have been impacted—they could still wind up losing in the end.

Hence, Why It is So, So Important to Prevent Ransomware Infections

The damage that ransomware causes is extensive and long-lasting, making it absolutely critical that you have a few key protections in place to help prevent it. Things like the aforementioned backup preparations, along with user training to help minimize the risk of a successful infection, can help you eliminate a lot of the risk your business faces.

We can help you do all of the above and more. Give us a call at (978) 482-2020 to find out more about what we can do for you.