Most of us have heard the adage: “An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.”

In the case of ransomware – malware that infects, locks or seizes control of business systems until ransom is paid – ratios trend much greater than the 16-to-1 proposition in the axiom.

For example, hackers behind this summer’s Kaseya attacks claimed to have invaded a million computers at mostly small-to-midsize businesses (SMBs), per a Wall Street Journal report. To release those systems, the attackers demanded $70 million in ransoms. That’s one heavy pile of cures.

So, act now to avoid – or at least lighten – that potential load. Here are three best practices for preventing ransomware advocated by cybersecurity expert David Linthicum in InfoWorld magazine:

  1. Find – Linthicum calls monitoring the “best defense” against ransomware. Watch for suspicious signs such as failed login attempts, unusual activity by authorized identities, spikes in phishing emails and other trends outside typical IT operations.
  2. Respond – Design automated responses to red-flag events like those suggested above. Automation can lock out questionable IP addresses, stop anomalous processes and/or initiate backups before an assault escalates. In addition, train a human response team that leaps into action soon after automated measures commence.
  3. Recover – Like response procedures, automate recovery systems, too. If an incursion occurs, your preparations could minimize damages or prevent data loss entirely.

As Linthicum writes, these practices are “simpler to explain than deploy.” So, give us a call at TeamLogicIT Plano (469) 573-3743 or contact teamlogicitplanotx.com for a helping hand.

By on November 5, 2021   /   Technology