Ransomware, how to recover

Ransomware encrypts your files/data so you cannot access them.  For your business to be successful, you rely on the data to succeed.  To be successful you need to make sure you have a backup and data recovery plan in place to protect this valuable data. After a good backup plan is in place, it is important to have some sort of security measures put into place to guarantee the data and your network’s safety. Is your company ready for data recovery, do you have a backup plan in place? According to a Verizon security research report, each year ransomware is on the rise and 2018 is expected to continue the trend, so is your business should prepare to deal with it. One of the best ways to deal with ransomware is to ensure that your company has a plan to restore data affected by ransomware.

Explaining Ransomware
It is one of the most brutal developing threats, ransomware is a type of malware that can encrypt the files found on a device so that they’re inaccessible by the user.  Files impacted can be spreadsheets, Word documents, QuickBook files, and photos, this malware can also infect system files making your system inoperable. The instigator of the attack will then demand payment for the files to be decrypted, paying this in no way guarantees your files will be returned. There have been several recent successful ransomware campaigns like WannaCry, Cryptolocker, and Petya, because of their success, these types of attack continue to rise.

The Future
Ransomware will continue to increase in popularity throughout the rest of 2018 and beyond. One of the key focal points for ransomware-using cybercriminals is efficiency, as well as creating initiatives and campaigns that will work throughout the year. In 2017 we saw the rise of readily available ransomware kits that allowed anyone to implement ransomware without knowing the technical details behind it. For a little more money services such as a  ransomware-for-hire were available for those who wanted to use it without going all-in on the campaign themselves. The end result was to make ransomware more accessible for those who wanted to take advantage of it. It is not beyond the realm of possibility that ransomware will use more advanced technologies in the future, as well. Artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning could potentially allow for more effective means of ransomware distribution, which could become a bigger problem down the line.

But Ransomware is not the only Issue
Ransomware is just the tip and there is much more. The most dangerous threats are often the ones found within your own office. Your business’ data will always be at risk due to its users, the ones who rely on it most. Some examples of what can happen: accidentally delete a file, click on an email attachment, or even save a file incorrectly.  These are the unmalicious intended issues that can happen.  If you have never lost data, consider yourself lucky.

Despite the overwhelming odds stacked against you, it is just as likely that your organization could suffer from a hardware failure as a hacking attack, perhaps even more likely. If a natural disaster strikes, for example, there’s little you could do to actually stop a tornado, flooding, lighting strikes, or a power surge.

Solving the Problem
The best way to prevent unexpected troubles like a natural disaster, data breach, or hardware failure is to implement a data backup and disaster recovery solution from DK Systems. We can provide you with a solution that can regularly update backups and make changes to them as often as every fifteen minutes. This minimizes data loss and allows you to restore backups within a moment’s notice.

We offer a free network assessment of your current environment to find potential issues before you may become a victim or ransomware and if so offer quick recovery solutions.

To learn more, reach out to us at 414-764-4465 option 1.