Ransomware is an increasingly prevalent threat to businesses of all sizes, types and sectors. This technology can cause serious issues to companies that are affected. As average ransomware costs have risen significantly over recent years, it’s no wonder many organisations work hard to create a comprehensive plan to deal with this threat.
Over half of UK companies now have a policy in place to deal with ransomware attacks, alongside their broader IT disaster strategies. These business continuity plans allow organisations to effectively prepare for the worst and deal with the situation efficiently.
There are many ways to prepare your business in case of a ransomware attack and deal with the business continuity issues this could cause.
In this article, we’ll explore how you can protect your organisation from a ransomware attack and develop valuable recovery strategies to ensure that the critical functions of your website and network are safe.
What Is Ransomware?
Ransomware is a type of computer virus software that is designed to encrypt your site or network. The encryption means that your data is useless until it is decrypted.
The attacker will then send a ransom demand, stating that the information will be returned if the ransom is paid.
Ransomware can enter your system in a number of ways, including through malicious emails, from users clicking on infected websites, unsafe downloads and various other sources.
Should You Pay The Ransom If You’re Attacked?
The short answer is no. Never pay the ransom if your business is attacked and you are given a figure to pay.
By paying the ransom, you’ll give the criminals access to your financial details, and you’ve got no guarantee that you’ll get your data back.
Even if you do, it could still be encrypted, and malicious software could have been added, which could potentially damage your business’s systems even further.
If an attacker has breached your protection, then it clearly wasn’t strong enough. The first step is to instigate your disaster recovery plan, to ensure that you get your business back on track as quickly as possible.
Then, you need to review your company’s cyber security procedures to reduce the chances of another attack.
Keep reading, and we’ll explain how your business can put together a business continuity strategy to deal with potential threats to its online operations.
Creating A Ransomware Strategy For Your Business: What You Need To Know
Disaster recovery planning is a vital part of managing any organisation. When you’re preparing for a disruptive incident such as a ransomware attack, you need to make sure that you have a robust plan in place.
This strategy will ensure that your employees know what to do and that they have access to all the support they need.
The business continuity planning process is unique for every company, but when it comes to keeping your data safe from ransomware, there are some similarities among every organisation.
Here are some of the main factors you need to think about the key practices to implement to protect your company’s online infrastructure.
Back-Up Your Data Regularly
Backing up your data is a key part of your business continuity management. It means that if a ransomware attack occurs, then you still have access to your precious data.
If the hacker destroys it or damages it beyond repair, then you can make use of the backups to keep your business ticking over.
So, you should consider backing up your data regularly- ideally, this should be done once every day to ensure that the backup is always up to date.
If your team will struggle to manage this, then you can work with managed IT providers like us. We can help with back-ups and more to ensure that your business’s data is always protected and stored correctly.
Instigate Ransomware Protocols
It’s vital for your business that your team has clear instructions on what to do in case of a ransomware attack.m
If your company has an IT policy already, then you can easily add your ransomware protocols to this document.
For any organisation without an IT policy, then now is the time to create one. Texaport can help you to craft the perfect IT policy that’s tailored to your organisation’s unique needs.
Train Your Staff To Improve Prevention And Deal With Potential Ransomware Attacks
When it comes to ransomware attacks, every minute counts, and if your team doesn’t behave correctly initially, then the attack could cause more disruption than if your staff have the training to understand what’s going on.
So, it’s vital for your business continuity that you help your staff to understand ransomware attacks, what they look like, and what to do as soon as they notice any issues.
The team at Texaport can help your staff to understand how to recover from a ransomware attack and improve your business continuity.
We can also help your key personnel to gain your Cyber Essentials certification. This certification will allow you to show your staff and customers that your business is committed to creating a business continuity strategy that will help you to deal with ransomware attacks, cyber security breaches and more.
How Texaport Can Help
With ransomware attacks, prevention is better than a cure, so you should make sure that your company has an effective business continuity plan that will allow you to continue even after a potentially devastating crisis.
While preventing an attack is important, it’s not always possible. In the event that a ransomware attack occurs, you’ll need a robust and up to date business continuity plan in place.
If you need help with your business continuity planning, disaster recovery, cyber security or any other aspect of your IT processes, you should seek the help of managed IT experts like us.
At Texaport, we draw on many years of experience supporting a wide range of organisations and helping them to integrate cutting-edge technology into their business processes.
For more information on how Texaport can help you with critical business functions, such as business continuity management, ransomware protection and cyber security training and more, contact us.
Contact us to get insight into our work and how we can help you to avoid and prepare for a potential ransomware attack.
