Cyber Crime – Cyber Threats Are Real
When we think about today’s cyber threats, including viruses, spyware, phishing scams, adware, ransomware and many others, it can be overwhelming and quite frankly, terrifying. One common form of cyber terrorism we hear about often is ransomware, but what exactly is it? Especially if you’re a small business owner today, you need to know how to prevent ransomware and other cyberattacks to better protect your business. In this article we will learn all about ransomware and cybercrime in general, and how to beef up your cybersecurity and prevent these threats from becoming a reality.
Cryptovirology Defined
Cryptovirology is the use of cryptology or encryption to design powerful malicious software commonly known as malware. This field includes covert operations that often use something called an asymmetric backdoor. The difference between this and a traditional symmetric backdoor is that it can only be used by the attacker, and cannot be removed even after it has been detected and found. Ransomware attacks use this type of malicious software to contain and use the victim’s public key to attack the host system.
Ransomware Defined
Ransomware is a form of malware from cryptovirology that uses a technique called cryptoviral extortion, in its now advanced forms. The attacker typically uses a Trojan which is hidden inside what appears to be a legitimate file in a phishing email attachment. Once opened, the program runs what is called a “payload”, and locks up the system (or appears to), sometimes displaying a message that appears to be from a law enforcing agency claiming you or an employee have violated some kind of law, such as pirating media.
Some of these payloads are designed simply to lock the victim out or restrict significantly the use of their own systems until a ransom payment is made. However, the more advanced ransomware uses cryptovirology to design payloads that strongly encrypt the victim’s data. Since the attacker now has the only decryption key, to pay the ransom is the only option left to retrieve this key and recover your data safely. These forms of ransomware are particularly dangerous for small businesses.
Tips For Ransomware Prevention
Perform and Test Backups
Ransomware prevention is basically doing things to reduce your risks. The first thing to do is to employ a backup and recovery plan for your critical data, and keep it isolated from the network. This will afford you the best protection in case of a ransomware attack that could affect network connected backups. Perform and test regularly your backups, so that you limit the impact of data or system loss as well as speed up the recovery process, in case of an emergency.
Keep OS and Software Current
Although they’re not things you think about often, it’s important to keep your operating system and software up-to-date, including the latest patches available. Attackers look for vulnerabilities in operating systems and applications. By staying on top of the latest updates and installing the latest patches, you can reduce your risk greatly. This reduces the number of exploitable entry points in which a hacker could penetrate your system.
Security Software
Make sure you get good security software with antivirus protection, and keep it updated regularly. Any software downloaded from the internet must be scanned for any potential issues. On top of this, be aware of the fact that even if your security system does a great job detecting threats, you will still need a professional to remove them. Blue Oak Technology Solutions is a great place to start because they can do all of this and more, as part of a customized monthly managed service plan.
Educate Your Employees
Along with setting up your system for least privileges (restricting user permissions for installing or running unwanted applications), educating your employees is of key importance to prevent ransomware attacks. Emails that contain attachments should be regarded as potential threats, and forwarded to you for review. Educating both yourself as well as your employees is one of the best things you can do to reduce your risks and prevent ransomware attacks on your business. Blue Oak Technology Solutions can help you do all of these things, and much more.
Technology Solutions
The good news is that Blue Oak Tech can take care of all these things plus give you all the technical solutions and technical support you need, and at a reasonable monthly cost. They understand small business, and know many are just getting off the ground. Therefore many haven’t thought they had a need for an IT department, or for technical solutions to handle these issues effectively – until they do. This is why so many small businesses today have chosen to outsource these needs as they come, using an IT company instead of hiring IT staff.
The problems incurred when you have an IT issue, however, are often such that obstruct normal production, or the flow of continuity within your business. This equals your profit intake, which affects your livelihood, which makes it serious business indeed. In times like these of extreme stress, it’s invaluable to have a good IT company like Blue Oak Technology Solutions that knows you and is familiar with your business already.
Valuable Information
Something you may not know is that there are over 350,000 new malicious programs like ransomware registered every day! Cyber threats represent a serious threat to small business owners in particular, and cyber security is a very important part of preventing ransomware attacks. In 2017, a ransomware attack spread across 150 countries and infected over 200K computers in just one day, costing an estimate totaling in the hundreds of millions to billions of dollars in damages and ransoms paid.
If you are starting up a business, or already have one but are experiencing technical problems you need solutions for, investing in an IT firm is a smart choice. Don’t make the mistake of being caught off guard and unprepared for a ransomware attack. Education and proper preparation in case of an emergency that disrupts your business will also aid in ransomware prevention. Last but certainly not least, remember Blue Oak Technology Solutions.
If you are also interested in email archiving check out our post on what does archiving an email do to learn more.
