Four Ways to Prevent a Ransomware Attack

When it comes to making sure that a business is as safe as it can be, there are a few different routes that one can go down. Of course, it will be important that a business building is properly secured and that the employees feel safe. It is also important to make sure that the more intricate aspects of the business are safe as well. What this means is that it is a crucial part of protecting a business to make sure that computers, networks, and other technology within the business is safe for everyone to use. This includes protecting the business against malware, a ransomware attack, and generally making sure that the business will not have any downtime from cyber attacks. There are a few different ways that a business can protect itself from ransomware.

1. Do Not Open Suspicious Emails

One of the most common ways that ransomware gets into businesses is through infected emails. These emails are commonly found in the spam folder of the inbox. Almost always, that email will contain an attachment or a link to something that will end up infecting the computer (and consequently the entire system) with ransomware. By making sure that employees know not to open suspicious emails, a business owner can rest assured knowing that the business will be protected from any malicious links or attachments. It is a good rule of thumb not to open links or attachments if it is not known where they come from or who they were sent by. Another way to protect yourself from fraudulent emails is to check the sender, as many people who are up to no good will use email addresses that seem close to an official one, but may be one letter or number off.

2. Keep Security Programs Updated

A good business will have protections against ransomware already in place, but if those programs are not updated, then the entire business will be open for a ransomware attack to come in and take place. It is important for a business to not only have security measures in place against ransomware, but that those security measures stay updated. Ransomware changes and updates constantly, with different programs finding new loopholes to infect computers with. By keeping security programs up-to-date, the chances of being infected by ransomware will be reduced significantly.

3. Have Dynamic Control Access to a Network

Unfortunately, some systems are still susceptible to ransomware attacks. One of the best things that a business can do to go against this is to make sure that any and all information the ransomware can affect is limited. This can be done by using dynamic control access for the network, segregating it into different zones that require different credentials to access. This will mean that if one zone is compromised by the ransomware, the entire business’s network will not be out and the damage can be greatly reduced.

4. Have a Restore Point

When all is said and done, there are very few ways around ransomware when it has taken root in a computer. One can either pay exorbitant amounts of money with no guarantee that anything will change, or one can use a system restore. It is important to create restore and recovery points for a system so that in the event that users are locked out, it is possible to restore the entire system to a time before it was compromised. While there might be inconveniences depending on how far back the restore point was made, it is always going to be better than having a compromised system.