How to Prevent Ransomware?
6 Crucial Steps
The U.S. was the country with the most ransomware attacks last year. The total cost of a ransomware breach was an average of $4.62 million not including a ransom. Lost business represented the largest share of data breach costs, averaging $1.59 million.
Cyber threat landscape continues to evolve, a few key trends can be seen in the ongoing rise of ransomware attacks. The ransomware threat will only continue to grow. That’s why we put together 6 crucial steps your organization needs to implement to help prevent ransomware.
Have a Plan
In many cases, ransomware begins because of human error. Keeping your entire organization up-to-date on the latest security trends is essential to reducing ransomware risks. Conducting frequent phishing tests can help train employees to always be on the lookout.
Additionally, your organization should create an incident response plan so IT can react immediately in case of an incident. Define roles and create a list of partners and vendors that will need to be contacted.
Maintain Secure Backups
In a ransomware attack, bad actors hold your data hostage. If you have secure data backups, you’ll never need to pay a ransom fee to get it back. However, the process is more complicated than just backing up your data.
Proper backup systems should be offline and off-brand (stored unaffiliated to your company’s brand to make it hard for hackers to identity) so ransomware cannot spread to your backup data. Storing your data in the cloud can help mitigate the risks of ransomware because many cloud providers retain multiple versions of files and backups. You can also encrypt your data in the cloud, making it a reasonably secure option.
Audit Your Port Settings
Many ransomware attacks take advantage of specific ports (like Remote Desktop Protocol port 3389 and Server Message Block port 445). Limit connects to these ports and avoid leaving them open at all if possible. Remember to review these settings in your cloud and your on-premises environments.
Keep Your Software Up to Date
Hackers will always target low-hanging fruit. Organizations with outdated software are vulnerable to bugs. Developers release updates to close the security gaps hackers often exploit; using a patch management system can monitor your systems and make sure that they are up to date.
Understand Your Vulnerabilities
Hackers will always target low-hanging fruit. Organizations with outdated software are vulnerable to bugs. Developers release updates to close the security gaps hackers often exploit; using a patch management system can monitor your systems and make sure that they are up to date.
Team Up with LA Networks
You don’t have to stay vulnerable. LA Network’s Ransomware Defense Bundle includes everything you’ll need to begin protecting against the worst-case scenarios.
You’ll get:
- Professional Security Assessment
LA Network’s highly-trained engineers will evaluate your security posture utilizing CIS 18 controls.
- Internal Vulnerability Assessment
Certified security engineers will scan your internal networks for vulnerabilities.
- Total Firewall Audit
We’ll run a scripted scan of your systems and analyze your firewall configuration.