How to Stop Ransomware Attacks: Proven Tips for a Secure Business
How to Prevent Ransomware Attacks? It’s a big question for those who have been active on Social Media Platforms for a long time and are always afraid of getting caught in the trap of hackers worldwide. Due to information gathering and daily post uploads, organizations need professionals to handle the security of their data loads.
In this context, ransomware attacks also pay well to data collection. Adversaries always have their paws on various malicious software to attack websites, systems, and devices to collect information from those platforms.
How do you know where to strengthen your security measures? You can read this article to learn more about it. Let’s see what ransomware is and how you can protect yourself from them.
What is Ransomware?
It’s a kind of malicious application or piece of software specially customized for accessing data while encrypting it. Encryption will make the data inaccessible to authorized users, after which the hacker can ask for ransom payment to provide access again. It can be spread in several ways, such as
Now that you have understood what ransomware is, you need to know how many types of ransomware are available in the market. Through these types of ransomware, you’ll be able to find a way to avoid them as much as possible in a safer way. Let’s get into it!
Types of Ransomware Attacks
Encrypting ransomware: This ransomware allows attackers to encrypt files on a PC and ask for ransom payment for the decryption key after encryption.
Locker ransomware: In a case where locker ransomware gets involved, the authorized user won’t be able to access their systems or data until they settle the case in payment with the adversary.
Scareware: You might have noticed that sometimes when you want to download your desired content from an unsafe website, it shows a fake warning. Moreover, it gives security alerts to the user to scare them off if the victim fails to pay the ransom amount.
DDoS ransomware: In this ransomware attack, the adversary uses a DDoS attack to overload a system or network with fake traffic, which slows down the system or network’s performance. Ultimately, the victim has to pay a certain amount to get relief from that unusual traffic.
RaaS (Ransomware-as-a-Service): Cybercriminals offer this service to the adversary so they can launch ransomware campaigns without any technical knowledge. So, you can think of this as it’s unnecessary in every cybercrime case that a professional hacker will be involved.
Doxware/leakware: It’s a kind of malware that threatens the user to publicly upload their confidential data (if the ransom doesn’t get paid). This ransomware targets high-value data related to the victims, such as
Corporate Documents,
Financial Records, and
Customer Data
Top 10 Tips to Prevent Ransomware Attacks
After knowing how many types of ransomware there are, we need to talk about how companies can prevent ransomware attacks plotted by hackers.
Operation System & Software Update: You must ensure your software and OS are updated to prevent ransomware attacks. Regular patch deployment and system updates support securing the systems against the latest security threats.
Suspicious Links & Emails: Adversaries mostly use phishing emails to spread ransomware. So, make sure to avoid suspicious emails or links from unknown sources as soon as possible.
Anti-Virus Installation: If you use antivirus software on your device, you can prevent ransomware attacks. How? It detects any malicious activity happening on your devices from any outside approach via any sources of spread. After detection, it can stop the activity by force, so you can prepare security measures for the future.
Data backup: If you prepare a backup of your data, you can decline the attacker’s request to pay any ransom for the encrypted files if you become a victim of such attacks. After that, recovery will be easy. Securing your backup in an external device would be a great idea to protect your data from being stolen.
Strong Passwords: You might also know that the weaker you are, the stronger the enemy will be. Also, weak passwords become your system’s weakness in front of hackers. Weak passwords are easily guessable.
Cybercriminals can guess weak passwords with ease to gain access to your system or devices. You should use a combination of the following things in password-making to secure your devices and systems:
Uppercase and Lowercase Letters,
Numbers, and
Symbols to create Strong Passwords.
Let the Macros Disable: Microsoft Office Doc often consists of macros. The macros are small programs used to run malicious codes. To be secured from ransomware attacks, you must disable macros in Microsoft Office files.
Firewall Installation: A firewall is a network security system that monitors and accesses incoming and outgoing traffic. It also blocks unwanted malicious traffic and ransomware from entering the network or system.
A Secure Web Browser: Un-updated web browsers can be more susceptible to cyberattacks. Ensure the use of a safe browser and update it regularly to the latest versions.
Disable remote access: Remote access facilitates users connecting to a system or network from any location. Though it can be convenient, it can also be a security threat. When not in use, ensure that remote access is disabled.
Educate Employees: Employers must implement an awareness program so that their employees are aware of the risk of a ransomware attack and can defend against it. After that, unwanted cyber security issues will start to reduce.
How do I recover from a ransomware attack?
If you have been a victim of a ransomware attack, you should follow the steps listed below to recover from the fatal blow of a cyber attack.
Isolate the affected network and systems: Disconnect the system or network from the internet with immediate action at once. That is to prevent the ransomware from spreading to other connected devices.
Identify the ransomware: Finding the origin of ransomware will help to know how it spreads across the network or system.
Backup your data: As we first discussed, your backup will help prevent you from being liable for paying any ransom amount.
Remove the ransomware: Use security software to scan for ransomware. Find it and remove it immediately.
Notify the Authorities: As soon as you get the right information on the ransomware origin, report it to the officials, such as
Law Enforcement
Or the Federal Bureau of Investigation
Change your passwords: After removing the ransomware, make changes in passwords on impacted systems.
Implement security measures: Enhancing security measures will prevent future ransomware attacks. Some of the enhancements that you can make are
Antivirus Software,
Firewalls, and
Security Policies.
Frequently Asked Questions
How to Prevent Ransomware Attacks: Top 10 Tips to Prevent Ransomware
What is the best protection against ransomware? If you want to protect yourself from a ransomware attack, you can practice good cyber hygiene. This includes
Update Software & OS regularly.
Use reliable anti-virus software.
Make Backups every day, and
Avoid Phishing Emails and other Malicious Links.
Moreover, you can keep your security settings “on” and use a firewall.
Who Is Most At Risk Of A Ransomware Attack? Well, for a general answer, everyone is in danger if there’s a ransomware attack. Anyone using a system or having access to confidential information is at heavy risk. However, organizations such as small businesses, government agencies, healthcare providers, educational institutions, and financial institutions are most at risk. These organizations often have large amounts of valuable data and lack the resources to protect it properly, making them prime targets for ransomware attacks.
What should I do if I become a victim of a ransomware attack? If you want to resolve the issue without any issues, you can use the following terms:
Cut down on the internet supply and disconnect your devices.
Contacting cybersecurity experts for assistance would be great.
Don’t ever pay any ransom amount to the hacker because there is no guarantee you’ll get your access back.
If you become a victim of an attack, your backup will compensate you. Make sure you get out of the virus’s trap as soon as possible.
If you can’t restore your encrypted data, get in touch with law enforcement.
4. How Do You Prevent Ransomware Attacks?
To protect yourself from ransomware attacks, you can follow the steps below.
Keep your operating system, software, and antivirus programs up-to-date.
Regularly back up your data.
Be careful when opening email attachments or clicking links in emails.
Use a firewall to protect your network.
Use a reputable antivirus program.
Use strong passwords and two-factor authentication.
Be cautious when downloading files from the internet.
Be aware of phishing attacks.
Disable macros in Office documents.
Don’t click on suspicious links or pop-ups.
What causes ransomware?
Ransomware is usually deployed in victims’ devices without their consent via malware. There are several ways via which ransomware can spread. Some of them are as follows:
malicious links in emails,
downloads from untrusted sources, or
vulnerabilities in outdated software.
Once the ransomware has been installed on one’s device, it can encrypt files on the user’s system. After that, the adversary can ask for a ransom amount to restore access.
How do ransomware prevention software and services work?
Such software and services work in a very systematic way. They observe a network for suspicious activity and use several techniques to detect and block malicious files and codes from running.
Such techniques involve various steps.
Behavioural Analysis,
Signature-Based Detection,
Sandboxing, and
Heuristic Analysis.
Cybersecurity professionals use such software to encrypt files and receive alerts for suspicious activity. Moreover, this software automatically detects online threats and blocks malicious codes from executing/deleting files.
