Ransomware – Why Backups are your last line of defense!

Ransomware – Why Backups are your last line of defense!

Ransomware is typically a malicious program designed prevent access to data by encrypting it. The only way to get the data back is to pay a fee for the decryption key.

Since it’s first release in September 2013, businesses have seen it evolve into a major issue.

As with most computer viruses, ransomware gets in by:

1. attachments or links in e-mails from unknown senders

2. social media sites

3. Online ads

4. Downloading suspicious software

5. Un-patched/outdated software

How can you prevent ransomware infecting your files and systems?

There are a number of things which you can do to counter the ransomware threat:

1. Use a reputable security/anti-virus suite

2. Configure content scanning and filtering on your mail server

3. Patch or update your systems and software packages

4. Backup your data

There isn’t a surefire way  to stop ransomware 100%.

Consequently; your backups are the last line of defense.

Countless businesses have reported incidences where ransomware has impacted them. They believe that they won’t need to pay the ransom as they have successful backups.

When it came to recovering from the backup – major problems occurred. As a result they had problems getting their data back. In most cases, their Disaster Recovery plan (DR plan) didn’t involve regularly performing test recoveries from their backups.

The reasons for this are numerous. Some of the most common are:

1. Time poor

2. Lack of resources/environments to test on.

3. Inexperience

Ultimately; some paid the ransom and others began to figure out what to do without access to the encrypted data.

If this sounds familiar or it’s raised an interest over your data backup strategy – find more information at https://testmybackups.com/recovery-testing/. Also feel free to reach out to sales@testmybackups.com.

Our team has over 20 years of experience in IT and 15 years specifically in the backup and recovery space that can help fortify your ‘last line of defense’.

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