How to prepare for your first Cyber Attack

I would like to welcome everyone to my first blog of hopefully many, in which I will be talking  about cyber security and how can you prepare for a cyber attack. Many might ask why would I have to prepare for a cyber attack if I am protected with the best technology available. It is simple math to see the alarming rate at which these crimes have risen to an all time high and will continue based an analysts predictions.

Let's review hard numbers that will paint a clearer picture. In 2017 it was estimated that Global Ransomware caused $5 Billion in damages to affected companies. By the end of 2021 that number had multiplied by 4 for a whopping $20 Billion in damages. By 2028 predictions are in the triple digits with $157 Billion in damages and rounding of to 2031 with $265 Billion. As we can see the numbers show a consistent pattern of growth in this never ending battle.

Going back to my main topic of preparing for your first cyber attack I believe we will all fall victim to an attack in different forms and we definitely have to try and prevent them by using the latest technology and understanding how that will help you. But at the end of the day when it happens you want to make sure you have a solid back-up plan of all your data and operating systems and a true and tried recovery plan. Not only on the software side but also on the hardware side as most ransomware attacks will leave you searching for new infrastructure to get going ASAP as you most likely would not want to delete all the data from your original servers in case you are able to decrypt it.

We all focus on our day to day business activities to grow our business and face every challenges that come with it, so when it comes to being on top of the latest prevention, detection and response technologies we are better suited to work with a trusted MSP (Managed Service Provider) or MSSP (Managed Security Service Provider) which most of the time are the same.

I will leave you with some Best Practices for avoiding Ransomware.

• Ensure your network and all your software are up-to-date.
• Deploy threat detection tools such as anti-virus or endpoint security software.
• Backup and encrypt your data, such as with an external cloud backup provider.
• Be vigilant and educate/train your staff about how Ransomware spreads to help mitigate user error as the point of entry.

Thank you very much for reading me today and I look forwarding to hearing from you as I continue to blog on our real world experience and best practices.

What is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a computer system until a sum of money is paid. It is typically spread through malicious email attachments, infected websites, or malicious downloads. Once inside a computer system, ransomware encrypts all the files on the computer and then displays a message demanding a payment in order to decrypt the files.