You know what they say about cybersecurity: You’re only as safe as your weakest link. And ransomware attacks can happen to anyone, anytime, anywhere. So you need to be prepared with an effective response plan to contain and remediate the incident.
And if you’re a small business owner worried about your cybersecurity – you’re not alone. According to CNBC, over 43% of small businesses were prey to virus attacks, ransomware infections, and more in 2020 alone. In this article, Oliv SEO walks you through what you can do for a safe and secure digital experience.
Before
Planning is key to minimizing your risk and preparing your employees for an attack. Create an incidence responseplan. This will include features such as:
- Backup plan
- Recovery plan
- Communication plan
Have designated roles set up for each employee to know what to do if an incident occurs. Another must-do is to provide security awareness training for all your employees. You’d be surprised at how many digitally savvy individuals can fall prey to cybersecurity breaches! So ensure they know how to handle phishing emails, infected downloads, and other malicious activities.
Many companies will also benefit from cyber insurance. Cyber insurance will be vital if your organization is mainly digital-based or has critical data on cloud servers. You’ll then be set up for any losses you might make in the event of a ransomware attack. You can also build security features into your web design. Oliv SEO will ensure that your hosting plan, certificates, and more are privacy-compliant to maximize your online safety.
During
Wondering how you can tell you’ve been the victim of a cyber attack or website virus? Well, one of the first clues is typically a significant drop-off in traffic rates. By monitoring your site’s traffic on an everyday basis, you’ll be able to catch the problem (if any) early. Other signs include slow loading times and reduced visibility of graphics and information. You might also find spammy pop-ups or alerts demanding a ransom, data, or other valuable assets.
According to Cybersecurity Ventures, a business falls victim to a ransomware attack approximately every 11 seconds. If you find yourself in this statistic, let’s start with the basics. Absolutely do not pay the ransom. While it may be tempting to use the ransom payment as a quick way to get your data back, it is rarely that straightforward. There is no guarantee you’ll get your money back!
After
Here’s what you do after you’ve been breached: We suggest turning off all infected devices and unplugging them from the Wi-Fi and network cables. The reason for this is that ransom attacks can spread through network connections. By going offline, you’ll take stock of the shared drives and identify and save the related systems.
Now it’s time to find the source! Get your IT department to scour your online environment for clues. This could be elements such as out-of-date software or wrongly configured software. In addition, reach out to all the users on your system and ask them if they clicked on a suspicious email or if they received unusual prompts from their browsers. IT can then get in there and try their best to reimage infected endpoints or seek restoration to a clean device. They can also try to identify the ransomware strain to decrypt the coding to revert their files.
Ransomware attacks can get to the best of us. Suddenly, files won’t open, you keep getting error messages and even potentially locked out. It’s certainly something you never want to go through – especially if your privacy and data get breached. The good news? A little software and network hygiene go a long way. Be sure to follow our tips to stay secure out there today.
Looking for competitive and affordable pricing for all your online presence needs? We’ve got you! Check out our testimonials here, or contact us at 480-660-0577 for more information today! Oliv SEO is a leading provider of hosting and domains, SEO, web design, and advertising.
