How To Protect Yourself From Ransomware: 4 Things To Do

Ransomware attacks are becoming too common for comfort. Last May, over 230,000 computers in 150 countries were infected by the WannaCry ransomware rendering them useless unless a “ransom” in bitcoin cryptocurrency is paid. Although this attack was somewhat stopped, this was not the end of it.

Come June, another wide ransomware attack happened in Ukraine and spread to other parts of Europe. According to the Washington Post, Ukrainian government agencies, a Danish shipping company, a Russian oil company and even the former Chernobyl plant were among those affected. Reports of attacks reaching the United States and India were also noted.

Ransomware Is Here To Stay – 4 Things To Do To Protect Yourself

Cybersecurity experts such as Mark Graff of Tellagraff are saying that this maybe the “new normal,” thus companies and organizations must have a “response plan” in case they become victims to ransomware.

According to Fortune, ransomware is not just a cause of concern for big companies and organizations. Individuals who use the Internet and rely on their computers for work may become victims too. The article also suggests 4 things you should do to protect yourself or your business from this cyber crime.

1. Make sure your systems and software are up-t0-date.

Whether you are an individual computer user or a business that uses a network of computers, make sure the system you are running is updated. To address the recent ransomware attacks for example, Microsoft has an update for Windows 10 that includes protection against such attacks. Keep yourself updated about software and system updates as well.

2. Beware of phishing emails or scams

With ransomware, users are usually tricked into opening a link or an image that contains the malicious code which attacks the computer. This comes in the form emails with attachments. If you are a business, orient your employees about scams like this. There is even a suggestion to have your IT security team send out “trick emails” regularly to see if your employees know the difference. For individual users, exercise caution especially when it comes to emails with suspicious attachments.

3. Back up your data on a separate hard drive, on a separate network

Having a back up of your data not only saves you from falling victim to paying the ransom in order to get it back. It also saves you time to reboot and go back to regular programming. Backing up however has to be done on a separate hard drive, say on another computer or an external drive. This computer or external drive must be outside the network of computers you are currently using. Better yet, make sure this computer or external drive is not connected to the Internet.

4. If you work in a business or organization that needs to be online all the time, get some serious protection

Consider your options for protection using software and other security systems. You may not need to the most expensive one, but it is worth finding out what kind of protection suits you or your business. The costs you entail in establishing security early on will be much less than the losses you may have if you are attacked.