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We’ve all heard about how major companies and government agencies have been victims of cyber criminals through hacking and other schemes. One of the newest and increasingly popular schemes for businesses to be alert about is “ransomware.”
Ransom is a type of malware that infects an Internet user’s system. Once there it locks all the files on a system, be it an individual PC or an enterprise system. There is then a message to you explaining that your system is locked and to get access to your files you have to pay the bad guy a sum of money. Though ransomware started as mostly attacks on solo personal computers, the black hat perpetrators soon realized that there was more money to be made by infiltrating a corporate computer system. Why attack and collect a few hundred dollars from a personal computer owner when they could and do get thousands from businesses? It was inevitable that the scheme would migrate to attack businesses.
There are many specific kinds of ransom malware, but the end result is that your entire system or key files are locked and to unlock them you pay the ransom. The problem with paying is that businesses think it is easier and cheaper to pay than it is to secure their systems from future attacks. This sets them up to be attacked on subsequent occasions.
To Pay or Not to Pay, that is the Question
Paying the ransom is not a decision left to security executives, it is a business decision. As such, consider the following reasons why you should not pay:
Why Do Some Companies Pay?
Because if they do not, they lose their data and the ability to function. Estimates are that just one gang of cyber criminals collected more than $325 million in just two years.
A Better Alternative to Paying Ransom!
The best way to avoid paying for ransomware, should you be attacked, is to have a sound backup system that is stored off-site and in the cloud. The redundancy is so that you can quickly retrieve stored items in the cloud and get back into your business operations and also have a backup offsite if needed by partner businesses whom you allow to access your system. After all, you will have to change all security settings at a minimum.
Other Ways to Fight Ransomware
CPU, Inc is the trusted choice when it comes to staying ahead of the latest information technology tips, tricks, and news. Contact us at (419) 872-9119 or send us an email at info@CPUonline.com for more information.
Published on 26th July 2016 by Jeanne DeWitt.