A ransomware infection can cause serious damage to your ability to do business as well as your business’s reputation. However, almost all ransomware can be prevented by implementing advanced ransomware protection and following some best practices.
The Advantages of Ransomware Protection
Ransomware Protection Gives You Network Security
New ransomware strains are continuing to innovate and improve their ability to enter network undetected. If you are only utilizing standard ransomware protection, you would not be able to spot the newest (as yet unknown) ransomware attacks.
Basic ransomware protection uses signature identification to identify ransomware. While this protects you from previously detected ransomware which is known to the InfoSec community, it fails to protect you from newer ransomware attacks. As there are 1000s of new pieces of ransomware discovered every year, this doesn’t give you much protection at all.
Advanced anti-ransomware and endpoint security software detects the variety of attacks methods used by ransomware in general as well as the specific signatures of known ransomware attacks.
Ransomware Protection Minimizes Your Downtime
Once of the most damaging effects of ransomware is that it removes your ability to do business. When the WANNACRY attack hit in 2017, even hospitals were prevented from carrying out surgeries as they were totally locked out of medical records.
Effective ransomware protection not only protects your data and your computer systems but by stopping ransomware it also protects your ability to do continue doing business.
Ransomware Protection Is Easy To Deploy
Whether you are installing it yourself or having a managed IT provider implement it for you, advanced ransomware protection is easy and fast to install and configure.
If you are installing it yourself, be sure that you are sourcing it from a trusted supplier such as Trend or Kaspersky. Otherwise you may inadvertently be introducing a threat on to your network. If you are unsure of what you are doing, be sure to contact a managed IT provider who specializes in ransomware protection for businesses.
Ransomware Protection Allows You To Recover Your Files
Advanced software for ransomware protection can give major assistance in restoring all your computer’s infected files. Good ransomware protection has a built-in recovery feature which helps you to restore any files that have been deleted or corrupted by the ransomware. The software will also ensure that the ransomware is completely removed from all the restored files to prevent the ransomware from continuing to spread once they are restored.
Ransomware Protection Gives You Vital Alerts & Warnings
Ransomware tends to act in a similar way no matter which particular strain of ransomware it is. If ransomware protection software is installed, it will automatically alert you to any suspicious behavior within your network.
You will be alerted when there is a possible ransomware attack. The ransomware protection software will then attempt to remove the ransomware.
Ransomware Protection Has a Built-in Backup Tool
Most ransomware protection software has a backup utility that can be used to prepare and schedule backups of your business-critical data.
By using this, you can remain confident that your backup is safe from ransomware, and that the information is securely stored in case a data restoration needs to be completed.
It is good practice to ensure that you always have two backups, one stored locally and one stored off-site (normally in a cloud-based archive)
Ransomware Protection Has a Clean Up Feature
The ability to clean any infected files on your device is another great feature of advanced ransomware protection apps.
Even with the best ransomware protection, there is always a chance that an infection could occur. That’s why it is essential to have the ability to quickly and easily clean or remove infected files from your system. This not only restores your ability to work on your device, it also prevents the ransomware from spreading to other devices on your network.
In Conclusion
The best defense for ransomware is to ensure that before any ransomware intrusion takes place, you secure your computers and networks as best as possible. The comprehensive and organized implementation of ransomware security solutions will save a business significant amounts of money and time when compared to dealing with unexpected ransomware attack with no protection. The saying “prevention is better than cure” is certainly true when it comes to ransomware and it is far better to be proactive and reactive.
Ransomware is also only one element of effective cybersecurity. Do not assume that simply having ransomware protection installed is the same as securing your business to all online threats. Other technologies such as encrypted email, secure web gateways, password managers and multi-factor authentication are all part of properly securing a network. If you are worried about whether your network is secure, it is worth contacting a managed IT provider who specializes in cybersecurity – they can conduct a cybersecurity audit for you and help to train you on, and implement, new security measures.
