RANSOMWARE IS A CONSTANT FOCUS OF CYBERSECURITY
One of the sneakiest cyber threats to your business’s data security is ransomware (aka malware). Ransomware is designed to lock you out of your technology until you pay a hefty ransom, with the most recent payments averaging over $1 million. Major corporations, government entities, schools, hospitals, and small businesses are all vulnerable. In 2021 alone, the FBI’s Internet Crime Complaint Center received almost 4,000 ransomware complaints*. And the numbers just keep rising.
SMALL BUSINESSES EASY TARGET OF RANSOMWARE
According to the FBI, between 50 and 75% of victims are businesses with fewer than 500 employees. Worse, well over half of small businesses don’t have a cybersecurity program*, leaving them open to these attacks.
Because clever and determined hackers know that small businesses are less likely to invest in powerful cybersecurity, they attack small companies in volume, buckshot style. They know that many of these companies will pay the ransom, as they simply can’t afford the downtime of a full-on ransomware attack, which can result in customers fleeing to their competitors.
TIPS FROM TMPC
- Do not ever pay a ransom, and quickly report ransomware attacks to the FBI.
- Have proper policies and checks in place to ensure that all of your company’s devices are regularly updated and that patches for identified vulnerabilities are deployed system-wide.
- Back up data frequently and keep backup files separate from the networks that they back up.
- Solidify a thorough incident response plan.
IMPLEMENT A PROFESSIONAL CYBERSECURITY PROGRAM
For more information, visit our site where you can find out more about the ways we can help stave off ransomware attacks to help keep your business on sure footing.
- Privacy Compliance for Business Clients.
- Cybersecurity for Government Clients.
Keep your data safe. Keep the bad guys out. Keep your customers.