Ransomware attacks have become commonplace as part of national security discourse. Awareness of cybersecurity issues has been raised by the White House, FBI and several corporate giants as a result of increasing risk to businesses of all sizes across the nation.
Ransomware attacks are one of the fastest growing and most dangerous cybercrimes in today’s digital landscape. A world record was set this year for the largest ransomware payout, according to Business Insider, with the attacked insurance company shelling out $40 million to recover their data. Additionally, ransom fees are skyrocketing according to the National Security Institute, averaging a 3,900% increase from 2018 to 2020.
So, what can you do to protect your Tampa-based business? Continue reading to find out the risks posed by ransomware and the steps you can take to protect your business now.
How Ransomware Works
Ransomware works by utilizing social engineering tactics, such as phishing, to lure users into revealing sensitive information or providing access to otherwise secure networks and systems. Once the malicious actor gets access, they encrypt the data and hold it for ransom in order to decrypt it. However, the mayhem no longer stops there.
As time has passed and ransomware-wielding criminals have become savvier, exposing the data breach to critical people, like investors and customers of the business they hack, increasing pressure on all sides to have the affected business pay out and pay out fast.
These ransoms are typically held to a time limit and request cryptocurrency as the form of payment, as it is nearly impossible to trace by law enforcement. And considering many forms of ransomware originate under the anonymity of the dark web, only about three out of every 1,000 cybercrimes are arrested and prosecuted, according to Third Way Think Tank.
The Overwhelming Majority of Experts Advise NOT to Pay
Ransomware is on track to cost its victims about $265 billion annually by 2031, with an attack happening as often as every two seconds, according to Cybersecurity Ventures.
But if it happens to you, keep your wallet shut.
The FBI advises never to pay the ransom. By paying the ransom and not reporting the crime, it makes the attacker harder to trace and exposes your business as a prime target, then causing future retargeting efforts to be focused your way. Many businesses run themselves into the ground trying to recover from ransomware attacks on their businesses.
And even if you do decide to pay as an attempt to keep the situation concise and quiet, Forbes estimates that nearly 92% of ransomware victims end up losing their data for good regardless of meeting the demands.
How to Recover from a Ransomware Attack
If you don’t invest in ransomware prevention, you could experience extensive downtime, reputational damage, loss of potential future business, expensive compliance penalties and more if you were to be attacked. It’s the unfortunate reality that over half of SMBs who experience a cyberattack end up having to close their doors.
Here are the recommended steps to take after a ransomware attack occurs:
Notify your cybersecurity team and authorities immediately.
Remove all affected devices from the network.
Disable cloud-based accounts and auto syncing.
Change all passwords across the network.
Do a complete wipe and restore across all devices.
Restore lost files from your last backup onto clean devices.
Re-enable cloud accounts.
We’ve seen too many businesses allow it to get to this point, rather than investing in long-term, comprehensive protection from the start. We have reached the point where cybersecurity is no longer an option. Much like auto or home insurance, we need cybersecurity to protect us from potential threats that could lead to a catastrophe before it happens. Otherwise, the burden of recovery rests fully on your shoulders.
Proactive Protection: Partner with NetAssurity
At NetAssurity, we understand our responsibility as Tampa’s leading experts in ransomware prevention, cybersecurity and managed IT services. Our number one priority is to stay ahead of the current state of cybersecurity to provide a zero trust, comprehensive environment for you to work productively and with ease. Regardless of the size of your business, industry or current objectives, a partnership with our experts can provide the peace of mind you need and the tools you deserve to get your jobs done well.
To request a security assessment with one of our experts, reach out to us today. Together, we’ll identify your weaknesses and fortify your business for today’s threats and tomorrow’s possibilities.
At NetAssurity, we know cybersecurity training is an excellent way to teach your employees how to spot a scam. But that doesn’t quite capture the urgency of making sure your team knows how to defend your business.
Hackers attack every 39 seconds, according to the University of Maryland. With cybercrimes increasing in frequency and criminals growing increasingly sophisticated with their techniques, training your team is no longer an option; it’s a necessity.
With a data breach that is all but certain to cause expensive downtime, compliance fines and reputational damage, it’s time you armed your team with a comprehensive array of cybersecurity solutions. From identifying spam and malware to social engineering and phishing, it’s not as complicated as you might think to get each team member on board with protecting your data — and your company.
A Solid Way to Defend Your Business
Professional cybersecurity training teaches the basics, such as how multi-authentication passwords are the first line of defense to protect your sensitive data from hackers. Your employees can be trained to never use the same password for their accounts. They can be taught to use strong passwords that use a mix of symbols, letters and numbers, so no one will come close to guessing it.
Your employees can’t be expected to walk in the door on their first day and know how to identify cybersecurity threats. But one of the downfalls with security awareness is that some employers only employ training as an onboarding event. Unfortunately, your team will be faced with threats continually — not just on their first day or week on the job.
Cybersecurity training mimics the latest threats and teaches employees how to separate legitimate and questionable emails.
As a business owner, you can institute policies that ingrain bulletproof cyber hygiene habits, such as instructions for emails, the internet and social media platforms. But be sure to make the training consistent and a regular calendar event.
How We Help
The team at NetAssurity gives you pertinent guidelines that keep your data safe with regularly scheduled training on how to avert the most up-to-date scams. It’s important that your employees stay fresh in their knowledge and on guard against cyberthreats. Once they’re in the throes of their roles, it might not be top of mind to safeguard your data. But frequent and continual training throughout the lifetime of their roles ensures that the skills they develop remain relevant and applicable to the most modern threats.
With more companies succumbing to cyberattacks, it’s crucial that 100% of your team is on deck to stave off lurking threats with cybersecurity solutions. If your long-term goal is to grow your business and succeed — we know it is! — training your employees to recognize malware and phishing or any of the other lurking dangers is a necessity.
If given a chance, your employees want to help you dodge cybersecurity threats. Give them the shared responsibility of acting as your defender, and they’ll gladly comply — they want your business to thrive, too. They just need the tools and knowledge on how to do it.
Cybercrimes are becoming more sophisticated, and data breaches are rapidly increasing. Arm your employees with the knowledge they need to improve their cybersecurity procedures, policies and best practices. Help them help you.
NetAssurity has years of experience countering attacks in the Tampa area that stem from the dark web, and it can create quite the mess for your business. Cybersecurity and dark web protection go hand in hand, with many forms of ransomware, malware and phishing originating from this anonymous online underground. And once you’ve been targeted, it can be hard to recover.
Data breaches result in downtime, which can cost a company on average $5,600 per minute. And if you don’t have a professional business continuity solution with 24/7 support, productivity can completely collapse during the recovery stage. In the worst-case scenario, your business could end up closing like sixty percent of small businesses that experience a data breach.
But cybersecurity and dark web risks don’t have to be inevitable for your business. Here are four ways you can reinforce your cybersecurity and dark web protection starting today.
1. Install Dark Web Scanning
Dark web protection and scanning can defend your data by continually monitoring your systems for suspicious activity, attempted breaches and security weaknesses. Automated software can then send alerts to let you know what data is potentially compromised, allowing you to act faster and stay secure.
2. Take a Proactive Approach
Don’t wait until you’re the victim of a cyberattack to react. The number one thing cybercriminals want you to do is not notice what happened until afterward. By then, they’ve likely already started sharing and selling your data on the dark web. With cybercrime on the rise, it’s smart to incorporate technology to monitor your network before — not after — you experience an attack on your business.
3. Employ Training and Security
Cybercriminals won’t discriminate. They want your personal and business data, educational information, medical records and everything in between. Once it hits the dark web, odds are, it will sell. Protect your assets from the frontlines by training your employees to spot a phishing attempt and teach them what to do in the event of a possible security breach. Simulations are another aspect of cybersecurity training that tests your staff’s security knowledge and can be incorporated into a fun and educational team bonding challenge.
4. Partner with a Professional
Managed service providers monitor your data for security breaches, install and patch software to defend against ongoing threats and train your employees to keep your business data safe and secure. Not only will you feel safer, but your team will regain the capacity to focus on your business objectives with ongoing IT support and consulting services available when you need them.
When you partner with NetAssurity for any and all of your technology and cybersecurity needs, we outfit your business with affordable technology that leaves you feeling protected, supported and empowered. To find out if your business is at risk or to learn more about our services, contact us today for your custom assessment.
Have you ever ignored emails from potential leads because you were nervous that they could be fake or malicious? In today’s world, we are taught to be skeptical of what crosses our inbox. Cyberthreats come masked in the form of trusted brands and lure users into sharing otherwise secure data. And while being crucial for business operations, email provides attackers with an opportunity to infiltrate your system. So, what can a business do to conduct business efficiently and safely? Here are four phishing prevention tactics you can utilize to stop hackers in their tracks.
1. Install Security Software on Your Computer
Hackers attack every 39 seconds – University of Maryland
As long as your computers have an internet connection, they’re set up for an attack. In UMD’s study, they found computers were targeted for attack more than 2,000 times a day. In the IT world, Secure Email Gateway (SEG) is one common path to phishing prevention. SEG is a device or software that scans employee computers for malicious content. An SEG blocks the delivery of the bad emails while allowing the delivery of good ones. And an SEG stops an email before it ever reaches its intended recipient.
2. Computer Updates
74% of attacks targeting U.S. businesses are successful – Expert Insights
Phishing sites are found 75 times more often on the Internet than malware sites. And more than one in five data breaches involved phishing. Hackers are not only increasing their activities; they’ve got a good likelihood of success. But if you’ve kept your data backed up, you’ll increase your recovery time and decrease downtime in case of a data breach. By maintaining backups in several locations and testing often, you’ll mitigate your recovery time — and save the reputation of your brand — in case of a data breach.
3. Train Your Employees to Defend Your Business
Half of data breaches are caused by machine and human error – IBM
When employees complete security-awareness training, they’re more likely to report a suspicious email. Requiring mandatory security awareness training for your staff will go a long way toward identifying malware the second it hits their inbox. Instead of acting as cybercriminals’ main targets, your employees can become your biggest defenders of business data after completing phishing security training.
4. Hire an IT Partner
60% of companies fold within six months of a cyberattack – Inc.
By far, small to midsize organizations take the brunt from a larger share of cyberattacks. But you don’t have to fight this David and Goliath battle alone. Your MSP can prevent the effects of cyberattacks on your business by enabling your computers with SEG, installing PDP, and training your team. Services provided by an MSP means you’ve got a partner in protecting your important data from phishing attacks. Outsourcing your IT security needs with an IT partner means you can let your MSP determine the best strategy for phishing prevention and protection, now and onward.
These threats are only the tip of the iceberg. Your MSP is your best guard against the threats posed by cybercriminals. Quit worrying about what emails your employees are being bombarded with and let NetAssurity be your 24/7 guard. Contact us for your security assessment today.
To be sure that your business is productive, efficient and capable of growth, it’s important to prioritize the health and functionality of your IT infrastructure. This will allow you to keep your critical data safe and your business operations up and running. Even in the event of disaster, IT consulting increases the productivity and value of your business. That being said, it’s not always easy to prioritize your technology obligations in addition to managing the other day-to-day demands of regular business operations.
That’s why you need to invest in IT consulting services with NetAssurity, which has a strong and reliable IT support team that can empower your business with the ability to thrive and sustain future growth. This blog highlights the three ways to benefit from professional IT support services.
1. Recognize Shortcomings
While your organization may be the best in your line of business, your in-house IT staff may be shortchanging your efforts. The IT staff may not have the professional expertise needed to advise you on how to implement the best IT solutions for your business. An IT consultant on the other hand will have the industry-specific knowledge plus years of experience to make sure your company is optimizing its usage of IT technologies. The goal is to continually streamline the procurement and integration of IT solutions to ensure any issues with your technology can be alleviated quickly and efficiently.
Recognizing bottlenecks is the first step to determine if you need expert IT consulting. An expert helps your business spot potential IT-related issues before they get the chance to greatly affect your workflow. This proves invaluable if your current IT department is only capable of patching up IT problems, instead of preventing or mitigating them. Recognizing bottlenecks is the first step to determine if you need expert IT consulting.
2. Avoid Wasted Money
While buying new software, hardware and equipment can save you money, purchasing unnecessary upgrades or updates can easily waste it. For example, some companies may choose to buy multiple moderately priced servers to run web services instead of incorporating one or two powerful machines with virtualization technologies. Other companies may make the mistake of purchasing expensive equipment for a project that requires intensive computing resources for a limited amount of time rather than using scalable, cloud-based services and paying only for the resources they actually use.
When you partner with NetAssurity, we’ll set you up with an affordable technology solution that covers all your current support needs. This way, you can seamlessly scale up or down depending on the evolving needs of your business. This is often the best service model for businesses looking to accommodate periodic, seasonal or other unexpected fluctuations in their workload without paying for underutilized capability year-round.
3. Protect Your Business
If left unaddressed, technology issues can become more than a severe bottleneck in your business’s day-to-day operations. They can also lead to serious problems, such as cyberattacks and lost revenue. If you rely on backup drives to save your files, you may be exposing sensitive information to potential hackers and leaving your business open to serious losses in the event of a data breach. Do you have a plan in place to detect and halt an attempted breach before it occurs? How about a backend disaster recovery plan in the event your sensitive data does get leaked?
If not, it’s time to patch up the security vulnerabilities of your company and hire an IT consultant. Not only will they be able to identify any areas that put your business at risk, but also provide the best mixture of IT support solutions for your unique needs. A managed service partner can help prevent extended downtime that could result in your company losing thousands of dollars in potential revenue.
It’s Time to Make a Change
If your business is suffering from any of the problems described above or any other IT concerns, it’s time to partner with a professional in IT consulting that can provide your business with tools, resources and expertise your business needs to succeed. Don’t wait until the problems are overwhelming to bring in the support you need.
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