What is ransomware?
Ransomware is something that’s receiving more and more attention at the current time, due to the increase in malicious attacks over the past two years. The recent pandemic has seen a huge increase in the number of people working online, but this naturally comes with more risks for those operating a business in this way. Today we’re going to discover the answer to the question of what is a ransomware attack and how you can prevent this in the future. Sonic Firewall is an amazing tool that our team will be happy to share more about with you, so that you can minimise the chance of falling victim to a ransomware attack in the future.
Ransomware Attacks – What Are They?
If you are wondering what is a ransomware attack, let us explain. Learning what is ransomware is something that any company needs to be aware of, and you’ll find that SonicWall firewalls can help you with the prevention of this type of attack. Ransomware is a type of malware that’s used to hold a victim’s information for a ransom. Hackers do this so that you cannot access your files or databases, and they demand the ransom to free up your data. This has become more and more of a threat in the past years, with billions of dollars being raised by these cybercriminals each year. Of course, victims of ransomware attacks are left with huge bills and expenses to cover these issues, while also being left with disruption to their business.
Why Are There More Ransomware Issues Recently?
Many of us have seen the increasingly regular news stories about ransomware and cybercriminals, and there are many reasons for this increase in the number of issues we are seeing in the news. The pandemic has inspired more people to turn to crime, and with the number of people and businesses operating online, it’s becoming more noticeable and disruptive. Malware kits are now easier than ever to get on demand, and you’ll find there are some good cross-platform interpreters for ransomware. Techniques are getting more advanced, which means that criminals can encrypt all the disk instead of just targeting a single file.
While you may think that cybercriminals need to be incredibly advanced with technology, this isn’t the case at all. You’ll find that many people can now get involved in this industry, which is a terrifying thought. The biggest issues with ransomware when compared to other types of attacks is that it’s almost impossible at times to find out who the criminals are. With the use of anonymous cryptocurrency, payments such as Bitcoin make it a challenge to track down the criminals who caused all of this damage to your organisation.
Criminals see ransomware as a get-rich-quick scheme with little consequence for them due to the little chance of them being found out. Open-source code and drag-and-drop platforms are readily available, so people are getting more and more creative when it comes to building their own ransomware. All of these factors come together to mean your business and systems are at greater risk than ever before.
Ways to Prevent Falling Victims to a Ransomware Attack
If you are worried about being the victim of a ransomware attack, you’ll need to make sure you follow our best advice to avoid any issues in the future. We recommend you back up your data regularly, so that you aren’t locked out of any files that are critical for your work. If you do find you are a victim in the future, you’ll then have a back-up which you can rely on to carry on with your work. You don’t want to feel you have to pay these huge ransoms, but these backed-up files could help reduce the need to do just that.
Another consideration is to secure your backups, so that they can’t be accessed or deleted from your system. Many of these criminals are very savvy, and they’ll also go in and find the backups so that you really do have no choice but to pay up. As far as using the internet and your computer systems, be very careful to surf safely and use secure networks. This will help to reduce the chance of someone getting onto your computers or systems, which is where trouble begins.
We highly recommend investing in a SonicWall Firewall in order to prevent a ransomware attack. These types of firewall will help to protect your systems and ensure that your business remains protected for years to come. Using a Sonic firewall is a good solution for businesses of all shapes and sizes, and our team will be happy to advise you about the best model for your needs. Contact us today for more information about the range of SonicWall firewalls we stock and how we can help your business to remain unaffected by ransomware attacks for many years to come.
Comments
No posts found
