Ransomware attacks are still among the greatest threats to businesses of all sizes. Ransomware damages are expected to exceed $30 billion worldwide in 2023, Info Security reports. Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts a victim's files. The attacker then demands a ransom from the victim to restore access to the data upon payment. Unfortunately, since companies need to take prevention seriously and are unwilling to invest in it, ransomware attacks continue to increase. There are several vectors ransomware can take to access a computer. One of the most common delivery systems is phishing spam — attachments that come to the victim in an email, masquerading as a file they should trust. Once downloaded and opened, they can take over the victim's computer, especially if they have built-in social engineering tools that trick users into allowing administrative access. Some other, more aggressive forms of ransomware, like NotPetya, exploit security holes to infect computers without tricking users.
There are many defensive steps you can take to prevent ransomware infection. These steps are, of course, good security practices in general, so following them improves your defenses from all sorts of attacks:
Keep your operating system patched up to date to ensure you have fewer vulnerabilities to exploit.
Only install software or give it administrative privileges if you know what it is and what it does.
Install antivirus software, which detects malicious programs like ransomware as they arrive, and Allow listing software, which prevents unauthorized applications from executing in the first place.
And, of course, back up your files frequently and automatically! That won't stop a malware attack, but it can make the damage caused by one much less significant.
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