The Threat of Ransomware
- July 5, 2020
- Posted by: admin
- Category: Security
Introduction
Ransomware has proven to be one of the most dangerous and prevalent forms of malware in the new decade. For those who aren’t aware, Ransomware is a type of malware that typically enables cyber extortion for financial gain. Once the malware has infected a user’s system, it either encrypts critical files or locks a user out of their computer. They usually display a ransom message, which will usually demand virtual currency payment in exchange for a cryptographic key to decrypt or unlock those resources.
Ransomware in the UAE
Based on a study conducted by Security Middle East Magazine, ransomware remains a widespread threat in the UAE with the country accounting for 2.4 million of the 1.7 billion ransomware attacks detected globally in Q1 of 2018. As time has progressed, ransomware has grown to become more intelligent in its tactics. Many predict that soon artificial intelligence and machine learning will come into effect, which will inspire cybercriminals to take advantage and make their malware all the more dangerous.
How do you protect your Data?
Here are a few steps you can take to help protect your data
- Minimize the amount of sensitive data that’s provided to your employees. This helps reduce the attack surface.
- Design a plan to help compensate for the network downtime, rather than having to improvise under pressure, especially if it happens before or during the organization’s busiest week.
- Backups are highly essential and a lot of strategies to mitigate a ransomware attack heavily rely on backups. The harder task is to determine on what backups one needs to recover when it comes to files. Always have a record of the file system activity, in case the network gets infected, the security team would know what the infected users were up to.
- Enlist automation to work on behalf of the organization. Automation can detect and even stop potential attacks before they spread, with the right activity logs and analysis. Logging and analyzing critical datasets and systems like large, important data stores along with Active directory should be prioritized.
Given remote workers are now easy conduits to corporate resources, most organizations find themselves in a situation they have not been prepared for when it comes to spotting unusual activity. The goal should be to detect attackers who are planning to take advantage of these remote resources.
The right kind of Protection
At Point Solutions, we recommend investing in eScan to help prevent your systems from being infected. The Enterprise Edition created by eScan, helps protect valuable intellectual property and business data against theft/misuse without interrupting business continuity. This software is built with MailScan, which is the world’s most advanced Real-Time Anti-Virus and Anti-Spam solution for Mail Servers. MailScan safeguards organizations against Virus, Worm, Trojan and many other malware breeds with futuristic and proactive technologies. We also recommend, the Corporate edition created by eScan that safeguards your corporate network from all kinds of cyber threats.
Contact us today on +97150-6240061 or email us at info@pointsolutions.net for a no-obligation discussion.