In 2019, nine different major American cities were hit by ransomware, including Broken Arrow, Oklahoma.
What is ransomware?
Ransomware is a computer virus or malware that threatens to publish or block access to your data unless a ransom is paid. Hackers are after anything of value: money, trade secrets, intellectual property, personal information and/or customer records.
How does it happen?
Ransomware can be the result of many different factors, but often comes from a phishing email, a malicious download or a software security hack.
- Regularly train employees how to spot phishing emails and red flag file extensions like .exe, .vbs, and .scr.
- Use reputable antivirus software, email filtering and a firewall.
- Limit internet connectivity and user accessibility strictly to an as-needed basis.
Who is a target?
Anyone. Most common targets are small-to-medium businesses, school districts, municipalities, healthcare agencies and financial institutions.
- Back up your data often!
- Apply network segmentation, strong password security and multi-factor authentication.
- Use a virtual private network when traveling.
- Invest in a capable, educated information security team or incident response team.
What if you are attacked?
- Unplug Ethernet cable from the affected device. This will help prevent the virus from spreading.
- Contact your security or technology team and the authorities. An information security team is an integral part of prevention. Experts suggest not paying the ransom as there is no guarantee they will cooperate.
- Notify your bank. They may invoke additional security measures to protect your financial accounts.
- You may want to consider purchasing cyber insurance in case of an attack.
Invest in your business security. RCBbank.com/Security
Opinions expressed above are the personal opinions of the author, meant for generic illustration purposes only. For specific questions regarding your business security needs, call RCB Bank at 855-226-5722. Member FDIC.
See more about What Businesses Need to Know About Ransomware:
https://www.valuenews.com/what-businesses-need-to-know-about-ransomware-news-article_4875
