It’s important to ensure you’re always ready for the next big digital threat. Data breaches are an extremely costly business, and they’re becoming more frequent largely in part to one kind of threat: ransomware. Here, we’re going to look at what ransomware is, as well as how your business can ensure you’re protected against it.

What Is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a specific type of malware. Once it infects your system, it stops you from being able to access the affected hardware, blocking your ability to use any kind of software. It’s called “ransomware” because the hackers will ransom off the data and the tech. If the business affected doesn’t pay off the ransom, then they may follow up on threats to destroy or release the data to the public. In some cases, hackers will follow up on those threats even if you pay up, so it’s best to prevent it from happening as much as possible.

Make Sure Your Entire IT Infrastructure Is Secured

Is a good anti-malware software and firewall enough to protect your full IT scope? It might not be. To see how much security you need, you have to better understand your whole IT scope. As such, you should work with teams like https://www.evolvtec.com/ that can help you map out all hardware, software, network connections and more. Then you can spot which parts of the infrastructure might be missing the security that they need, as well as where you might offer a little too much access to employees that don’t need it.

Make Sure You Can Respond to Incidents ASAP

The more of your network and IT scope that ransomware can get access to, the more damage that it can do.  As such, software like https://www.resolver.com/ can be crucial to shutting down threats as soon as possible. Incident management software reports to the necessary individuals as soon as any threat is spotted. As such, they can more quickly eliminate it or, at worst, cut off any affected parts of the IT scope so that the threat doesn’t spread through the rest of the system.

Be More Careful With Data Transfers

If you’re transmitting sensitive data with tools like Google Docs or other low-security software that only requires a password to get into, then you’re leaving yourself wide open to having it access by ransomware or hackers in general. Invest in secure hosting options such as https://www.rackspace.com/ and use tools that can help you anonymize your data, such as end-to-end encryption and proxy servers. This way, hackers can’t see what data is being transferred or where it’s going without a lot more effort, meaning they’re more likely to find an “easier target”.

With the tips above, you can ensure you have adequate IT security infrastructure to prevent most modern digital threats. It’s a combination of good policy, the right IT expertise, and the staff’s diligence that can keep everyone protected. You won’t be able to prevent the threat of ransomware without all of the above.