What is Ransomware
Malicious software that locks your files and demands payment to access them
Ransomware is defined as a term for the many variations of malware that infect computer systems, typically by social engineering schemes.
Ransomware sometimes marks the files for permanent deletion or publication on the internet. The perpetrators then demand a payment (usually in untraceable cryptocurrency like Bitcoin) for the private key required to decrypt and access the files. Infamous ransomware examples include CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, Locky, Cerber, KeyRanger, SamSam, TeslaCrypt, TorrentLocker, and Reveton.
Who are Ransomware Perpetrators?
Cybercriminals who profit greatly by violating businesses that rely on data as a lifeblood.
Ransomware cybercriminals are organized and profitable. It is estimated that this type of attack earns criminals $10 million to $50 million per month.
There are entire ransomware outfits working out of office buildings, making the stealthy and disruptive pieces of malicious software, and designing deceptively simple schemes to infiltrate small to medium-sized businesses.
The criminals are business-minded innovators. Recently, a Ransomware-as-a-Service organized cybercrime ring was discovered, which infected around 150,000 victims in 201 countries in July 2016; splitting profits 40% to malware authors and 60% to those who discover new targets.
The overhead is low, the profits are high, the Bitcoin is anonymous, the list of targets is endless, the technology is not overly complicated, and the odds of getting caught are low. Ransomware perpetrators are sophisticated, profit-hungry, cybercriminals on the lookout for unsuspecting small and medium businesses to violate.
Could my business be a victim?
In a word: Yes.
Ransomware perpetrators cast a wide net. They target small to medium sized businesses with IT security loopholes, valuable data, and a modest budget to pay the ransom.
If data is important to your business, you are a target.
To get into your systems, they may send a phishing email to your staff. Because 94% of people can’t distinguish between a real email and a phishing email 100% of the time, they get in. And if they don’t, they try again until someone somewhere clicks the link.
"Partek has proven to be one of the best professional decisions we have made in allowing us to go from where we were when we met, to where we are today with our IT services. We consider them to be valuable partners in our success as an organization, and we look to them first in all of our IT needs. They have the knowledge, skills, and vision to drive your IT needs where you want to go today and tomorrow alike.”
Solutions
No matter the data or application, Partek's advanced security solutions can protect you.
Advanced Threat Management
Fully-managed, layered security solution that protects the hardware, software, and cloud level to ensure your business applications and data remain safe and secure.
Cloud & Local Backup
Utilize the Partek Cloud to keep your data safe in the event of a breach. Quickly restore your entire infrastructure to ensure business continuity.
3 Layers of Protection from Ransomware
Our proven defense strategy against Ransomware includes a combination of best in class products, combined with our expert advice and strategy.
Education
A ransomware prevention program teaches your staff and users about the dangers of social engineering and phishing, and explains good security practices about email attachments. However, even the most educated staff members are not immune to human error. Education, on its own, is not adequate ransomware protection, but it's a good start.
Multi-Layered Antivirus
The second layer of ransomware defense is a multi-layered anti-virus solution. If a malicious link is clicked a multi-layered anti-virus solution will often save a system from full-blown infection. However, new strains of ransomware are being created at a rate higher than antivirus can protect against them, so eventually, the probability that one infection will succeed is high.
Total Data Protection
A data protection solution provides the ultimate failsafe in a layered defense strategy. It will take snapshots of your data and systems and store them in a secure location. If you fall victim to ransomware, you can simply ‘turn back the clock’ to a snapshot before the attack happened.
