3 Tips to Help You Prevent, Detect and Recover from Ransomware Attacks

The Current State of Ransomware

Many cyberattacks involve ransomware, a form of malicious software or malware, designed to deny access to a computer system or data until a ransom is paid and a decryption key (commonly called a decryptor) is given to the victim. The encryption is virtually unbreakable without the decryption key, and you should not spend valuable time seeking a way around the encryption if you are attacked with it. Ransomware can spread in multiple ways, but most typically, through phishing emails or by unknowingly visiting an infected website. Ransomware can be catastrophic to healthcare (along with many other industries), preventing critical information and systems for patient care from being accessed, for example.

If you thought last year was a challenging year for cyber security, 2022 is proving to be even more difficult. Weekly cyberattacks jumped 42% across the globe this year, according to CheckPoint Research. The list of threats is long: supply chain attacks, ransomware threats, attacks on Costa Rican and Peruvian governments, and the fallout of perhaps one of the most serious zero-day vulnerabilities in history, Log4j, followed by the impact of the Russia-Ukraine war.

There are good reasons most large enterprises worldwide are quickly adopting the cloud for everything from sales contracts and product specs to videos and overall business operations. The cloud offers flexible, scalable, and cost-effective computing that cuts down IT costs, consolidates data centers, accelerates growth and enables digital transformation. Migration to the cloud has accelerated in the post-pandemic hybrid work world and more recently as companies battle inflation and rising real estate costs.

When ConvergeOne held a Ransomware Readiness event for public sector customers, it was well-attended, with a large number of representatives from our manufacturer partners and K-12, Higher Education, and City customers. There was nothing in the event to entice the folks to sign up and attend, like say a golf outing, a basketball game in the stadium, or lunch/dinner at a high-end restaurant. It was simply in our offices in Ontario, CA.

This article originally appeared in Security Magazine.

The past two years have seen a drastic shift in the way we work, with many organizations having to quickly make the move from an office-based environment to a hybrid work environment. Now, with hybrid ways of working becoming standard, leaders are focusing on digitally transforming their businesses to adapt to and compete in the new normal. Yet in the rush to adjust, they can forget a foundational and business-critical issue – cyber security.

Many corporations announce mergers frequently. Once the ink has dried on the deal, the integration plan begins to take shape. The immediate challenge of interconnection is tasked to IT so that application systems integration or data sharing can securely take place. Often the operations need to remain only partially integrated, as they operate within different data sovereignty laws and corporate polices. How do we do this securely when both organizations have existing AWS account footprints?

With a record number of cyberattacks making national news, cybersecurity is top-of-mind for many business executives. Cyberattacks are becoming more complex, with new and improved malicious software evading detection systems and disabling or hindering business operations for organizations across the globe. An effective cybersecurity strategy begins with an understanding of the threat landscape, but it is only the first step. You must take proactive measures to ensure your organization is prepared for the inevitability of facing cyberthreats.

As we move deeper into the Hybrid Work environment, it is key that you focus on a zero-trust model in your organization. You’re probably thinking, “Why should we be focusing on this?” Because security is about keeping assets out of the hands of attackers. This used to be straight forward, because you could just put a perimeter around your corporate networks, but now with Wi-Fi, remote working, and cloud services, assets are no longer in the physical network.

Global cyberattacks are becoming more widespread. The onslaught of online assaults we’ve seen five months into the year has made putting adequate measures in place to keep organization's critical information secure that much more critical. Harvard Business Review has stated that the "conflict in Ukraine presents perhaps the most acute cyber risk U.S. and western corporations have ever faced." Accelerated cyberattacks are already underway directed at Ukraine and may expand to nation-states providing support to Ukraine, including the United States.

This originally appeared as part of an article in THE Journal and Campus Technology.