Ransomware attacks have gone up a whopping 25% in just the first quarter of 2020. While a lot of this has to do with COVID-19 – hackers have been taking advantage of decreased security due to work from home and fears surrounding the pandemic – ransomware attacks have been an increasing issue for a while. It’s not surprising then, that many organizations are turning to insurance to protect against the losses from ransomware attacks. The thing is, though, that getting insurance isn’t actually a guarantee of protection (take the case of Norsk Hydro which only received $3.6 million from its cyber insurer to cover losses of over $50 million) and if you face a ransomware attack, you could face increased costs like hikes in insurance claims. But what if you had a way to communicate during a ransomware attack that could protect your organization from damage?
Have an Emergency Backup Channel
When a ransomware attacks happens, you’ll want to execute your incident response and business continuity plan immediately – which means you need to be able to communicate off the grid. An emergency backup channel keeps communications going, so that you can respond quickly and securely to the issue and keep core operations running. You can use the channel to spring your plans into place: communicating to restore your last back up of your system, isolating a compromised system from other systems – and continuing business while you do so.
Educate Your Employees
When it comes to ransomware, it’s important to recognize that prevention and mitigation go hand-in-hand. Make sure your employees are informed about ransomware risks. While working at home, employees may be less alert about the risks they’re facing. Provide them with the training to recognize sketchy emails and website links that could result in ransomware attacks – especially those that are COVID-19 related. Make sure there is a handbook available that guides them with what to do if their device is compromised – like who to call and what to do with the device.
Use Tools That Protect Your Organization
Hackers are getting more and more clever at targeting employees which means that while training helps, it’s not enough. Opt for tools that inherently keep employees safe from ransomware attack, like secure messaging. That way, privacy and security is built into your employees’ communications without you having to worry about hackers tricking them into clicking on malicious links.
Vaporstream supports organizations through a private and secure communication platform that provides an independent communication channel. In the event of an attack, our platform continues to function even if your network is compromised and you can continue to communicate without having to worry that the information you discuss could be accessed by the hackers. We also help you keep your systems from getting compromised in the first place – our secure messaging solution prevents hackers from sending malicious messages to employees. Find out how Vaporstream can help you during an attack here.