Ransomware activity in Australia and New Zealand has spiked with several reports revealing some alarming trends that could have an impact on New Zealand businesses.
Fact: Most companies are ill-prepared for the Ransomware threat
The ACCC has released its annual Small Business in Focus report, stating it has received 7,600 enquiries and complaints from small businesses in the first half of 2016. The report shows Ransomware is one of the biggest problems faced by small businesses with a reported loss of $1.6 million in scam activities recorded in the past six months.
In addition, Trend Micro recently released research showing that Australia was the second highest country in the world targeted by Ransomware attacks, and Kaspersky Lab’s new report on Ransomware shows that SMEs are amongst the most targeted organisations. According to a study by Ponemon Institute, 56% of companies surveyed said they are not ready to fight off a Ransomware attack and just 38% said they have a strategy to deal with destructive software.
Here are some questions, you need to think about:
• What can you do safeguard your business against Ransomware?
• What are the best practice strategies for protecting your business?
The best security strategy is to avoid Ransomware altogether, however this requires planning and work—before the disaster hits.
If backups and restore testing are done regularly, a ransomware infection won’t have a devastating impact; you’ll have a safe, recent and clean restore point.
Invest in Disaster Recovery
The most important part of any ransomware security strategy is regular backups of your files, system, and application data. Having a clean copy of your mission-critical data will minimise the impact of the ransomware infection. In addition, scheduling regular restore tests will ensure that your backup plan is working and identify any kinks that need to be worked out before the attack hits.