LedgerNext Accounting. Co, a company known for its client confidentiality and meticulous service. One evening, when the employees were leaving after work, a notification appeared on their screens where it was written.
This message created a panic situation. The company’s CEO, Nikhil Singh, brought cybersecurity experts together, police and the team found out that the hackers had intruded on the company’s system through a phishing email that was clicked by an employee. The team worked relentlessly for sleepless nights and implemented a thorough data recovery plan by using the limited backup they had. They pulled off this process by working late nights and regained control of their operations. They installed robust security measures, educated the staff on cybersecurity, and performed regular backups to prevent ransomware attacks again.
In this blog, we will understand about ransomware attacks and how to prevent ransomware attacks:
Table of Contents
What is a Ransomware Attack?
Cybercriminals encrypt the data or block access to the system by using ransomware software and demand the stakeholders of the organization, businesses, or individuals to pay a ransom amount to restore access. Ransom attacks usually take place through phishing emails, weak passwords, or unfixed software issues. The payment is requested in cryptocurrency to keep their identity hidden. In other severe forms of ransom attacks like double or triple extortion, the victims are threatened with leaking sensitive data if the ransom is not paid. This cyber attack can have a lot of impact on an individual, business, or organization as they may suffer financial loss, data breaches, and operational disruptions. To prevent ransomware attacks, the below cybersecurity measures should be followed:
- Keep strong passwords
- Keep updating your software to avoid such attacks
These tips may help to stay away from data losses and downtime that may eventually lead to reputation and productivity loss of an individual, business, or organization.
What is Ransomware?
Ransomware Prevention Checklist
Let’s understand how to prevent ransomware attacks. Here is a checklist for the same.
✔ Back Up Your Data: You must practice regular backups, especially of critical data. It can be done weekly or daily to avoid data breaches, attacks, or disasters. You can use the 3-2-1 rule.
✔ Secure your Backups: Store them in multiple locations, especially those not connected to your network, to avoid unauthorized access.
✔ Keep Software Updated: Keep all your software and apps updated to fix software vulnerabilities.
✔ Use a FireWall: Include next-generation firewalls in your system to prevent your system from viruses and malicious traffic.
✔ Be Cautious with Emails: Don’t click on links that come from an unknown source or contacts, which makes it harder for attackers to access the data.
✔ Network Segmentation: Dividing your network into smaller segments will make it harder for the attackers to invade your system.
✔ Use a VPN or Wi-Fi: While you are using public networks, use a VPN to protect your data from unauthorized access.
✔ Avoid Unfamiliar USB: Don’t connect to an unfamiliar USB if you are not sure of its safety.
✔ Download data only from trusted sites: Check the sites that you are downloading your data from are legit.
✔ Educate Employees: Provide a handbook to the employees about how to prevent ransomware attacks. By providing them with regular training on cybersecurity, the ransomware attack risk can be reduced.
✔ Implement Strong Password: Keep complex passwords of the systems or keep changing them regularly. This is a ransomware prevention checklist that one should follow to avoid any kind of cyberattacks and keep the data safe.
Information on Ransomware Attack – How it has Increased in the Healthcare Industry
Ransomware attacks have increased a lot in the healthcare industry. In 2023, the percentage of attacks was 60%. Whereas in the year 2024, it has increased by 7%. The ransom demands of the cyberhackers keep increasing day by day. In 2023, firms without backup issues faced $1.3 million in demand, while in 2024, this jumped to $4.4 million. Recovery costs doubled, from $375,000 to $750,000.This type of attack has increased a lot after the COVID-19 pandemic by 300%.
Nigeria lost $500 in cybercrime. According to experts, healthcare firms need to be more protective and should be ready with a proactive defense.
Key Takeaways
We hope you have understood about ransomware attacks and how important it is for organizations to follow a ransomware prevention checklist to prevent ransomware attacks. As we saw, ransomware attacks are rising in the healthcare industry, thus making proactive defense strategies vital to maintaining the business.
