Imagine coming into your office in the morning, turning on your computer and seeing this image on your monitor. You will likely think it’s some kind of a joke. You go to your desktop and try to open a document you know you could access yesterday. You get a message that the file is encrypted. You then franticly try to access your other important files – same thing. Panic sets in. It’s happened to you – a Ransomware attack.
The answer to that question is: you are an easy target. Cybercrime is at an all-time high and hackers are setting their sights on small and medium businesses because they are “low hanging fruit”. Most small businesses have not prioritized their network and computer security. They likely have weak controls on their network, their systems have not been updated to protect from the latest exploits and they have not ensured their critical data is backed up.
This attack is going to be costly. Either you pay thousands of dollars to the attacker (with no guarantee of recovery), or you try keep your business running while you cobble together your business and customer files from paper documents – if they exist. Either way you will have to replace the compromised computers and shore up your network. OR take the proactive steps to secure your network, computers, and data NOW to prevent this from happening.
Cybersecurity requires a layered approach. The more layers, the less likely you will be hacked. Without the proper levels of maintenance, security, backup, and employee education it will not be easy to recover from such an attack.
Start now by asking about a Cybersecurity assessment to help you understand where your vulnerabilities are and what steps are needed to secure your business.
