The evolution of ransomware is a dangerous thing for small and midsize organizations. What began as simply a nuisance for a business has turned into a potential business ending attack. This explosion of ransomware in the last year should be very concerning for any business, but especially those on the smaller side.
What makes ransomware attacks dangerous is that although organizations are cautioned against paying ransoms, all too many do. By doing this, they are simply feeding the beast. By paying ransoms, you are funding more and more attacks and strands of ransomware. This leads to inadvertently helping grow the ransomware community. Ransomware cost its victims around $1 billion in 2016 and believe it or not, this sum was not just from large organizations. Small and mid-size organizations make up a healthy chuck of that $1 billion dollars. Small businesses have less to spend on security software and user training,  so that means that if anything they’re more likely to be targeted, as they are viewed as easy prey. The trouble these organizations have is many of them choose to forgo paying the money for ransomware protection and then are forced to spend the money paying the ransom.

The willingness of these small and mid-size companies to pay the ransom, and to pay it quickly, allows them to be an attractive target. The bottom line is all businesses have data worth protecting, so they need to be proactive and protect themselves. Security basics can include teaching users to exercise caution when opening emails, especially from unknown users. There is also deploying firewalls, undertaking penetration testing, and ensuring all of your networks and systems are updated. These are just some of the precautions businesses can take against falling victim to attacks. But even with taking all these precautions, you must be cognizant of the fact that hackers are persistent in nature and will continue to find ways to break into networks.
New strands of ransomware are being introduced weekly, file locking malware is growing larger and larger, and tomorrow can bring new challenges for organizations. Take steps today to protect your organization and your data from outside threats. 2W Tech has IT Consultants on staff that specialize in Security solutions and would be happy to help your organization get and stay protected.
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