Cyber-criminals are increasingly turning their attention to small and mid-size businesses, which often employ less robust security measures than large enterprises, and don’t always have dedicated IT staff to detect or clean up infections.
Ransomware is the latest in a long list of growing online threats affecting businesses. It allows hackers to take over your networks, encrypting data held on servers and then demanding a hefty ransom to unlock it. These criminals often use anonymous payment systems such as Bitcoin, making it very hard for authorities to track them down. This type of attack can cripple businesses that don’t keep regular, uninfected backups.
Ransomware on the rise
Worryingly, ransomware is on the rise. McAfee has recorded a massive surge in ransomware, rising from fewer than 50,000 new ransomwares in Q1 2012 to over 350,000 in Q2 2013. It’s dropped off slightly since, but McAfee warns it’s possible we’re “seeing a trough before another increase”, which has happened with many other types of malware.
A very costly attack
Ransomware is costing businesses millions of dollars. The CryptoLocker worm infected 260,000 computers worldwide in 2013 and victims paid out more than $30 million in ransom, according to the FBI.
In 2014, 1683 CryptoWall victims paid over $1.1 million to the criminals. The average payout was between $500 and $1000, but one US victim paid $10,000.
Anti-ransomware strategy
How can you protect yourself against ransomware? According to malware experts, you need to:
- Install robust security software including a firewall, and ensure you update it regularly (preferably through auto-updates).
- Ensure your operating system and all your other applications are updated to the latest versions.
- Never open attachments from unknown sources or from emails that appear in any way suspicious. Ensure staff are educated about this.
- Consider moving more data to cloud services.
- Back up, back up, back up. Ransomware can infect your cloud backups, so have a backup of this, and also back up to a separate external hard drive.
- Also back up your mobile device, as security experts expect ransomware to proliferate on smartphones and tablets.
What to do if you’re stung
- Disconnect any infected computers from your network. Turn them off if you can’t disable their Wi-Fi.
- Change online account passwords and network passwords.
- Don’t pay the cyber-criminals any money. It encourages them to keep doing this, and there’s no guarantee they’ll actually unlock your files.
- Restoring from a clean backup is your easiest recovery option.
- Failing that, use an unaffected computer to search for cleaning advice. Most antivirus companies post free instructions and utilities to help users unblock their computers.
- If that doesn’t work, call in security experts. It’s better to bear this cost than to further fund ransomware extortion.
Remember that ransomware isn’t just going to cost you the $300 in Bitcoin, or whatever the hijackers demand. It’s also going to cost you time and potential business for every hour and every day you can’t access critical files. Attacks are currently highest in English-speaking countries such as the US, UK, Australia and Canada, so businesses need to be aware.
