Reduce Risk of Ransomware Attacks in 2022

With the hybrid workforce growing exponentially over the past twenty-four months, organizations have seen a drastic rise in ransomware attacks. Malicious emails are up 600% since March 2020, the average cost to recover from a ransomware attack is estimated at $1.85 million, and predictions that hackers will target stay-at-home workers since personal devices are easier to hack are coming true.

Everyone knows the big ransomware events of 2021 like the colonial pipeline attack and the Kaseya ransomware attack. So, for the start of this new year, we have put our experts to work, and they have analyzed the trends and events surrounding the past 24 months and have come up with some top priorities for your organization to reduce the risk of ransomware attacks heading into 2022. Let’s dive into it!

Protocols in Place to Prevent Execution of Any Ransomware

On every critical asset, Antivirus programs need to be installed that can detect ransomware and essentially stop everything before it can even happen. Ransomware cannot happen if you can stop it from executing in the first place.

Prevent the Lateral Movement of Ransomware

Not only can ransomware breach your network in numerous ways, but it can also spread within your network quickly. Our experts recommend implementing a zero-trust network architecture (referred to as ZTNA), which is constantly on the lookout for contextual information about how things are happening, when to turn accounts off, or what actions to prevent.

Let’s take a step back, and dive in a little more about why ZTNA is more secure and a better fit for your organization’s protection.

Zero Trust Network Architecture – How it works

ZTNA is a new take on how networks are traditionally handled. Historically, networks have assumed that if anyone has a username and a password, they belong and can access resources in a network. ZTNA removes the entire concept of trust, as it does not complicity trust the user, the device, or the network, so in ZTNA there are constant checks and validations needed for access.

Secure and Fully Understand Your Backups

An alarming trend with organizations is that they often do not have any backups in place, and if they do, they were not created most effectively. The best practice for fully securing the organizations’ backups is to put them off-premises and better yet, in the cloud. If a ransomware attack does execute and the organizations’ files become encrypted, restoring from backup, or paying the ransomware, for the most part, are the only options.

Going hand in hand with this topic, it is of paramount importance to already have a business continuity and disaster recovery plan. Our in-house vCIO experts covered this exact topic in one of our featured webinars of 2021, Preparing for the Modern Disaster: BCDR Strategies for Today and Beyond. Minimizing BCDR gaps directly assists in mitigating ransomware attack risk, so check out the on-demand webinar today.

Mitigate Future Risks

The longer your organization is immobile from a ransomware attack, the harder and more expensive it will be to recover. Mitigating risk and preparing for the future is crucial, and we are here to help. Learn more in our Ultimate Guide to Preventing Ransomware. Interested in scheduling an IT consultation? Contact us here.

Reduce Risk of Ransomware with Dataprise

With an increased number of cyber threats due to workforces shifting to remote work, it is pertinent that your business works to reduce risk of ransomware and increase their cybersecurity efforts. With managed cybersecurity and data protection your business can be sure to safeguard your environment and all critical business data. Our full suite of managed cybersecurity services, including cyber program management, managed detection and response, and continuous vulnerability management will give you peace of mind, knowing that your valuable assets and data are protected.