How to Detect and Prevent Ransomware Attacks

Every second there are 19 ransomware attacks attempted and the average recovery cost from an attack is 4,620,000. This could be very detrimental to small and medium businesses (SMBs), so how do you prevent a ransomware attack from affecting your business? Here are some common practices to prevent ransomware encryption on devices:

Install Antivirus Software and Firewalls: Antivirus and firewalls are for most people the first line of defense against any attacks. Firewalls serve to prevent external threats from coming in, while antivirus software monitors your endpoints for internal threats. Having both defensive measures is an easy way to protect your devices from ransomware attacks.

Limit User Access Privileges: Limiting user access privileges in your SMB can slow the spread of a ransomware attack if you do get infected. Limiting user privileges makes it that much more difficult for ransomware to laterally move through your network and access sensitive data.

Endpoint Security: Endpoint security is perfect for SMBs, especially if these SMBs have a lot of users. Endpoint security tools provide a more proactive approach to monitoring your endpoints for anomalous behavior and threats. This is why endpoint security is so essential for your business.

Vertek offers endpoint detection and response (EDR) for SMBs. Verteks EDR uses both Microsoft Defender for Cloud and Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, platforms that can be configured based on users’ needs for their businesses.

Backup your Data: Constantly backing up your data allows you to quickly recover any data that may have been encrypted during a ransomware attack.

Security Awareness Training: Most ransomware attacks happen because a user does something that allows an opening for cybercriminals such as downloading an infected email attachment. Teaching your employees and yourself cyber security awareness is one of the best forms of protection against ransomware.

There are more proactive ways to not only detect ransomware threats, but also prevent them from wreaking havoc on your data. Vertek’s RansomMDR is the perfect solution for your business in protecting against Ransomware. RansomMDR uses a combination of Halcyon’s Anti-Ransomware Platform, D3 Security’s Smart SOAR^tm  (Security Orchestration Automation Response) Platform, Vertek’s proprietary custom security operations, threat hunting and threat intel. RansomMDR can recover infected systems from ransomware attacks as well as protect endpoint security tools from being disabled or bypassed by attackers.

If you’re interested in learning more about RansomMDR and how it can protect your business contact Vertek today!