May

5 Easy Hacks to prevent WannaCry Ransomware Attacks and keep your System Safe!

Ransomware Prevention Hacks!

Hackers are using ransomware to hold your computer files and demand money in return. It has been witnessed that the first quarter of 2016, hackers were busy creating new domains and sub domains attacking the genuine ones for their ransomware operations.

There are a variety of ransomware attacks; however, everything ends up to social engineering tactics or using software vulnerabilities to soundlessly deploy on victim’s machine.

Ransomware attacks are very daunting. Encrypted data can be considered damaged beyond repair. However, prevention is better than cure. Having your system properly prepared will help you in curbing such attacks. Here are some ways to keep ransomware away from your machine.

Data Backup

The only biggest weapon to defeat ransomware is to regularly Backup your data. If attacked by ransomware, you will lose all your data. But, with backups you can start from where you left and restore all the lost data and rest easy. Backing up data not only protects you from ransomware but also in case of other disasters like theft, accidental deletion, flood, fire etc.

Updated Software

Your machine will easily become a victim if your machine has outdated software. Hackers can silently get into your machine and can exploit the system. It is important to initiate the practice of regularly updating software as it can significantly decrease the possibilities of ransomware attacks. If possible, enable automatic updates or directly go to software vendor’s website for updates.

Deploy a reputable Security tool

Today, where security issues and concerns are growing, it is important to have software firewall and anti-malware software helping you to identify vulnerabilities and suspicious behavior. Hackers often test new variants trying to avoid detection which makes having both the layers of protection important.

Setting up right policies and procedures

Firstly, a secure infrastructure should be in place, having the right technology is secondary. Strict policies should be enforced like strong password enforcement, well-disciplined patch management processes and configuration baselines. This is to have an assurance that monitoring and anti-virus tools don’t overlook the assets of the organization. Data center & cloud environments, shared services environments have conveyed that consistent, efficient and effective operations are the groundwork of rigid security processes.

Training

Most of the ransomware attacks are untargeted, finding a way into the systems through drive by downloads or massive phishing emails. It becomes critical to impart education and training to employees so that organization doesn’t end up paying humongous amount of money while IT and security professionals try to recover encrypted data. It’s the user who clicks compromised link or opens an infected attachment. Therefore, knowledge is important for ransomware defense. Users should be aware of specific consequences and know-how of spotting and responding to phishing attacks. It is important to consider the criticality of application update notifications.

Ransomware is a big and serious attack which can cause a lot of destruction in terms of data directly affecting the business. That is why it is very important to have regular backups of your work and data. Backups help you to start from where you left in minutes and move quickly in digital life.