If you are wondering “is my small business is at risk from ransomware?“, the team of IT professionals from EC Managed IT can help you take the steps needed to protect your business from ransomware attacks. We offer a wide range of IT services for small businesses that are specifically designed to protect your important business information from being lost or stolen.
How Ransomware Attacks Happen
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that can be unknowingly downloaded onto a work computer by one of your employees. Since ransomware is often disguised as a link or downloadable file that looks completely legitimate, employees may not recognize that they are downloading ransomware onto their work computer.
Once ransomware has been downloaded, the ransomware will work to encrypt the computer’s data, locking employees out of their files. A screen will then appear, threatening to prevent access to the computer’s files and data until a ransom has been paid. In some cases, ransomware may appear immediately or may not appear until days or weeks after it has been downloaded onto the computer. This can make it extremely challenging to pinpoint the exact file or link that triggered the ransomware attack.
How to Protect a Small Business from Ransomware
Some of the steps that can be taken to protect your small business from ransomware are:
Train Employees
Since ransomware requires an action, such as clicking on a link, in order for it to download onto a computer, properly training employees on what to look for is the first line of defence for protecting your business. If you are unsure about how to train your employees to detect ransomware, a professional IT company can provide regular training sessions, keeping your employees as up to date as possible.
Back Up Important Files and Information
The best way to protect your small business from ransomware is to back up important files and information on a daily basis. Having an external back up or cloud back up of company data will help ensure that your business is not vulnerable to ransomware attacks, as you will have more than one copy of a file. This way, if one of your business’ computers becomes encrypted, you can avoid paying the ransom to release your files.
Install Ransomware Detection Software
Implementing standard IT security measures, such as installing ransomware detection software, is also an important part of protecting small businesses from ransomware attacks. Businesses should also make sure to patch any software holes that malicious software can use to infect a system.
If you would like to learn more about whether or not your small business is at risk from ransomware, or if you are interested in one of our IT services, please contact EC Managed IT at 604-888-7904 or request a consultation online.
