Sjouwerman, whose firm distributes a 20-page "hostage manual" (.pdf) on how to prevent and respond to ransomware, says that not only should administrators disconnect infected systems from the corporate network, they should also disable Wi-Fi and Bluetooth on machines to prevent the malware from spreading to other machines via those methods.Īfter that, victims should determine what strain of ransomware infected them. When MedStar Health got hit with ransomware earlier this year, administrators immediately shut down most of the organization's network operations to prevent the infection from spreading. "So the IT department or security folks have a very significant role to play.
"I see far too many people who don't know the security 101 basics or simply don’t choose to follow them," says Doggett. You make it part of your culture and if you, once a month, send a simulated attack, that will get people on their toes." He says with awareness training he's seen the number of workers clicking on phishing attacks drop from 15.9 percent to just 1.2 percent in some companies.ĭoggett agrees that user training has a role to play in stopping ransomware. "You send them frequent simulated phishing attacks, and it starts to become a game. But with good training, "you can actually truly get a dramatic decrease in click-happy employees," says Stu Sjouwerman, CEO of KnowBe4, which does security awareness training for companies. When it comes to phishing attacks, experts are divided about the effectiveness of user training to educate workers on how to spot such attacks and right-click on email attachments to scan them for malware before opening. Ad blockers are one way to block malicious ads, patching known browser security holes will also thwart some malvertising. Here's what you should do.īut ransomware hackers have also adopted another highly successful method- malvertising-which involves compromising an advertiser's network by embedding malware in ads that get delivered through web sites you know and trust, such as the malvertising attacks that recently struck the New York Times and BBC. If you're at risk for a ransomware attack, there are simple steps you can take to protect yourself and your business.
The damages include the cost of disinfecting machines and restoring backup data-which can take days or weeks depending on the organization. Victims of the CryptoWall ransomware, for example, have suffered an estimated $325 million in damages since that strain of ransomware was discovered in January 2015, according to the Cyber Threat Alliance (.pdf). But even if you've backed up your data in a safe place and choose not to pay the ransom, this doesn't mean an attack won't cost you. Last year, for example, the FBI says victims who reported attacks to the Bureau enriched cyber extortionists' coffers by $24 million. You could choose to cave and pay, as many victims do. You're still largely on your own when it comes to fighting ransomware attacks, which hackers use to encrypt your computer or critical files until you pay a ransom to unlock them.
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