Don’t let ransomware hijack your dreams
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The early stages of every business is an exciting time. You have so many plans and creative ideas that everything feels possible. However, one thing that often stands in the way of any success is a lack of cybersecurity.
In their infancy, small businesses often become a target for cybercriminals, who have adopted ransomware as one of the most significant threat tools.
According to Veeam’s Data Protection Trends Report in 2023, up to 85% of ransomware attacks targeted small businesses. It found that up to 60% of small businesses had failed after the cyberattack.
As a startup, funds can be tight, and knowing what to invest in and prioritise can be difficult. In this article, you will learn everything you need to know about ransomware. From the risks of an attack to cybersecurity tips and tricks – you can defend your startup venture from this often devastating threat.
Why is ransomware a significant threat to small businesses?
There are two main reasons why a ransomware attack can devastate a company, particularly startups. They include:
Financial damage
The key is in the name: ransomware is malicious software that is used to hold the company for ransom by freezing IT systems or seizing data, forcing the owner to pay a large sum to reclaim their work.
Ransomware not only stunts the growth of a business but can also lead to its failure. Take St Margaret’s Health Hospital, for example, which fell victim to a ransomware attack in 2021. The attack prevented the hospital from being able to lodge claims to medical insurers, sending it into a ‘financial spiral’ and was cited as the core reason for its closure several months later.
Moreover, governments may also impose fines on companies that have not demonstrated sufficient protocols to safeguard customer data. As such, you might also face costly penalties.
Reputational damage
Even if a business can afford to pay off the hacker, the damage doesn’t just stop at the balance sheet. Ransomware can cause reputational damage, too, which has the potential to follow the business indefinitely. And it’s easy to see why.
Customers may be unwilling to engage with you or submit their private data if they think you are negligent. They may not create accounts with you or even visit your website for fear of a potential vulnerability. In doing so, they may go to a competitor who takes their data and security more seriously.
Three cybersecurity tips to protect you against ransomware
Now that you know the long-lasting effects of ransomware, it’s important to refocus on solutions – what you can do to prevent an attack.
Below are simple but highly effective tips, tricks, and tools you can use to repel an attack while still keeping your budgets in line:
1. Provide staff training
One of the most effective ways of repelling a potential attack is by providing your staff with awareness training. It ensures they can recognise and detect a possible breach, avoid careless behaviour that may lead to ransomware infection, and know how to report and respond to an incident.
Simple training can focus on basic cybersecurity practices, such as:
Setting stronger, unique passwords for work accounts
Managing access controls on sensitive business files
Activating multifactor authentication
Avoiding clicking or downloading suspicious links or attachments
Updating software and running regular antivirus scans
Startups can periodically run simulated cyberattacks, known as penetration tests. These practice runs can help assess an employee’s skill level, identify potential weaknesses across your business, and inform future staff training.
2. Use a virtual private network (VPN)
One of the primary ways ransomware enters a company is through the internet. It could be through a malicious file attachment or pop-up that allows a hacker to enter your system.
A VPN is an innovative cybersecurity tool that encrypts your internet connection and offers the best defence against ransomware. It scrambles all data we send or receive, which gives an extra layer of protection against cyberattacks like ransomware.
However, many startups may still wonder how much coverage a VPN can provide. For example, can VPN be tracked? And if so, by whom?
Well, that ultimately depends on your service provider and their reliability. Though they seem like the most cost-effective choice for startups, free VPNs often collect and sell user activity to third parties, including your IP address. This means your privacy is still at risk of being exposed.
On the other hand, a reputable VPN will operate a no-logs policy, which means they do not collect nor sell your data. Additionally, these services often come with a plethora of additional cybersecurity features, such as a kill switch, that ensures no accidental leaking of information happens when online. For this reason, carefully choosing your VPN provider is highly recommended.
3. Perform regular backups
One of the reasons ransomware is so devastating is that it locks you out of important business files and systems. Creating regular data backups is an effective way of minimising disruption and recovering quickly from an attack.
If you suffer ransomware attacks, you won’t be as vulnerable to their demands. Instead, you will still have access to critical information and be able to diagnose the extent of the breach.
Backups can also give you more time to inform affected customers, thus helping to contain reputational damage. That said, remember to store backup files in a secure location and install sufficient encryption to protect them.
As you can see, ransomware can be one of the most devastating cyberattacks, costing businesses enormous amounts of money and irreparable reputational damage.
The best and most effective way of repelling an attack is to lay down your security foundations as early as possible. By training staff on an ongoing basis, using simple security tools like a VPN, and creating regular backups, you’re helping to future-proof your business from being held at ransom.
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