Ransomware – the name clearly depicts the nature of a certain malicious software. It hacks into a user’s system and get holds of the potential data of that user. This malware attack requires you to pay a ransom to the hacker in order to get back the access to your data.
The history of Ransomware goes way back to 1989, with the first trojan named ‘AIDS’ and it is been in existence ever since with numerous variants rising up periodically. Their sole purpose is to hack the private data of customers and make them pay for it.
Following on the footsteps of ‘Reveton’ and ‘CryptoLocker‘ (The most popular among ransomware), is a recent variant named VirRansom – a self replicating malware that replicates itself over a network area affecting files all along its way. The ransomwares that existed so far were affecting individuals and small enterprises, but VirRansom seems to be a rising threat for SMBs and large enterprises as their servers and systems are interlinked over a wide network area.
Of Course, paying ransom is no solution and moreover you should be aware of the fact that even if you pay the requested amount, it is not assured that a hacker might set your server data free for access. Anyone found obliging and insecure will always remain a target of the hackers, in the long run.
In such cases, the following set of prerequisites can help avoiding such malware attacks in future:
- A security solution that enables proactive handling of external threats should be installed.
- Updating servers periodically with anti virus fixes can avoid security threats.
- Accessing mapped drives should be limited to the application level, excluding the administrator and selected personnel.
- Scanning of internal mail servers for security threats should be followed with high priority.
- Filtering spam or unknown mails from the inbox of employees should be mandated as a rule.
Most importantly, having your data backed up often periodically by a cloud solution will be the safest approach in safeguarding your data.
Following the above mentioned steps can be helpful in avoiding such ransomware attacks. After all, these ‘Ruthless Burglars’ need not be entertained but instead can be detained by our prompt action.
