4 Ways to Prevent Ransomware Attacks – Comport

In order to help businesses continue to protect their assets and work environment from nefarious influences, enterprise backup solutions provider, Comport Consulting Corp. shares 4 ways to prevent ransomware attacks.

Any company, small or large, runs the risk of having their data systems compromised by ransomware. Having technology locked down and held hostage will always negatively impact productivity, and in certain cases can cause a catastrophic loss of data.

Comport is invested in keeping all aspects of a company’s technology protected, and provides some key tips to prevent ransomware infiltration before it becomes a problem.

Backup Your Data on a Daily Basis
While a comprehensive security plan to keep data protected is integral in protecting against damage from ransomware, one of the best ways to address the risk is to make sure that no key data would be lost in event of an attack. Backing up data on a daily basis may seem excessive, but having redundancies in file management can go a long way toward ensuring that important assets stay protected. If a data management system happens to be locked down by ransomware, having access to a recent copy can make the situation far less devastating.

Use Quality Passwords
One of the easiest ways to prevent ransomware attacks is with proper password management, but many companies fall short with their stringency regarding the practice. Regular password changes that utilize a lengthy combination of alphanumeric characters in both upper and lowercase, as well as special symbols, can make it far more difficult for an outside actor to compromise a system. Changing passwords frequently and enforcing best practices may be a hassle, but an IT department can make their jobs much easier if they prioritize these simple security measures.

Educate Employees
Those responsible for information technology within a company may do their best in taking appropriate steps to protect the company, but user error can render these efforts ineffective. Educating non-technical employees regarding safe browsing habits, the password management guidelines mentioned above, and even using mock drills to prepare workers for potential infiltration attempts can thwart attacks before they can take hold. An educated workforce makes it much easier to protect a company from data loss and the associated expenses and hassle.

Encrypt Information
While some sophisticated ransomware can re-encrypt encrypted files, making data difficult to access can prevent a lot of potential threats if they happen to get through the precautions taken above. Encrypting the entirety of a company’s data may not be feasible, but for information that is integral to business such as trade secrets or customer information, this extra step is more than worth the effort. Encrypting data won’t work in all cases, but for many attacks it will stop infiltrators in their tracks and keep a company’s technology protected.