4 Mistakes That Lead To Ransomware

Here are four simple tips that can help you keep ransomware out and keep your precious data safe

 As we spend more and more time in the digital space we have to be more aware of the threats and how to defend ourselves against them. A really common issue today is ransomware which can devastate your data making it unusable. Ransomware attacks are typically carried out using a Trojan that is disguised as a legitimate file that the user is tricked into downloading or opening when it arrives as an email attachment.

1) Secure Passwords

With passwords start as you plan to go on, with secure passwords from the outset, plus two-factor authentication to augment your security whenever it’s available. Leverage password management systems to reduce the risk of password reuse, then ensure that when accessing you password management system you have two-factor authentication setup.

2) Protect Systems

This takes advantage of administrators leaving remote access methods which are misconfigured publicly available, these are things such as Remote Desktop (RDP) or Secure Shell (SSH). The easiest way to think of this is ‘Don’t lock the door and then forget and leave the windows wide’.

3) Take Notice

Monitoring is key to detecting issues and understanding the risks that are there, if there are too many alerts sadly you get fatigue and begin to ignore alerts. This results in a similar outcome to the the fable ‘the boy who cried wolf’. Be careful not to assume otherwise interesting warnings can be ignored if they mention a potential threats.

4) Patch, Update, Repeat

Your systems are forever changing and improving and fixing security issues, you must keep on top of this else you will find your system increases the risk of an attack. Do not leave yourself exposed to potential holes for longer than necessary.

Conclusion

In IT you are only as strong as your weakest link, make sure you know what that is and take measure to reduce the risk factors.

Here is a great video that helps understand Ransomeware in a little more detail!

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