What if all your data and applications disappeared in an instant?

Have you ever thought about what would happen if one day, all of your data just disappeared? And to make the situation worse, you learn that you were the victim of a cyberattack and your data is being held for ransom?

Unfortunately, this situation is becoming a somewhat common occurrence among businesses of all types and sizes, and it could easily happen to your business.

What exactly happens during a cyberattack? Typically, a hacker sends an e-mail message to a potential victim – the e-mail message either contains an attachment or there is a URL within the body of the e-mail message. If the recipient clicks either of these, they are directed to a web site that infects their computer with malicious software that contains a virus. The malware then continues to infect your folders and files, and possibly other computers on the network as well. Eventually, you will no longer be able to access any of your data, and you will begin to see computer messages advising you of the attack and demands for a ransom payment in exchange for a decryption key.

The FBI is responsible for investigating cyberattacks, also known as ransomware, and is focused on intrusions on both government and private computer networks. Understand that the FBI does not support paying a ransom in response to ransomware attacks – there is no guarantee that the stolen data will be returned, plus it could entice hackers to further engage in this behavior with other organizations. In addition, it is possible that the ransom money is being used to fund other illicit activity associated with hackers.

So what does the FBI recommend you in regards to cyberattacks? Unfortunately, it is rather difficult to detect a cyberattack before it occurs. Therefore, be sure to focus on the following items for your business:

• Prevention efforts in the form of cyberattack awareness training for employees and robust technical prevention controls
• A solid business continuity plan in the event your business is the victim of a ransomware attack

Technical Framework provides services to assist organizations with preventing cyberattacks and developing business continuity plans. These services include ethical hacking, assessment of your organization, risk intelligence, firewall management, and data leak prevention.