What to Do If Your Network is Hijacked by Ransomware

It’s one thing to avoid ransomware entirely, but what does a business do when it’s already within its walls? Today we are going to discuss how your business can recover from a ransomware attack, as well as measures and solutions you can implement to ensure that it doesn’t happen again.

First of All, Don’t Panic, Don’t Pay, But Act Immediately

It’s natural for someone to handle a dangerous situation by reacting out of instinct, like pulling your hand away from something hot. It’s important with ransomware, however, to not panic under any circumstances, no matter how bad things may seem. After all, wouldn’t it be silly to get flustered when your device isn’t even infected? This concept of “fake ransomware” has cropped up here and there, and hackers are using the sheer threat of ransomware to convince users to pay up.

Let’s say you are infected, though; you don’t want to pay up immediately or in general, and certainly not before contacting your trusted IT resource. You don’t know how bad the situation is, so don’t assume the worst. Paying hackers to get rid of ransomware is just going to fund future attacks against other organizations.

Contact Your Trusted IT Resource

Your business should always contact Horne & Benik, no matter how bad or tame the attack seems to be. You can’t address it if you don’t know what’s wrong or how bad it is, right? Depending on various factors, you might be able to get away with restoring a data backup from a time before the attack, provided the hacker is not using double-extortion tactics against you. At any rate, contact IT so you can discuss your options with them before committing to one in particular.

Implement Proactive Measures for the Future

After you have gotten the current situation under control, it’s critical to look toward the future and prevent these attacks moving forward. Through a combination of comprehensive security solutions, data backup and disaster recovery, multi-factor authentication, and employee training programs, you have no shortage of possibilities to try when preventing future data breaches and ransomware attacks.

Horne & Benik can help your business avoid and respond to threats of all types, not just ransomware. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 499-4400.