How to Protect Your Files From Ransomware

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Because of the rising need for protection, more businesses today are looking into affordable ways to protect their data from potential cyber threats. Let's discuss the basics of ransomware and best practices for ransomware protection.  

In short, ransomware is a type of malware that can invade your data and make it unavailable for usage. The main goal of ransomware is to disable access to your data and demand a financial reward in return for a decryption key. You can acquire ransomware by downloading a Trojan via a compromised attachment or link. However, some types of malware can travel between machines without user interaction. A famous example of such malware is a WannaCry worm from a mega cyber attack in 2017. 

When ransomware attacks your data it either encrypts it or locks it. Hence, there are two types of ransomware — crypto ransomware and locker ransomware. Crypto ransomware uses an algorithm to encrypt your files and make them inaccessible. To have your data back, you would need to use a decryption key. On the other hand, the locker ransomware can encrypt your entire system thereby locking you out from your computer. The attacker then can display a message that states the amount of ransom and the due date of the payment.  

The main goal of ransomware is to control your machine, cloud environment, or network. Cybercriminals can use payloads to access the system. Payload is a code that enables an attacker to see your network activity and get access to your passwords and credentials. Cybercriminals can make sure that a payload stays in the system even if you reboot your machines. Once the attackers find vulnerabilities in your account, network or computer, they can take over the administrative rights and gain control over your environment. Lastly, attackers always try to remain undetected. They can do it by making security systems unable to detect them. 

Attackers use a variety of methods to get into the victim’s system. Phishing corrupts the email of the user to introduce a payload. Exploit kits are automated tools that can silently comprise any environment, for example, a website. From there, the affected user can distribute infection to other domains. Botnets are compromised networks that cyber criminals use to launch DDoS attacks (Distributed Denial of Service). Social engineering exploits psychological tactics to make the victim give out sensitive details such as passwords and credentials. Then, cyber criminals use this information to launch the attack. Traffic distribution is a system that redirects the user to a website infected with malware. 

It might come as a surprise, but the ransomware industry is booming today. In analogy to SaaS (Software as a Service), cyber criminals create corporate businesses referred to as RaaS (Ransomware as service). They run websites, hire employees and even have their press. RaaS businesses sell their products on the dark web. Easy-to-use solutions are available, allowing even immature hackers to launch a cyber-attack.

There are several reasons for acquiring protection against ransomware. Ransomware attacks can cause mild to severe distractions to your business, from interruption of business operations to irreversible data loss. A complete data loss can be dangerous if you rely on this data to run your daily workflows. If ransomware deletes your legal compliance data and you don’t have the means to restore it, you may face fines. And, you may have to close your business. In addition, a ransomware attack can cause tremendous emotional distress to your team members and the company overall. Some businesses can’t afford to lose their data or have significant downtime. In some cases, they even decide to pay a ransom to recover from the invasion as quickly as possible.

An efficient antivirus solution can detect compromised attachments in real-time and remove them before they infect your system. In addition, the antivirus solution can scan your environment and identify most types of malware, including malware used in remote-access attacks. However, ransomware can find its way around your antivirus protection. In the worst-case scenario, you may end up losing some of your data. But, if you have backed up your files, you can recover your data from a backup. 

Even if you have incorporated the best ransomware protection methods, you still may fall victim to ransomware. And, in case it happens, you should prepare upfront. An incident response plan (IRP) can serve you as a guideline to stop the attack successfully and recover your data. Every company should craft a unique response plan to meet the recovery goals. Yet every company should define their RTOs and RPOs. The RTOs (Recovery Point Objectives) depict the duration of acceptable downtime during a ransomware attack. The RPOs determine how much data your business can afford to lose due to the downtime event. Setting up RPOs and RTOs can help you walk through the recovery process quickly. Your RTO and RPO values are critical when choosing a recovery method and deciding how frequently to back up your data. In addition, your incident response plan should define immediate actions your company should undertake during a ransomware attack. In case of a ransomware attack, follow these simple steps :

 

 

To guarantee a 99.99% protection against ransomware, you should back up your data regularly and follow best backup practices: 

 

Adhere to the 3-2-1 Backup Rule:  A 3-2-1 approach is a golden backup standard. It says that you should have at least three backup copies of your data available, two copies on different storage media, and one copy offsite. Having an offsite backup is the best defense against ransomware. Even if cyber criminals get your other backups corrupted, you can still recover your data from your offsite location. 

 

Back Up to Multiple Destinations:  By storing your backup copies in multiple locations, you vastly increase your recovery chances. Sophisticated ransomware attacks can also corrupt your backups. You can keep your data on different storage media such as hard drives, cloud, offsite servers, NAS devices, deduplication appliances, or tape. When choosing your backup destinations take into account the architecture of your infrastructure and available budget. 

 

Instantly Failover to Replica in Case of a Disaster:  If you run a VM environment, you can create replicas of your VMs and store them offsite. Then, in case of a disaster or ransomware attack, you can failover to your replicas and continue running your infrastructure without facing the consequences of having downtime. After the threat is gone, you can fail back to your original location. 

 

Use the GFS Retention Policy:  Create a retention policy by incorporating the GFS (Grandfather-Father-Son) rotation scheme. The GFS scheme allows you to save space by replacing the old recovery points with new ones. In other words, your old backups get deleted, making space for the new ones. The advantage of the GFS is that you can save big on storage space and keep all of the required data. 

 

Secure Your Backups:  Every day, you think about protecting your backups from ransomware attackers. But not just that — backups require protection from unauthorized users with a lack of experience. Such users can delete or damage your backups accidentally. A role-based access control (RBC) enables you to allow only the assigned admins to handle your backup jobs. Thus, with RBC, you can keep your backups safe from any unauthorized access. 

 

Verify Your Backups:  There is nothing worse than dealing with a corrupted backup when you are in the midst of an emergency and need to recover your files fast. Backups can become corrupted during the backup process. As a result, a backup can miss out on vital data that you need to restore. Luckily, the best ransomware protection software allows you to verify your backups after you initially complete them. The software should display backup verification results on the user interface or send the results with screenshots via email.  

Your ransomware protection package should include antivirus software and an appropriate backup solution. If your business relies on SaaS architecture such as Microsoft 365, you can use native antivirus protection - Microsoft Defender with other native data protection features. If you are running a VM infrastructure, you can employ a Hyper-V scan for a Hyper-V environment or a vShield Endpoint for your VMware environment. A modern market has a variety of antivirus tools for infrastructures of all types. 

 

Your backup solution should be user-friendly and affordable. User-friendly software is simple to use and should not require hardcore programming skills. It should have an appealing interface, calendar, and a dashboard for scheduling and displaying your backup jobs. But most importantly, your backup solution should have the top features for running fast and secure backups.  

Ransomware is malware that can encrypt your files or even lock you out from your environment and ask for payment in return for the decryption keys. Over the past years, there was an increased number of ransomware attacks worldwide. To be prepared for potential ransomware invasion, get ready in advance - develop a unique incident response plan and follow backup best practices. A combo of efficient backup software and antivirus solution is usually your best bet to protect your business against ransomware.