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Businesses and companies are constantly using software and data in their daily activities. Data is generated, updated daily, and stored for future reference or decision-making. As an entrepreneur, how often have you thought about what you would do in a situation of crypto locking? Read on to get tips on ensuring your business is secure and safe.

What is crypto locking?

Crypto locking is a type of malware software than harms your computer and encrypts files. You cannot access the files and the hacker sometimes asks you to pay the ransomware. Most entrepreneurs may wonder, how do I protect myself?

The global pandemic has created opportunities for computer hackers to make more money than in previous years. Due to the increase in remote working and people accessing systems from different regions, hacking opportunities have increased. They can collect sensitive information and sell it or ask for ransomware to unlock the encrypted data. The computer hackers would do this for days and weeks without remorse or concerns about where you will get the money to send them. If you have not backed-up data, the company continues to lose money. Employees no longer converge in offices where it is easy to consult or monitor online activities. For the companies storing their data in machines, this poses an even higher risk of losing vital company data with a simple click.

What are some of the tactics they use? What can I do?

One of the most common crypto locking tactics is phishing with the end goal of ransomware infection. Can you imagine you are working for a company called “Jughurt.” and your immediate boss’s email goes by Sean@jughurt.com. As you leave the office, an email pops up. You decide to open the email as it might be an urgent request from him.

From the email, your boss is requesting you to send some sensitive passwords. After confirming the email address again, you realize the email is tampered with. The company name used in the email is Joghurt instead of Jughurt. This is called phishing. The hacker was able to get to you by using the same email address and creating a domain by adjusting one letter of the organization’s email. In case you fall for this, they can log into your company systems, encrypt files, and ask for a large amount of money to share the files or sell company data to competitors.

The other tactic used is where you might unknowingly download pirated software. Once they get to your machine, they will pick on the files they feel are sensitive to the company for crypto locking. You will notice this when you are unable to log onto the documents.

As companies continue to adopt remote working, it is helpful to become more aware of these risks. You should make efforts to secure your data and software. A way to prevent phishing is by creating multi-layered security systems. It is by putting in place systems that filter traffic to ensure these emails do not get to the intended person. It would be very challenging for a person to remember that they need to confirm the email address before opening an email or responding. Therefore, these multi-layer systems will ensure the email does not get to the staff.

The other way to prevent crypto locking will be to ensure each employee has activated the 2-factor authentication. This helps in secure logging into the systems where for a log-in a verification code is sent for confirmation on the mobile device. The cloud storage solutions have also come in to help in resolving the crypto locking issues where data is saved in the cloud. It is more secure than saving data on machines as cloud-based solutions have established measures for data protection.

For a situation where a company has suffered a malware attack, the question would be, "Will this affect the daily operation of the business? For a business to remain operational during a malware attack, it should have a minimum of two backup systems. If one of the backup systems is hacked, you can connect to the other systems. With this, the company will continue running its daily activities as you sort out the issue. The company should set up a disaster recovery system to ensure business continuity in a situation where they have a cyber attack.

One of the best ways to protect the company is to involve the team in cyber security training sessions. This will help them become more aware of how to identify potential risks and what to do. You might work towards putting all the systems on the cloud, but if your teams are not heavily involved, they will not know how to act or what to do. It might end up exposing the organization to more risks.

For a company that is constantly running software systems, they should ensure to keep checking for software updates regularly. Therefore, ensuring that all systems are well updated and on time will reduce the chances which a hacker may find an opportunity.

Final thoughts: Leveraging crypto locking consulting services.

As technology is evolving and growing, so is crypto locking technology. A company should work towards safe documentation storage. It will help save the company losses. A consultant to guide on steps to take after an attack would be the way to navigate cyber attacks.

Managed services will reduce the pressure on the company to ensure they are up to date with potential attacks. It is because they have set up systems and processes to gather threat intelligence and will know before it affects the company. This also helps the company focus more on the core operations and profitability.

Advanced Network Professional not only provides managed IT solutions but ensures you are covered wholly. We have a specialty in crypto locking and will provide support in a case where you might be a victim. We will help you get more secure cloud-based systems for your business. Call us today!