How to Survive a Cyber Attack
If you’re a subscriber to our Neu Cyber Threats weekly update you will be fully aware of the impact ransomware attacks have been having on businesses of late. While Emotet malware was taken down in January by international law enforcers, more and more threats have come forward to launch attacks upon businesses.
When our Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery (BCDR) partners Datto released their annual State of Ransomware report last year, which led to some startling statistics. 70% of MSPs said ransomware remained the number one threat for their clients, while the cost of downtime incurred by a cyber attack shot up by 94% from £105,867 to £205,878 in 2020. And what was found to be the solution? Well a huge 91% of those surveyed said clients with a BCDR solution in place were less likely to experience significant downtime from ransomware.
BCDR plans put businesses in a position where they are prepared for any kind of cyber attack. Ransomware, in particular, is usually spread via phishing emails which cyber criminals send at a rate of thousands a day. A multi-layered BCDR plan would see a range of precautions in place to halt ransomware in its tracks. Anti-malware filters, multi-factor authentication (MFA) and managed firewalls will help to keep your business well protected.
Recent full backups of your company data should be kept safely stored too. As our recent blog, The Power of 3, discusses, businesses should have a system in place that sees their data saved in three separate methods in different locations. This is to keep a business in control of its own future, if an attack were to occur.
Often when cyber criminals hit businesses with ransomware attacks, after breaching a system and stealing confidential data or account credentials, they will issue the victim with a ransom note. This usually demands a payment of thousands of pounds in order to retrieve their valuable data. If businesses were to pay the ransom, they would be feeding cyber criminals desire to make money, but their data would not necessarily be safe, as criminals could still sell it off to the highest bidder on the notorious Dark Web platform.
So, going back to the Power of 3, if business’ data is being safely secured on a regular basis, it can be restored swiftly, to allow for as little downtime as possible, and therefore there would be no requirement to pay a ransom of thousands to cyber criminals. Yes, confidential information may have been let loose but the business will remain operational and, most importantly, survive.
However, it is important to make sure backups are being carried out in the right way. By entrusting experts to carry out your business’ data backups, you are getting that extra layer of security. Take Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) from Neuways, for example. DRaaS is a service delivered by cyber security experts that provides customers with the confidence that their data is being backed up properly and securely.
The service effectively sees the experts manage the running of your business’ data management. Regular updates and photos prove that backups are being taken on the hour, every hour, to minimise the loss of data. Crucially, backed up data will be tested three times a day for it’s recoverability. This is important to ensure that all data is being backed up successfully and that it can be recovered swiftly in the event of a disaster. DRaaS works well alongside any existing IT functions or incumbent IT Support provider, a business has in place, while quarterly reviews of a business’ BCDR plan from the experts will show a business whether it needs to do more to protect itself or not.