According to a report by the FBI, an average of 4000 ransomware attacks were recorded daily in 2016. On doing an in-depth analysis, it was found that businesses have become more prone to ransomware attacks. 2016 from January to September, ransomware attacks on businesses increased from every two minutes to every 40 seconds, as revealed by Kaspersky.
Over the last year, cyber security increased as cyber-attacks started to surface in the global village with more refinement. However, a high volume of cyber attacks was reported last month. The extent was recorded to have increased by 400% hardly four days after the WannaCry ransomware attack.
A wide range of strategies is introduced to lessen the vulnerabilities and risks of data loss a law firm might eventually suffer from. The strategies that include anti-malware, anti-virus, data backup, data encryption, scanning agents, DDoS, and regular security patching should be considered a combination.
The liability of getting hit by a cyberattack is increased if there is a poorly maintained legal system or any ‘weak link’ insecure networks and operating systems.
Recently, the WannaCry attack that affected around 100 countries worldwide could have been avoided by installing a security patch. An attack leaves the business firm with varied outcomes, ultimately posing numerous potential risks to the business.
I have enlisted below some essential yet essential, tips which will help you to diminish the risks of such cyber attacks in the future next:
1. Exercise security updates
Every IT asset of yours requires being updated with the latest security updates. Various tools can do this to check the successful installation and raise red flags whenever any unprotected IT asset is detected. A security update that could have stopped the WannaCry attack indicates that this is a valuable contribution.
2. Renew operating systems on server systems and desktops
Those customers running Windows 10 were not liable for getting hit by WannaCry. However, older machines which run Windows XP, Windows Server 2003, and Windows 8 that are not shrouded by Microsoft security updates are highly prone to the WannaCry. Nevertheless, Microsoft is doing all to provide a security update to protect these systems against this vulnerability.
3. Evaluate your cloud provider
Cloud users should ensure that their provider manages cloud security by implementing security updates and monitoring for potential threats around the clock. Specialist engineering teams are employed by some providers who work proactively to monitor unusual activities and avoid any breaches.
For instance, Pulsant, Peppermint’s cloud partner, invested £500,000 last year in enhanced processes, tools, detection, training, and monitoring activities, and as a cherry on top, also invested in expert staff. A dedicated and skilled security team was set up, which was dedicated to assessing, managing, monitoring, and mitigating threats for their customers.
The security accreditations which operate with Pulsant include; Cyber Security Essentials, CSA Star Alliance, and Cyber Security Essentials+.
Such security measures protect customers from approximately 2000 malicious incidents every month.
4. Train yourself in IT security basics
The importance of essential IT security training is not something to consider. The security loop, prone to many vulnerabilities, has one weakest point, none other than the human itself. We will likely click on links we consider safe from colleagues and friends. But little do we know that this may lead to an activation point for attacks to exploit vulnerabilities in our system. Also, as mentioned above, non-updated systems can be hit by cyber-attacks.
This is why, being a part of this global village, we need basic IT security training to at least play our role in preventing cyber attacks.
5. Think about turning to a completely managed email system
For example, Office 365 and advanced firewall services are utilized by Peppermint to host our emails. This is favorable for us as we now have features that monitor and detect malicious site links. Such services check for malware and viruses embedded within the emails to offer maximum protection from accidental activation of these threats from human activities.
The sole benefit of using such or similar services is that malicious activity throughout the company’s emails can be swiftly detected and stopped before the malware can cause disastrous effects.
In my view, complete monitoring of systems should be ensured. These services should be utilized with features like Windows Defender SmartScreen and perimeter-based solutions on your firewall. Such features protect your system from the prying eyes of hackers and attackers.
6. Make regular backups
A backup plan is an immediate solution to prevent damage from cyber-attacks from your end. If your precious data is backed up, nothing significant will remain on your system; as a result, damage by cyberattacks will significantly lessen.
However, it is equally important to check what is being backed up and ensure that restore tests are performed frequently to ascertain that the tests are reliable. Storing information on your system is the most common mistake we all make unknowingly.
7. Leverage the benefits of the cloud where possible
A backup plan does not usually include local machines, and if a device is not backed up, it will be a tough job to recover it once it gets hit by ransomware or any other cyberattack.
Thus, being aware of people who constantly use cloud or server-based storage is crucial. Another preventive measure is to use active sync technologies if someone works offline. Active sync technologies let an offline user reconnect to the network by syncing devices, thus ensuring that these devices are included in the backup policy.
In the Peppermint Cloud, an utterly managed backup solution is used for the administrative systems, and it is also tested regularly to validate the restore systems. Peppermint’s cloud solution also has a retention policy, in its other backup solution, for production data through which it offers first-class backup managed by Pulsant and Peppermint.
8. Regularly check and validate your security policies
Keeping a continuous check and validating your security policies is of utmost importance. In these rough times, staying ahead of all the issues, patches, version controls, upgrades, and amends for best security practices is challenging. You must constantly invest in new infrastructure and software to take advantage of the new updates and upgrades.
Conclusion
The notorious cyber-attacks are creating havoc in our global village. The Internet is a vast platform that houses millions of websites and their never-ending data. But what if the security offered by the Internet is not enough? What if the attackers find vulnerabilities in the system?
Then you will become a victim of cyberattacks, but if you want to protect yourself from such attacks, then some efforts are required. The above-mentioned preventive tips cannot wholly eradicate risks inflicted by cyberattacks, but they will undoubtedly minimize them.
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About the Author
Waqas is a cybersecurity journalist and writer who has a knack for writing technology and online privacy-focused articles. He strives to help achieve a secure online environment and is skilled in writing topics related to cybersecurity, AI, DevOps, Cloud security, and a lot more. As seen in: Computer.org, Nordic APIs, Infosecinstitute.com, Tripwire.com, and VentureBeat.
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