When people picture ransomware, they usually picture the end of the story.
The screen is locked. Files will not open. A ransom demand appears.
Very dramatic.
But by the time that happens, the attacker has already been hanging around inside your system for a while.
They had to get in somehow. Then they had to look around, find useful data, gain more access, and work their way through the business before finally deploying the ransomware.
Before the ransom note appears, a lot has to have happened behind the scenes.
There Is No Magic Shield
Your Nanaimo business can have good security, trained employees, strong passwords, multi-factor authentication, current software… and still be targeted.
There is no magic piece of technology that makes ransomware impossible. If there were, we would happily install it and call it a day.
People are still the biggest part of the equation.
Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report found that the human element is involved in roughly 60% of breaches.
That does not mean your employees are the problem.
It means attackers know that convincing someone to click a link, open a file, or enter a password into a fake login page is a lot easier than trying to break through the technology itself.
At your next team meeting, give everyone a simple thing to remember: SLAM.
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Sender: Does the address really match who it claims to be?
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Links: Where will that link actually take you? Hover before you click.
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Attachments: Were you expecting that file?
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Message: Does the request make sense, or is it trying to rush or pressure you?
It takes a few seconds. Sometimes those few seconds are all it takes to avoid a very bad afternoon.
If Something Feels Off, Say Something
Even if everyone does everything right, attackers can still find another way in.
A stolen password. A software vulnerability. A compromised vendor. Something nobody saw coming.
That is why the little warning signs matter.
Maybe the shared drive you use every day suddenly will not open.
Maybe you get a password reset request you did not make.
Maybe several computers start showing the same strange pop-up.
Maybe an MFA approval request lands on your phone while you are sitting there drinking your coffee and definitely not trying to log in anywhere.
Do not wait to see if it sorts itself out. Report it.
You would much rather have your IT provider look at something harmless than discover later that the first sign of a bigger problem was sitting there blinking at everyone for three hours.
The Canadian Centre for Cyber Security Ransomware Playbook recommends ongoing monitoring and having an incident response plan ready so suspicious activity can be investigated before it has time to spread.
Earlier is better.
Make Life Difficult for the Attacker
Good protection from ransomware is really a bunch of sensible things working together.
Limit who has access to what. Keep an eye out for unusual activity. Have a plan for what happens if something does go wrong. And keep good, protected backups so you are not starting from zero.
None of that makes a Nanaimo business bulletproof.
But it does make life much harder for an attacker, and gives you a better chance of catching a small problem before it becomes a serious headache.
At NCI Technical, we help Nanaimo businesses put those pieces in place, watch for the things that should not be happening, and know what to do when something looks off.
