Over the weekend, a ransomware attack infected computers in more than 150 countries, as reported by Fox Business. The ransomware attack—one of the most widespread ever reported—locked computers and files behind a demand for money. While large corporations are frequently a target of this kind of attack, small businesses are more likely to be affected first, according to Fox Business.
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The first thing to know if your computer is targeted by ransomware: Don’t fork over the requested ransom. Fox Business reports that those individuals and companies that give in and pay for access to their files are more likely to be targeted by another attack in the future.
The best way to avoid a ransomware attack is to keep your computer up to date with regular software patches. But Hacker’s List founder Charles Tendell told Fox Business that just being proactive isn’t enough to protect your files from a dedicated attack.
To ensure your data remains accessible, experts recommend backing up data on a regular basis. This could be through an external hard drive or through the cloud, but Gene Marks, founder of The Marks Group, suggests subscribing to an online, cloud-based system.
“Carbonite, Mozy are the two biggest ones,” Marks told Fox Business. I know Carbonite is 60 bucks a year and it will back up your files during the day as well as your databases. So, if you get hit—which you probably will—all you have to do is restore your last backup.”
If you are affected by a ransomware attack, all you’ll need to do is restore the most recent backup and continue working. Without a regular backup system in place, you could lose data integral to your business.
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