Majority of innocent employees from around the world who come from diverse backgrounds have got no clue what to do, should a ransomware attack their organization.
The information and awareness of employees have does not match the popularity of ransomware as a medium of extortion, should a crisis ever emerge. There are still employees in various organizations who do not understand or have the knowledge of what ransomware is. A limited number of employees do know what ransomware is but they do not know what the next step should be in case of a ransomware attack and what the mitigation techniques are. A few believe that disconnecting the internet is the easiest way to stop the attack from spreading further.
Employee Education and Awareness
Educating and imparting the wisdom of awareness in the employees is just the first step for the managed security service providers and the IT security team.
It’s noted that in the recent past, healthcare and finance industries have been in the crosshairs of the threat actors finding themselves to being the targets of various ransomware attacks. With the popularity of ransomware, recently threat actors have extended their net and targeted IT service providers as well.
It has also been seen that various businesses succumb to the demands of the hackers and end up paying the ransom for the freedom of their data. While a few would rather not pay anything and just start from scratch all over again. This is only possible if the entity is an entrepreneur or a small home office owner. In other cases, the victims just don’t have an option. In such a scenario, educating the employees could add an extra edge to the organization’s security.
Who owns the cybersecurity awareness training?
Nearly every employee understands and expects the IT security team to be the one to safeguard organizations from the threats of a cyber attack. However, they also must be taught that the security of the organization’s network and data is not limited to only the IT security team.
Organizations and employees’ should understand that paying the ransom to a hacker in case of a ransomware attack is never the solution to such a situation. Paying a ransom never guarantees the safe return of the data. There is also no way of telling if the data has been sold on the dark web or elsewhere while it was held for ransom or before the hacker promises its safe return. Importantly, paying the ransom only encourages the criminals to further carry the attacks as they are the most profitable to them. Every time an organization gives into a ransomware attack the chances of the attacker conducting a similar attack increase by two folds.
Some Ransomware mitigation techniques
According to our security experts, organizations and employees could help minimize the ransomware attacks by the following steps.
- Most of the cyber attacks that happen are due to the exploitation of existing vulnerabilities in your network infrastructure. This can be reported and addressed by a vulnerability and risk assessment of the organization’s networks.
- Install security updates as soon as they appear. Having the latest security updates lowers the chances of an attack.
- Ransomware is a criminal offense across the globe and it should be reported to the proper authorities as soon as possible.
- Paying the ransom is never an option and that’s the golden rule to follow.
- Educate employees about cybersecurity hygiene to protect and prevent a cyber attack from occurring.
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