A Millennial Scourge
As an MSP company, you’ve likely seen an increase in customer issues that involve ransomware. It makes sense. Ransomware was “born” in 1989, so it is in the midst of its thirty-second year presently. Just as millennials in that age range are buying houses and becoming established in their communities, ransomware has become a core feature of modern cybercriminal “palettes”, if you will.
What Can Be Done?
The problem needs to be understood and addressed internally so that external applications of security are properly effective. To that end, we’ll cover a few key features of ransomware your MSP should be well acquainted with:
The Commonality of Ransomware Attacks
Approximately 85% of all malware attacks are ransomware, and banks represent something like 1 out of 4 total ransomware attacks. That’s a pretty high number. Apparently, according to those figures, about 21.25% of all malware attacks are ransomware against banks. That means 78.75% of ransomware attacks are focused elsewhere.
Healthcare institutions are also a big target, but you may be surprised to find that SMBs tend to be high priority targets for ransomware criminals as well owing to lax defense. Small businesses don’t expect to be targeted by hackers, so they’re an easy mark for such fraudsters.
Just because you’re serving SMBs rather than banks or hospitals doesn’t mean they aren’t a target. If you serve banks and healthcare institutions, be doubly fastidious in facilitating protections.
The Way Ransomware Actually Works
Your MSP company needs to train customers how to protect themselves. Social engineering hacks use things like “chain of command” to steal money or information. Accordingly, imperative best practices must be distributed throughout the surface area of customer operations. You’re also going to need to educate staff in addition to things like firewalls and antivirus software. Most ransomware intrusion will have to do with email and how information is shared on such platforms. Ransomware hackers often pose as managerial staff. Be aware of this within your MSP as well.
Removing Ransomware and Defending Against It
Ransomware can be removed from infected devices or networks, but this can be a challenge. Your MSP might practice doing this internally so you’re prepared for customer needs. Also, have backups that are continuous so the point of infection can be immediately identified, and a prior image uploaded. Some work may be lost on the network, but if you catch it quick enough, only a little bit.
Helping Customers and Infrastructure Combat Ransomware
As an MSP company, it is expected your business can and will secure customers from cybercriminal attacks such as those of the ransomware variety. These attacks are common; without proper defense in terms of social engineering and system design, they tend to be effective. Removal requires failover protection including effective backups, and defense must proactively shift as new threats develop. Provided you keep these things in mind, your MSP should be able to protect internal infrastructure, and that of customers.
