How Should You Respond If Your Business Gets Hit by Ransomware?

Prepare for the worst-case scenario before it happens. Set up immutable backups, keep them offline, and test them regularly. If you don’t have an IT team, start forming relationships with professional incident response firms now. Being proactive can save you from a devastating cyber incident.

First things first, disconnect everything from the network! You want to stop the spread of the ransomware. After that, restore your servers from the most recent backups, reset all your passwords, and audit the permissions to figure out how it happened. If time allows, examine scheduled tasks and any recent changes that might point to the attacker’s entry. It’s all about isolating the problem and getting back on track.

If you encounter a ransomware attack, the first priority is to identify and isolate infected systems. After disconnecting the affected machines, it’s vital to assess the extent of the damage—check your backups to ensure they haven’t been compromised, and initiate recovery either from these backups or by rebuilding your systems completely. Always stay in communication with stakeholders so everyone knows what’s happening!

It’s crucial to have a strategy ready before you get hit. Make sure you've got regular off-site backups; the 3-2-1 rule works well—keep three copies of your data on two different types of media, with one copy stored off-site. That way, you can quickly recover without too much downtime. Consider investing in a good managed service provider (MSP) to help you set this up, even if it costs a bit upfront.

For prevention, make sure to run regular health checks on your backups and training for your staff. Phishing attacks are a common entry point for ransomware, so teach employees how to recognize suspicious emails. And don’t forget to use multifactor authentication for your critical systems!