With ransomware attacks on the rise, the FBI now strongly encourages organizations to back up their data. While this can help consumers and businesses avoid having to pay the ransom if an attack were to occur, a new report from cybersecurity firm Crowdstrike suggests that cybercriminals have found a way to evade anti-malware protections to target and encrypt or delete backup files as well. Additionally, the report found that cybercriminals are beginning to “exploit human psychology” to draw emotion from the victim, increasing the likelihood that they pay the ransom.
Protecting your data on the front-end is crucial for a number of reasons. Not only can backup records also be compromised or deleted, recovering data can be very expensive, often more expensive than just paying the ransom in the first place. Sound cybersecurity practices are necessary for a number of reasons but considering how frequent and complex ransomware attacks are becoming, it is now more important than ever for organizations to be on the lookout for suspicious activity and make sure all cybersecurity protections/provisions are up-to-date.