Ransomware is a form of malware – a malicious electronic virus that can’t wait to infect your computer and steal your data, costing thousands in downtime and profits. Ransomware is usually installed when someone opens an email, an attachment in the email, or clicks on a link. Whatever the route, the end result is always negative. Even trusted sources such as emails from known people or your favorite websites could be compromised. Every second, of every day, a war is quietly being fought over your data; the weapons of choice for criminals, is malware; in particular ransomware. Moving forward, how will a small business like yourself operate in this electronic warzone? Will you wait to be a casualty, or will you prepare? Tick-Tock, Tick-Tock.
In the amount of time it took you to read these paragraphs nearly two computer users or small businesses in the United States will come in contact with ransomware. It will be a costly encounter. Just last year, ransomware cost American small businesses $75 billion dollars in downtime. It’s not a question of if, but rather when your small business will suffer an attack.1 The first step to combating ransomware is accepting the fact that no matter how careful you are, no matter how cautious your employees, you will be attacked. Remember, every 46 seconds your data is closer to being stolen. Tick-Tock, Tick Tock.
You’ve heard the stories. Computers everywhere are getting attacked. It seems no one is safe regardless of their size, sophistication or access to top of the line internet security measures. The only thing that protects from these attacks is whether or not you have an active and reliable data backup and recovery protocol in place.
Cockrell Hill Police Department in Texas recently suffered a ransomware attack that resulted in the loss of 8 years worth of digital surveillance and evidence because their internet security measures didn’t catch the ransomware that infected their system. They refused to pay and lost everything.2
Most recently, Washington D.C. Police Department experienced a ransomware attack just 8 days before the 2017 Presidential inauguration. This ransomware attack left nearly 66% of the cities CCTV’s that belong to the agency who is responsible for the safety of the Capital of the United States totally blind and inoperable. In the end, a total of 123 out of 187 Closed Circuit Security Cameras and it’s monitoring system were affected for a total of 5 days. Ransomware is a real threat - and it affects us all.3
Ransomware is the newest way for thieves to use someone's data against them. In the new method of cyber attacks, the hacker locks the system or all of the individual files that need a way to be unlocked. To the hacker, it’s a very simple business transaction; pay the hacker or you will never see your stolen data again. Even if you do pay, 68% of cash lost as a result of a cyber attack was declared unrecoverable4 and less than half of ransomware victims ever fully recover their data.5 Can you really trust someone on the other end of a computer screen who just stole your data to actually return it to you?
Most people think ransomware attacks are only targeted to multibillion companies or governmental entities. Look past the big news headlines and you’ll understand this is not the case. American small businesses are fertile ground for Ransomware encounters with nearly half of the 6 billion documented attacks globally occurring in the United States.6
In 2015 alone, there was a 600% growth in new ransomware families and in the first 5 months of 2016 there were 50 new ransomware families discovered; after it was too late.7,8 Even if your antivirus is current and up to date there is no guarantee that it can protect their business critical files. You can’t always prevent an attack; however, you can mitigate one.
Can you really afford one day or even weeks of downtime? That means a loss of revenue and a loss of confidence in your ability to protect the data of yourself, your clients, and your business partners. How much is that worth to you?
Most people don’t even know when their computing systems and all of their precious, sensitive data has been compromised – and cyber criminals want it this way. Your data, the data that you use to operate your business will be turned against you as a form of currency by a hacker. Pay them hundreds or thousands of dollars, or your data is gone forever.
4 out of 5 ransomware victims don’t realize that they’ve been attacked for a week or longer and 7% of data breach cases go undiscovered for a year or longer.9 That means an estimated 210,000 businesses in the United States DON’T EVEN KNOW they’ve been attacked for over a year. Just think of how much private information, like medical records, health data, credit cards and financial records is left exposed during that time.
In a matter of seconds, your data is gone unless you pay. Even then – will you ever get them back? You’ve spent an enormous amount of time building up trust with your clients. All of that can vanish with a single keystroke by a cyber criminal. How much is your data worth? Ask a hacker.
If you have implemented a remote data backup and recovery service, congratulations! Sadly however, this often isn’t enough. The trouble with remote backups is that malware could have already been backed up to the off-site vault a long time ago. This means that once ransomware rears its ugly head, recovering your data from the remote vault will simply copy the ransomware back onto their network!
Storage Guardian uses advanced algorithms to prevent ransomware and other forms of malware from being backed up to the remote data vault. In addition, Storage Guardian allows you to back up unlimited file versions – so if malware did indeed attack, you can often roll back the data a long time, before it embedded itself in the data.
At Storage Guardian, we have been on the forefront in the battle for your data for over a quarter of a century. They attack. We protect.
Name | Storage Guardian |
IDrive* | CrashPlan* | SOS Online Backup* | SugarSync* | Carbonite* | Spider OakONE* |
Acronis True Image 2017* | Backblaze* | EMC Mozy Home* | OpenDrive* |
Storage | Unlimited | 1TB | Unlimited | Unlimited | 100GB | Unlimited | 1TB | Unlimited | Unlimited | 50GB | 500GB |
Free Storage | 50GB | 5GB | 0 | 0 | None | 0 | 2GB | 0 | 0 | 2GB | 5GB |
Number of Computers | Unlimited | Unlimited | 1 | 1 | Unlimited | 1 | Unlimited | 1 | 1 | 3 | 1 |
Continuous Backups | |||||||||||
Full Disk Backups | |||||||||||
Explorer Integration | |||||||||||
Folder Syncing | |||||||||||
Versions Saved | Unlimited | 10 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 6 | 12 | Unlimited | 6 | Unlimited | Unlimited | 99 |
Version Retention | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited | 30 Days | 90 Days | Unlimited | 6 Months | 30 Days | 30 Days | Unlimited |
Backup to Local Storage |
24hrs a day, 365 days a year, someone, somewhere in the world is going to work at hacking your computer. And these are not amateur cybercriminals. Some are sponsored by foreign states who make a living off of YOUR data. There are thousands whose sole job is to look for ways to hack your computer and steal your data and hold you hostage. Can you really trust them, that once you pay, they will actually deliver your data back to you or that other vulnerabilities haven’t been installed for a later use or additional attack?
With any luck you have a backup system. If not, no use in living in the past. From here forward you will not be a victim. From here on out, you will protect your business critical data – You need a data backup system that is easy to use and won’t break the bank. According to the Department of Homeland Security – The number one way to combat ransomware is to backup your data. Click here to get started. Remember, every 46 seconds, someone, somewhere has experienced a ransomware attack. That’s 16 computer users or small businesses by the time you have read this. Will you be one of them? Tick-tock, tick-tock, tick-tock.
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