Did you know small businesses are the target of 71% of ransomware attacks? Larger organizations have years of developed security and experts making smaller businesses an instantly more attractive target. Hackers are more than excited to tap into this less protected data for profit… at the expense of your business.
What is a Ransomware Attack?
Ransomware is software used by hackers. The malware will essentially lock you out of your computer or system and demand a ransom payment for you to access your files again: files that may or may not even be recoverable. In fact, 92% of victims of ransomware never fully recover their data.
The data obtained by cybercriminals includes client medical records, banking information, and personal identification (SSN). This valuable information is then exchanged for profit in dark parts of the internet. To decrease the risk of these malware attacks, it is essential to have advanced protection software. Revenue, vendor, and customer loss by ransomware attacks cause large injuries. Small businesses are especially at risk of attack for multiple reasons.
- Lack of IT Team Partner
Amongst the largest reasons for breach is that small businesses rarely invest in outside cybersecurity teams. These groups understand IT protections and can advise large corporations or small businesses. They are often an underused resource by smaller organizations. This tends to be because with so much going on, management is unaware of all the ransomware risks. Around 35% of small businesses do not even have an IT position in their company to help with security. Within day-to-day operations, employees likely expose their devices to breach dozens of times because they aren’t even aware of the problems it can cause– much less how to fix them. This is where an experienced IT team can step in to mediate the damage and set steps to prevent damage from the beginning.
- Remote Workers Exposed Vulnerability
Since the COVID-19 Pandemic, businesses have been at a 600% larger risk of a data breach. Hackers are only too excited to slip through your home or public VPN and shut networks down. Small businesses may not implement ransomware prevention software like two-factor authentication, firewalls, or phishing defenses– often because they may not know how to. All remote workers are at risk without a data backup location like a hard drive or support line to call in the case of being shut out by ransomware attacks. Although the comfort of a home office brings many benefits, without having the proper knowledge or instant resources to address a ransom request from hackers, it can set progress up to weeks back.
- Failure to meet and be Knowledgeable of Compliance Regulations
Although most industry guidelines recommend strong IT security, it can take years of experience to fully understand and implement the extensive company-wide protocols. Small businesses are especially limited too because of employee time and talent for the field.
Running a small business is never easy. Adding time to understand and create security systems is not something management can do with all the other priorities. Although not taking the time to understand the regulations can cost your business a significant amount of damage, information on how to go about it is usually missing or, understandably, hard to follow for small businesses today.
So what is Prospera?
With 10+ years of expertise, Prospera offers technical and business solutions to improve your operations and financial performance. Prospera designs industry-leading network infrastructure solutions while delivering proactive managed support and assisting performance improvement strategies to help your business grow.
Prospera knows that your email services are a mission-critical part of your IT infrastructure. On average, up to 75% of a company’s intellectual property resides in email and other messaging applications. You can’t afford for your email to be down for more than a few minutes. Protect yourself from ransomware attacks and data breaches by becoming a trusted technology partner.
To download our free cybersecurity checklist click here.