Ransomware: What Small Businesses Need to Know

What ransomware is

Ransomware is malicious software that locks up your files and demands payment to unlock them. It usually gets in through a phishing email, a weak or reused password, or an unpatched system, and it can take a business offline in minutes.

Why small businesses are targets

Attackers do not skip small businesses; they favor them, because smaller organizations often have fewer defenses and less time to keep everything patched. You do not have to be a big company to be worth their while.

How to lower your risk

• Keep tested, off-site backups so you can recover without paying
• Turn on multi-factor authentication everywhere it is offered
• Patch operating systems and software promptly
• Train staff to recognize phishing, the most common entry point
• Limit who has administrator access

If you get hit

Disconnect affected machines from the network right away, do not pay before getting advice, and lean on your backups and your IT team. The businesses that recover fastest are the ones that prepared before anything happened.