How can you protect your business from cryptoviruses?
There are different kinds of malware. They come and go, posing a serious threat to individuals and businesses alike. What are the associated risks and how can you protect yourself? All our advice on the use of corporate backup is available here.
A cyber threat on the rise
What is a cryptovirus?
A cryptovirus, also known as a crypto-locker, is malware: malicious software of the Trojan horse type. It infiltrates your computer environment in disguise. Once in, it encrypts your user data using a secret key: an unlock code that only the hacker knows.
Blackmail with a key
Having taken your data, your peripheral device and sometimes your business software hostage, the virus demands a ransom. A warning message appears, starting a countdown. You are given a deadline, usually between 72 and 100 hours, to make the payment. Once this time has elapsed, the amount of the ransom increases.
Distribution channels
Cryptoviruses infect your personal peripherals or your company's IS (Information System) using any form of disguised intrusion. Most often, these are infected emails, such as fake invoices or CVs (Curriculum Vitae). Let's say your company is in the recruitment phase: you receive a certain number of CVs every day. By clicking on one of them, you may unwittingly activate the virus.
What's new
Over the last ten months, this form of cyber attack has intensified. Until now, it has mainly affected private individuals, but it is now spreading to businesses. Large groups, which are better equipped in terms of cyber security, are more likely to escape. VSEs (Very Small Enterprises) and SMEs (Small and Medium-sized Enterprises), on the other hand, are in the front line.
How can you protect yourself?
Get out of reach
If you have not backed up your data, you will be at the mercy of these unscrupulous cyber pirates, who will demand astronomical sums from you. Your business will be temporarily suspended because your working tools will be inaccessible. And to get things moving again, you'll be tempted to give in to their blackmail.
Do something incremental
If, on the other hand, you have planned ahead, the inconvenience will be less: you will be starting from your previous version of backed-up data. Versioning is therefore crucial: it involves backing up incrementally. From one time to the next, your user information and business software are updated. So in the event of an incident, you have a history of your different versions aggregated together.
Versioning is becoming legion
Publishers of backup solutions are aware of this challenge. Between January and April 2016, the publisher Neobe counted as many data restorations in four months as in the whole of 2015. Which just goes to show that the phenomenon is taking off. So much so that Neobe is now making all its customers aware of the versioning method.
Choose the right tool
Software that makes everyday life easier
When choosing a backup solution, the ease with which it can be implemented is a key consideration. If you have to manually remind yourself every few months to activate the backup, you're in for a lot of hassle and the risk of forgetting. On the other hand, a solution that engages it all by itself reassures you without taking up any of your time or energy. With Neobe, you choose the frequency of automatic back-ups. As soon as the system detects that something is available - access to your external hard drive, for example - it starts. An intelligent way of managing continuous backups.
Software compatible with your other work tools
Depending on your operating system - Windows, Mac OS or Linux - certain solutions will be more or less suitable. Check the compatibility and performance of the tool in relation to your environment. The latest version of Neobe software is cross-platform, offering the same functions and the same quality of service whatever the operating system.
Software capable of covering your specific needs
The issue of compatibility is all the more important because malware differs from one environment to another. So a publisher dedicated to a particular environment will not necessarily have the right tools for you. Some ransomware, such as CryptoLocker or CryptoWall, can be found on Windows and Android, while on Linux it will be other malware that you need to protect yourself against.
Cryptoviruses, like all existing malware, are powerful. While you need to protect yourself against them with effective antivirus software, you shouldn't stop there. It is the security of continuing to have access to your data elsewhere that will really put you beyond the reach of these cyber attacks. Automated versioning solutions can help you achieve this, while at the same time improving your operational efficiency.
Article translated from French