Datto 2017 State of the Channel Report Takeaway: Ransomware threats to Canadian SMBs are significant
Ransomware is one of the worst cyber disasters that can befall SMBs. Not only do they run the risk of loss of data, privacy, and their customers’ trust and future business, they also run the risk, even if the ransom is paid, of never recovering their data. Worse, if the SMB’s information is shared with other thieves they become a target for more attacks down the road.
Listed in the key findings of Datto’s State of the Channel Ransomware Report in Canada (2017) is the ominous warning: “For SMBs, it’s no longer a question of if, but when.”
And all Canadian SMB’s should pay attention.
- Ransomware incidents were more frequent in 2017 according to 98% of Canadian Managed Service Providers.
- 83 % cite SMB clients were recently victimized by ransomware
- 18% report six or more SMB client attacks in the first half of 2017 alone.
- 31% of MSPs cite multiple attacks against clients in a single day!
How to protect your SMB against Ransomware.
The best defense is a good offence, meaning that SMB’s need to set up a multi-layered system of prevention before an attack happens and not afterwards, when it is too late. System admins should use more than one product and structure security strategically.
An excellent first layer of protection is the Sophos Intercept X software. According to Sophos, “We have deployed Intercept X to more than 10,000 endpoints. Since deployment, it has stopped upwards of 2,500 ransomware attacks and we’ve had zero ransomware infections.”
Datto’s State of the Channel Ransomware Report offers SMBs several solutions to the growing ransomware threat. Here are some of their products:
- The Datto’s Siris backup and disaster recovery technology, actively monitors backups, can detect a ransomware footprint, and immediately notify admins about a potential ransomware attack. If a ransomware attack does occur, your data and systems can be fully and quickly restored from a previous local or cloud based backup image that has not been compromised.
- Datto Nas: is a smart, scalable network attached storage platform, centrally managed and protected by the secure Datto Cloud. By ensuring there are frequent backups of the Datto NAS stored off site, a business can roll back to a point in time before the attack, and you can get back to business.
In both cases all files and data can be rolled back to a known good state of health, or we can make use of Backup Insights to specifically compare what changed and restore only what is necessary.
Email filtering mitigates phishing attempts:
SMB’s can black list or white list email addresses and set the required score. This is useful if your business regularly receives spam.
Employees make businesses vulnerable to ransomware.
Employees need training to learn how to spot potential email ransomware attacks (such as unsolicited messages that contain malware-loaded attachments.)
There are many ways to protect your business from ransomware and other disasters.
Please contact Netcetera for information on the Sophos and Datto solutions mentioned above, or to discuss secure wireless solutions, business grade firewalls and anything else you may be concerned about. Be sure to ask us about our free assessment or a more in depth full audit of your business, networking or security systems.
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