Increasing cybersecurity risks have forced businesses, large and small alike, to take proactive measures against hackers and cybercriminals. Hackers often rely on malware, such as ransomware and trojan horse, to cause digital harm, but the good news is malware attacks can be prevented. Malware is a malicious program or file, designed to steal, encrypt data, or sometimes, intended to spy on user activities. As we mentioned, there are different kinds of malware, and often, such software or files infect devices and networks, when unsuspecting employees download a file, browse phishing sites, or download certain attachments.
In this post, we are reviewing further on how your company can ensure safety of data and devices against malware attacks.
- Take backups
One of the most common types of malware is ransomware, which can encrypt files and devices. Once the data has been encrypted, the hacker will ask for a ransom, which must be paid to get a decryption key. However, there is no assurance or guarantee that paying the ransom will anyway help in restoring data. For this very reason, it’s important to take regular backups. Whether it is about data from your IP cameras, or other devices, always have scheduled backups.
- Spend on cybersecurity training
Often, malware gets installed because employees don’t know what it takes to spot a phishing email, or create a strong password. Business owners and managers must spend on training employees on the basic aspects of malware prevention and general cybersecurity. Make sure they know what it takes to create a strong password, or inform their managers about an incident.
- Focus on updates
Ensure that all firmware, software and operating systems have been updated to the latest version. This is important, so that security flaws in the previous versions are not used by hackers to cause malware attacks. Secondly, remove all kinds of unwanted software and unused programs, especially legacy programs.
- Consider network segmentation
Sometimes, malware attacks or installation may occur, despite taking serious preventive steps. Network segmentation can help in preventing the way certain malware programs continue to attack other networks and programs, such as trojan horse or worms. Network segmentation splits the network into subnetworks, so compromise or malware infection one will not impact the entire IT framework.
Finally, get antimalware, antispyware, and antivirus products for your devices, so that users can get alerted, every time they try to download or install something suspicious or malicious.
