What is ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malicious software designed to block access to a data, files, and/or an entire computer system until a sum of money is paid. Ransomware is known to target organizations that have perceivably weak cybersecurity systems and the ability to pay large ransoms.
How does ransomware work?
There are a number of ways ransomware can infect your computer or organization. One of the most common methods is phishing, in which victims are sent emails with attachments that look trustworthy but are actually malware in disguise.
Once the attachments are downloaded and opened, they can start to infiltrate the victim’s computer, locking up programs and/or encrypting files to restrict access. Some ransomware attacks have built-in social engineering tools that trick victims into granting administrative access and passwords to the network, which can enable the malware to spread to other computers in the organization.
How do I prevent ransomware from attacking my organization?
You need a sophisticated security solution that provides multiple tools to detect and block ransomware before it can harm your organization. You also need to be able to backup and recover data quickly in the event of a ransomware attack. Furthermore, one of the best ways to prevent ransomware attacks in your organization is to ensure that everyone has a basic level of security awareness training that can help them identify suspicious email attachments and links. Mimecast can help on all fronts.
What to do if you have been attacked with ransomware
The first thing you should do if you have been attacked with ransomware is immediately disconnect the infected computer from the network and from any shared storage. This will help prevent ransomware from spreading to other computers.
Document any ransom messages that you have received, and report the ransomware attack to the authorities by contacting the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) at www.us-cert.gov/report, and by reaching the FBI through a local field office.
Proactive ransomware solutions
Mimecast offers a multi-layered approach to detect ransomware and prevent it from blocking access email or data. This includes automatically detecting and isolating potential threats, such as suspicious links or email attachments and also empowering employees in your organization to recognize potential threats themselves and comply with basic cybersecurity protocols like setting strong passwords.
Protect your organization with ransomware solutions
Every day brings news of another business or government agency falling victim to a ransomware attack that has devastating consequences – major financial loss, service disruptions, and loss of confidence from customers and citizens. Don’t be a statistic. Mimecast helps keep end-users safe from even the most sophisticated email-borne attacks.
The challenges of ransomware email security
In the past year, 75% of organizations reported they had been impacted by ransomware, a figure that continues to rise in Mimecast’s annual State of Email Security report.
Any organization, large or small, is the target for a ransomware attack. However, many are not ready for ransomware as they lack effective prevention, a plan for zero downtime, or a process to recover quickly.
The Mimecast ransomware protection solution
Mimecast’s services deliver advanced ransomware protection
The Mimecast solution helps organizations like yours prevent email-borne ransomware as well as protect email systems from downtime or data loss. Unlike vendors of standalone security or backup products, Mimecast tackles ransomware with a layered cyber resilience solution; bringing together data protection, business continuity, archiving, and recovery capabilities for your email from a single cloud solution.
Mimecast’s ransomware protection solution helps:
- Prevent email-borne ransomware infections through multi-layered inspection.
- Avoid email outages and maintain user productivity with a 100% uptime SLA.
- Eliminate data loss with archiving.
- Automate the quick recovery of impacted email and attachments.
Recovering from a ransomware attack
Mimecast’s co-founder and CTO, Neil Murray, discusses how an organization recovers from a ransomware attack and the unique capabilities of the Mimecast ransomware offering.
Expert insight into ransomware protection
Expert ransomware protection is more than just preventing ransomware breaches, but also enabling your business to function at optimal efficiency. Mimecast specializes in helping businesses protect against ransomware without compromising efficiency of communication.
Mimecast offers fully customizable plans to suit your unique needs - schedule a demo to explore how you can protect against ransomware.
