Defend your organization with superior ransomware protection
Ransomware protection is an essential piece of email security technology for organizations large and small. In a ransomware attack, hackers breach an organization’s security and restrict access to data or systems, requiring a ransom to be paid in order to release the restriction. Hackers will often start a ransomware attack through email, tricking users into clicking a malicious link or opening a weaponized attachment that propagates malware to a computer system.
Effective ransomware protection requires both ransomware detection technology and powerful backup and archiving solutions, providing access to archived email in the event of an attack. For organizations seeking superior ransomware protection, Mimecast’s cloud-based services provide an all-in-one solution to defend against this growing threat.
Ransomware protection from Mimecast
Mimecast services for email security, archiving and continuity protect business email, minimize risk and simplify the task of enterprise email management. Rather than managing disjointed point solutions for email security and ransomware protection, Mimecast enables organizations to defend against targeted threats, manage email archives effectively, and provide continuous access to email – even during outages or ransomware attacks.
Multidimensional protection against malware
Mimecast’s email security services use sophisticated, multi-layered detection engines to identify and neutralize threats, stopping malware, spam and targeted attacks before they reach the network..
Mimecast simplifies management of email security, archiving and continuity by providing centralized control the system from a single web-based console. Administrators have flexible and granular control to establish data security protection policies globally, with the ability to make changes easily and apply them in real-time throughout the organization.
In addition to ransomware protection, organizations rely on Mimecast to defend against malware, spam, and targeted attacks like CEO fraud, spear phishing email threats and advanced persistent threats.
How Mimecast delivers ransomware protection
Mimecast’s all-in-one services offer a complete solution for ransomware protection.
Mimecast Targeted Threat Protection provides a highly effective defense against the most common techniques used by attackers to initiate a ransomware attack:
- Malicious URLs - Mimecast scans all inbound and archived emails for suspicious links, blocking access until the target sites have been determined to be safe.
- Weaponized attachments – Mimecast preemptively opens attachments in a virtualized sandbox, scanning and/or cleaning them to rid them of malware before allowing users to access them.
- Social-engineering – Mimecast scans the domain information, headers and text of inbound email to identify potential social-engineering attacks. Suspicious emails can be rejected, quarantined or tagged with a warning for user review.
Ransomware attack protection
Mimecast Enterprise Information Archiving provides a highly scalable and resilient archive in the cloud where organizations can store and backup email, ensuring continuous access to email during a ransomware attack.
Learn more about ransomware protection with Mimecast, and about Mimecast solutions for whaling security.
FAQs: Ransomware protection
What is ransomware protection?
Ransomware protection refers to the security defenses and best practices that organizations can adopt to defend against ransomware attacks. Ransomware is a form of cybercrime where attackers secretly install software on a victim’s computer that can block access to the computer or the files and data that it contains, allowing users to regain access only after paying a ransom. Ransomware protection includes solutions for both preventing ransomware and for mitigating the effects of a successful attack. Because ransomware is most often spread through email-borne attacks, many ransomware protection solutions focus on strengthening email defenses.
What are the types of ransomware protection?
Solutions for ransomware protection include:
- Anti-malware and anti-spam servicesthat can identify and block known forms of email attacks such as phishing that are often used in ransomware attacks.
- Anti-ransomware solutionsthat inspect email and web traffic for signs of malware-less attacks using impersonation and social engineering to dupe recipients into clicking a malicious link, visiting a malicious website or revealing login credentials that can lead to ransomware attack. These services provide strong ransomware protection against new and emerging types of attacks.
- DNS authentication servicesthat use SPF, DKIM and DMARC to identify potential sender spoofing which is often part of a ransomware attack.
- Email scanning and filtering servicesthat can block users from clicking a dangerous link or opening a weaponized attachment.
- Security awareness trainingthat can help users more successfully spot phishing email and know what to do when they encounter an attack.
- Continuity solutionsthat provide users with continuous access to email and files during and after an attack, minimizing the impact of ransomware on productivity.
- Two-factor authentication protocolsthat make it much harder for attackers to use stolen credentials to access networks and install ransomware.
- Robust backup solutionsthat make it easy to recover data quickly after a successful attack.
What are the benefits of ransomware protection?
Ransomware protection solutions can help organizations to avoid the devastating impact of a ransomware attack. In addition to the data that may be irretrievably lost, a successful ransomware attack can easily create days or weeks of business disruption, significantly impeding productivity and damaging profitability and reputation. By implementing best practices and solutions for ransomware protection, organizations can better prevent ransomware attacks while minimizing the consequences of successful attacks.
How to recover when ransomware protection fails?
When measures for ransomware protection fail and an organization becomes victim to an attack, the first step is to prevent the ransomware from spreading by disconnecting infected computers from the network and from any shared storage. The attack should be reported to the FBI through a local field office, and to the U.S. Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA). IT teams can then create a plan for recovering data either by using available tools and vendors that may be able to decrypt files, or by wiping computer drives clean and reinstalling data from a safe backup.
How to train employees in ransomware protection?
Human error is one of the leading contributors to ransomware attacks, making security awareness training a critical part of ransomware protection. Effective security awareness training can provide employees with knowledge and best practices that can help them to avoid opening suspicious email and attachments, clicking on malicious links or visiting dubious websites. This type of ransomware protection can also empower employees to double check before sharing sensitive information or taking other actions that may harm the organization or themselves.