Beware data hijacking from ransomware

Ransomware has grown by 58% in the second quarter of 2015 according to Intel’s 2015 McAfee Labs report.

Ransomware is a Trojan malware that gets installed on a device when a user opens an attached zip file. The most prolific of these viruses is CryptoLocker, which has been bombarding South African business and holding their data hostage.

The virus leverages off of Windows’ default of hiding the extension from file names to disguise the real .EXE extension of the malicious file.

Once activated the virus quickly encrypts all the data on the computer, effectively stealing all the documents on a user’s machine and blocking their access to them. The user then receives a message on screen asking for a ransom of $500 in exchange for the data, with a time limit that the must be made within. The computer files are not only encrypted they are also overwritten making it impossible to retrieve them using forensic methods.

Protecting data against ransomware

Protecting data from viruses and ransomware starts with backing up endpoint user devices on a regular schedule. This ensures that any data stored on the machine is backed up and is easily recovered.

However, backup’s alone are not enough to completely protect against malware. You need a data backup solution that can provide the following:

• Prevent unauthorised access to data through encryption of backed up data.
• IT can easily locate and backup critical data stored in non-standard locations on laptops and desktops
• Fast, wizard-driven data recovery process ensures minimal downtime in the event of data loss.
• All previous versions of data archived and easily recoverable through restore wizard.
• Intuitive business & technical reporting- including protection rating
• Unattended restore of data to original location saves time & resources.
• Automated backups of all user data according to centrally defined policy.
• Simplified, integrated remote deployment& complete central management.

Cibecs provides all these features in one easy to use software package. Cibecs is also completely scalable, whether your business has 10 or 1000 devices, it can quickly and effectively protect your data.

Discover the 7 Must Haves for Endpoint Data Protection by accessing your free white paper

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