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Pure IT Rescues NE Calgary Software Company From Ransomware Attack
Ransomware would have caused a lot more damage to this NE Calgary software company if they hadn’t gotten in touch with our team for help. Do you have someone to help you respond to a ransomware attack?
What would you do if you found out you were infected with ransomware right now?
If you don’t have a plan to go on, then you’re risking a lot right now, and every minute going forward.
You’ve probably heard a lot about ransomware and other cybercrime threats. It’s easy to hype up the doom and gloom about cybercrime – fear is often a great motivator. At a certain point, it’s probably turned into background noise, right? You hear so much about these types of threats that you may begin to become numb to it.
Here’s a reminder of just how real cybercrime is: a NE Calgary company business recently reached out to us for help with a ransomware infection. Their team couldn’t do anything about it, so they had to find an IT company that could — it’s a good thing they got in touch with our team:
“We are a software company in NE Calgary. We just had a security breach and ransomware. Our windows servers may be compromised. The attack was done on Friday evening when our staff was winding down for the weekend.”
They got in touch with us using our website’s 24/7 live chat feature. Recognizing the urgency of the situation, our representative immediately started arranging emergency support:
“I recommend you speak with one of our Client Service Representatives who can best answer your request and recommend possible options for moving forward.”
How Did Pure IT Help This NE Calgary Software Company?
Our team initiated a careful process to learn about the source of the ransomware attack, and how best to respond to it:
- We sent a technician onsite to assess the state of their IT systems.
- We determined how the virus infiltrated their system, so that it could be prevented in the future.
- We discovered that the hackers had not encrypted their backup data; they had only deleted it, which allowed us to recover it.
In the end, Pure IT was able to recover the NE Calgary software company’s data, saving them from irrevocable data loss. Without our help, they likely would have had to start from square one assembling the data they lost, and beginning projects all over again.
How Does Ransomware Work?
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts the target’s data (making it unreadable and inaccessible) and holds it for ransom. It targets all data on the target’s systems, making it impossible for them to ignore until they pay the ransom or restore the data from backup.
Typically, an unsuspecting employee clicks on an emailed attachment that appears to be a bill or other official document. In actuality, the attachment installs a malicious software program (malware) onto the computer system.
There are a number of ways that hackers can trick targets into downloading ransomware:
- Phishing: Phishing is a hacking technique that “fishes” for victims by sending them deceptive emails. Phishing attacks are often mass emails that include ransomware as an attachment.
- Malvertising: Hackers have found vulnerabilities in many popular, modern browsers like Google Chrome and Mozilla Firefox. They spam users with official-looking pop-ups informing them of an “infection” or “security alert” prompting them to download a file or click a link. As with so many of these methods, it just comes down to getting the user to interact with malware in some way without them knowing it.
- Out Of Date Hardware: Many of the most common malware and viruses used by cybercriminals today are based on exploiting those programming flaws; to address this, developers regularly release software patches and updates to fix those flaws and protect the users.
Do You Know What Underestimating Ransomware Could Cost You?
According to Coveware’s Q4 Ransomware Marketplace report:
- The average ransomware payout is $84,116
- The highest ransom paid by a target organization was $780,000
- The average ransomware attack results in 16.2 days of downtime
How could it possibly be so damaging and expensive?
Just think for a second what it would be like if you couldn’t access your data. Technology is such a crucial part of business today, that without it you are unable to do much of anything.
What Would Happen If You Were Infected With Ransomware Right Now?
Do you have a plan? Are your system endpoints protected? Are your backups recent, tested, and viable?
It’s a mistake to assume that just because you haven’t been hit by ransomware yet, that you won’t be anytime soon. You may think you can put off investing in effective cybersecurity support, but without warning, you may get hit.
Don’t assume you’re safe – working with the Pure IT team, you’ll know for sure.
