The good news about ransomware is that awareness is higher than ever before. Companies are more vigilant about the risks of such attacks than they ever have been in the past.
The bad news? Ransomware incidents are also on the rise. Not only are there new incursions uncovered by the media every week, but bigger brands are being hit – with ever-growing ransoms being paid.
In the middle of all of this comes a new wrinkle in ransomware attacks. Some companies are finding that the vendors they turn to for help aren’t actually providing much assistance at all. Wondering what we mean? Read on…
The Problem With Ransomware Removal
The encrypted software behind ransomware attacks can be highly sophisticated. It can be difficult, or even nearly impossible, to safely remove once it has attached itself to your company’s computers. And yet, there are businesses out there claiming to have the tools needed to clean entire networks of ransomware in just a few days.
That might sound fantastic, especially to the CEO or CIO facing a crisis. However, the solutions might not be what they seem. Consider a couple of scenarios, both of which are based on real-world case studies:
In the first situation, the IT firm you think you are contracting to deal with ransomware isn’t actually working on the problems behind the scenes. Instead, they are simply negotiating with the thieves who installed ransomware on your computers in the first place and then marking up the bill and passing it along to you.
That means they don’t have any solution to the ransomware problem. They are just serving as middleman negotiators while telling you they have advanced tools and increasing the amount you have to pay to get your data back.
The second situation is even worse. In this scenario, the firm you call for help with ransomware is actually affiliated with the group that installed it, or even maybe the same scammers. So, they advertise that they can “cure” your computers and networks quickly because they are holding on to the source code themselves.
Once again, in this instance, you are paying for what you think is technical assistance when in reality it’s just the same ransom in a different form. Both “services” leave you duped and with no additional protection against further attacks.
So, What Should You Do About Ransomware?
We are going to address some of the options you might consider when dealing with ransomware in an upcoming post, but for today let’s talk about what you shouldn’t do. No matter what, don’t rush to pay big money for help from an unknown firm, particularly if you found them on Google or through the ransomware message itself. There certainly are good IT firms out there, but you want to check references before committing your funds to a particular solution.
Even better is not having your company’s networks affected by ransomware in the first place. If you’d like to see whether you have the right kinds of safeguards in place to keep hackers away, then contact us today so we can schedule a free consultation with our technical team.