Ransomware? Never heard

According to a survey by the industry association Bitkom Only four out of ten Internet users know what the term 'ransomware' means. Just over half of these remaining 40 percent who have heard of extortion malware say they are afraid of digital ransomware. However, only around one in two of these are preparing themselves, for example by regularly backing up their data and having a stable disaster recovery strategy.

For Andrew Stuart of business continuity specialist Datto this lack of knowledge and precaution harbors significant dangers that affect not only private users, but also small and medium-sized enterprises:

"In May of this year, more than 200,000 computers were crippled by the WannaCry ransomware. Many of these were in small or medium-sized businesses, which often led to business interruptions there that threatened the very existence of the company. And why? Because many people use the Internet, but don't take it seriously. But it's important to think ahead when you're online, to be aware of potential threats, and to know how to protect yourself or minimize their impact.

Due to the sharp increase in cybercrime, a business continuity concept consisting of backup and disaster recovery is no longer a luxury that only large corporations and professionals can afford. Thanks to the cloud, no one needs to be an IT expert to regularly back up their data without friction or gaps. But everyone should give it a little thought, especially if they are also responsible for the functioning of an SME.

Item 1

Every business, every company and every enterprise needs a business continuity strategy. Because only if it is clearly defined what is backed up where at what time can the problem-free recovery of digital information be guaranteed in the event of an incident.

Item 2

You don't have to be an IT professional to use a professional business continuity concept. Numerous cloud service providers have disaster recovery and backup solutions in their portfolio. And the good ones also support SMEs in designing, planning and implementing a practical emergency plan.

Item 3

Everyone who is responsible for a company should know about the dangers. This results in an obligation for decision-makers to inform themselves and to sensitize their employees, for example through training.

The cost and effort of meeting these three requirements then fades into the background if you are one of those caught by ransomware. And these were, as can be read, around 200,000 in July alone."

Source: Finn Partners Germany