You will most likely have received a message from the Chief Information Security Officer this weekend regarding ransomware and how to protect your organisation from the rising threat.
It is estimated around half of UK organisations faced some form of cyber-security breach in 2019/20. Most of the time the firewall and/or anti-virus software will trap the attempted infiltration, however, just like some human viruses, there is an occasional one that gets through and causes havoc.
In extreme cases, hackers can encrypt and hold your data to ransom. If you do not have your data backed up effectively, the only way to recover might be to succumb to the hackers’ demands and pay up. There is, of course, no guarantee that payment will see your data returned.
Ransomware or a virus may not be specifically targeted to you. They are designed to be smart and will automatically seek the weakness in IT systems, then spread further and embed themselves until the circumstances are right for maximum damage.
The best way to negate a ransomware attack is to ensure your systems are correctly patched, firewalled and an effective data backup is in place.
Offsite and cloud backup is the only way to protect your critical data from ransomware
It sounds like an extreme statement, but the only way to ensure you can recover from a ransomware attack is to recover your clean data from outside of the infected system. Before restoring, we scan all of your data to check it is clear of any malicious files, which helps prevent an unwanted re-infection.
How would it work for you?
As a school or academy, you will be aware of the sensitive nature of your data. Imagine arriving one morning to find your system had been hit by a crypto virus. You will need to activate your disaster recovery plan and it will be inconvenient, but you can be safe in the knowledge that you have a full backup of your clean data held offsite. Our technical team will also be on hand to assist with the recovery process if required.
Don’t know where to start?
Don’t worry, we are here to guide you through this process. Our expert advisors can create the backups for you and provide advice on best practice for data retention, as well as being available 24×7 for any ongoing support you may require. Our web portal shows all successful backup jobs and allows you to restore single files, multiple folders or entire servers.
If you would like more advice or a demo, simply message support@mycloudbackup.co.uk or visit our education page.