Cloud Hosting

Advertorial It may have escaped your notice, but last month was Cybersecurity Awareness month, and this years theme is Do Your Part. Be #CyberSmart.

That might sound slightly simplistic, but it does remind us that everyone has a role to play in keeping what is arguably the biggest security nightmare at bay. And yes, were talking ransomware.

And, just as over the last year washing our hands became something we do for the common good, the first step to blocking ransomware is some basic cyber hygiene, as detailed by Thales chief product security officer, Robert Burns, here. This runs from acknowledging and preparing for the threat, hardening your systems, segmenting your network, and making sure all your data is encrypted ultimately making the ransomware merchants own encryption, or exfiltration, plans pointless.

Thats a start, but if youd like a deeper dive into the implications of ransomware, check out this whitepaper.

Just in case you hadnt fully grasped the nature of the ransomware threat, it recaps the vital statistics such as a victim every 11 seconds and a $20bn total cost to business this year as well as highlighting some of the most egregious attacks so far.

But it also takes you deep into the anatomy of a ransomware attack, walking you through the seven stage Cyber Kill Chain, and highlighting why traditional baseline security falls woefully short in countering these threats, right along the line.

Which will no doubt leave you asking what, exactly, you can do beyond following basic hygiene and hoping for the best. Thankfully, the whitepaper also delivers you a detailed recipe for blocking ransomware with robust data access policies, and yes, encryption on your part is part of the mix.

You also get a detailed walk through of the sort of rule making process you should expect a data access platform to enable.

Needless to say, the remorseless nature of cyber attacks makes it hard to trust anyone. But you can trust us when we say youll finish up that little lot better informed than when you started. And that is the first step to protecting your systems. This month, next month, and beyond.

Sponsored by Thales

Excerpt from:
Yes, ransomware is your number one security nightmare. But heres how to sleep easy - The Register