How can a small business prevent ransomware?
Short answer
Require MFA on email and every remote access path, patch internet-facing systems quickly (especially those in CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities catalog), limit admin rights, keep offline or immutable backups, and use endpoint protection that alerts someone who will act.
The details
CISA’s #StopRansomware guide includes a prevention checklist and a response checklist that small organizations can follow.
What to do
- MFA on VPN, remote desktop and email.
- Patch known exploited vulnerabilities first.
- Remove local admin rights from everyday accounts.
- Keep at least one backup copy offline or immutable, and test restores.
- Make sure security alerts reach a person.
Useful next reads and tools
Terms explained
- Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV)
- CISA’s Known Exploited Vulnerabilities (KEV) catalog lists vulnerabilities with reliable evidence that attackers are exploiting them.
- Ransomware
- Ransomware is malware that encrypts or steals data and demands payment to restore access or prevent publication.
- Multi-factor authentication
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA) requires two or more kinds of proof to sign in, such as a password plus an app prompt, security key or biometric unlock of a passkey.
Sources
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