Everything could be going well to start your morning until you grab your coffee and sit in front of your computer. That’s when you see the dreaded message that your computer and network have been taken over by ransomware. Now what do you do? You should have a disaster recovery plan in place that should already be underway or started immediately. Depending on the structure of your organization, the data compromised and other factors, there are various steps to take when ransomware strikes. Here are some of the first things you should do when it happens.
Isolate Your Systems Immediately
Ransomware will continue to spread, so it’s important for your disaster recovery plan to start off by isolating systems as quickly as possible. This could include completely disconnecting some servers, but most businesses don’t want to take that risk since business still has to operate in some capacity. Contacting your remote assistance and repair team is important as well to determine where the ransomware is located and the likelihood of it spreading to other systems.
Locate Where The Ransomware Spread
The next step is to see exactly what systems are affected by the ransomware attack. The thing with ransomware is it doesn’t necessarily show up on all systems or servers at once. Some get activated when the system reboots, while others are set to attack at a certain time. Doing a complete analysis of your servers requires the expertise of a qualified IT security consulting company, in most cases. These companies deal with ransomware attacks all the time and can identify everywhere it’s located.
Work to Recover Your Files
When you have backup solutions for small business owners, the chances are much higher you’ll be able to recover your files and data. However, nothing is guaranteed. You have to first make sure all the ransomware is cleaned up. Otherwise, when you try to recover the files, you’ll just restore the infected files and not make any progress. The thorough investigation and cleaning up of the malicious attack should be part of your disaster recovery plan.
Collaborate With Your IT Professionals
Working with a remote assistance and repair service during these times can save business owners a lot of time, stress and headaches. It’s important to collaborate with these professionals throughout the process and work together for the best solutions. Ransomware can occur in many different forms, so it takes a team effort to roll out a full recovery as efficiently as possible.
Single Point of Contact has seen virtually every type of ransomware attack. We help businesses develop a comprehensive disaster recovery plan in order to minimize the damage done in the event of an attack of this nature. We are here to assist during these difficult and stressful times, so contact us to learn more about our services.
