There was much talk at the start of this year about cryptojacking being the new cyber threat and ransomware being a threat of the past. Sadly that’s not the case, it’s still around and continuing to cause serious damage.

Only last week one of the world’s biggest aluminium producers Norsk Hydro was hit by a ransomware attack. Managers had to resort to posting hand-written notes warning staff not to connect any devices to the company’s network; parts of the company had to switch to manual operations; and production was significantly affected.

Ransomware is a cyber-attack where your IT systems are infected with malware, your data becomes encrypted and is held to ransom, forcing you to pay money to get it back. It can be devastating and incredibly costly. For several years now ransomware has been used by hackers to hold data hostage. These attackers can be state-backed bad-actors or groups who are simply out for commercial gain. They don’t necessarily need to hit one big business to make money or cause devastation – infecting hundreds of smaller businesses can yield big returns if they get a few hundred pounds each time they succeed.

Security companies around the world are working to eliminate ransomware – to get one step ahead of the attackers – yet as soon as a new tool is developed to stop it, so another form of ransomware crops up. It’s thought a new variant LockerGaga was behind the Norsk Hydro attack, whereas back in February, another one, called Gandcrab, sent out what looked like Valentines’ emails with malicious attachments.

One of the biggest steps you can take to minimise the risk of ransomware doing serious damage to your business once it strikes is to have a secure backup. Yet the reality is that despite continued warnings, many organisations still do not back up their data effectively – studies suggest that as many as 17% of UK businesses have no backup strategy at all.

With ransomware rearing its ugly head again as a corporate threat, it’s more important than ever to ensure your business is adequately protected.  The most secure backups can flag up unusual activity and enable you to recover a clean copy of your data in the event that an attack does get through.

iomart has been protecting data for customers for twenty years. Our Backup as a Service solution has been developed to backup data effectively and efficiently and to scale according to your business requirements.

If you’d like to find out more about how we can help, get in touch.