5 Takeaways from the White House Ransomware Guidelines

According to experts, a ransomware attack will happen every 11 seconds in 2021. In the last month, attacks on Colonial Pipeline and JBS have disrupted not only operations at each company, but have also impacted global economies and our daily lives. In response to the increased threats, the White House is urging businesses to take action now and prepare for future ransomware attacks – because they aren’t going anywhere.

For more information on the White House guidelines, click here: White House warns companies to step up cybersecurity | Reuters

5 Takeaways from the White House Ransomware Guidelines 

1. Backup your data, system images, and configurations, regularly test them, and keep the backups offline.
   

   Maintaining current backups offline is critical because if your network data is encrypted with ransomware, your organization can restore systems.

2. Update and patch systems promptly.
   

   Always update and maintain the security of operating systems, applications, and firmware.

3. Test your incident response plan.
   

   Are you able to sustain business operations without access to certain systems? For how long?

4. Check your security team’s work.
   

   Use a 3rd party pen tester to test the security of your systems and your ability to defend against a sophisticated attack.

5. Segment your networks.

   Segment your corporate business functions and manufacturing/production operations are separated and that you carefully filter and limit internet access to operational networks.
   
   Datto reports that 54% of ransomware starts with a simple phishing attack. Fill out the form on this page to download our guide, How to Detect a Phishing Email, to learn the basics and know how to identify a malicious email as soon as it hits your inbox.