One of the more significant threats facing business owners right now is not just the COVID-19 virus, but just like the virus, you can’t see it, and it puts you, your employees, and your customers at risk.
It’s ransomware, and it could cause irreparable harm to your organization and your reputation!
In case you’re not familiar, ransomware is a type of malicious software that will hold your computer systems hostage until you pay a hacker a sum of money to unlock them.
Typically, it arrives in the form of an email, which includes a download or link, and it has been designed to trick a user into clicking. Once clicked, the computer system is invaded by malicious code, locking the user out of files, folders, and even the system itself.
Sometimes you’ll get lucky, and you can hire a company who can help, but in most cases, the only way to get it off your system is to pay the ransom, and hope you get the key to decrypt your files.
Let me be clear folks; hackers are after your digital information and money, and they will stop at nothing to get their greasy fingers on them, but there are ways of protecting your business.
Now, I am not an IT or cybersecurity expert. I strongly recommend you find an expert who will help you cover the technical aspects of ransomware protection. In this article, I’m strictly covering the management and cultural changes that need to occur to protect your organization.
They should feel empowered to reach out to your IT department and their management if a mistake is made.
Ransomware, malware, and hackers aren’t going anywhere, and they will only continue to threaten your business. I strongly implore you to start educating and protecting your business against this real threat.
If you have any questions about establishing a company culture of accountability, feel free to reach out to me at [email protected].
I help business owners become business leaders.
Throughout my twenty-plus year career with American Management Services, I’ve had the privilege of helping thousands
I help business owners become business leaders.
Throughout my twenty-plus year career with American Management Services, I’ve had the privilege of helping thousands of independent business owners develop and implement a formal plan designed to grow their business, maximize profits, and create functional organizations.
Before joining American Management Services, I was a certified public accountant, held positions at W.R. Grace and Sony of America, and was the owner of several small businesses.