Most small businesses wouldn't survive a week after getting hit by a ransomware attack.
New research from CyberCatch, a San Diego-based cybersecurity platform provider, shows that 75 percent of small- and mid-sized businesses would be forced to close shop if a bad actor threatened to infect their systems with malware if they didn't pay a ransom. The survey of 1,200 small- to mid-size businesses in North America was conducted by Momentive, a market insights company, on behalf of CyberCatch during March of this year.
It's not just the ransom's dollar amount that can push a business over the edge, it's the complete disruption to operations that ensues when an organization must navigate an attack. That's according to Jon Miller, who serves as the CEO and co-founder of the Austin-based ransomware platform Halcyon.
And businesses aren't preparing for those disruptions. Thirty percent of small-and-mid sized businesses polled in the CyberCatch survey did not have a written incident response plan, which helps spell out how an organization should respond during a breach.
While preparation is key to preventing a cyber incursion, how you respond in the days just following an attack is also vital. In the immediate aftermath, here are four ways to soften the impact and protect yourself:
1. Assess the attack
Take a picture of the infected device's screen before unplugging it, says Halcyon's Miller. Businesses should pay attention to any payment deadlines imposed by the bad actor, or the number of days they have until the ransom may increase. They should also check their systems to ensure that the rest of their network is not compromised.
2. Call in the experts
After a business unpl ..
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