Security 2016: What to Expect in the New Year

Ransomware

Prediction: Ransomware attacks will rise as victims continue to pay.

There's no question that Ransomware – malware that locks files and holds them as a ransom until the individual or organization pays to have them recovered – is increasingly on the rise. According to experts at AppRiver, the growth is happening because it is working. Victims continue to pay cyber criminals and in-turn the bad guys keep doing what's working so well for them. Unfortunately, by the time ransomware has been installed on your network, it's often too late to recover your files without paying the ransom. Preventing ransomware from getting onto your network, however, is fairly easy.

Tip: Organizations can protect themselves in a number of ways, including 1) backing up files on a daily basis; 2) ensuring all hardware and software is updated, as updates often contain security patches for malware vulnerabilities, and 3) adopting a layered online security approach. With the combined efforts of an anti-spam and malware email filter and web protection, organizations will be much more likely to keep malware off a network.