Ransomware Removal For Vancouver Law Firms
Ransomware costs law firms and other businesses millions in damages every year. Removing the threat of an attack should be your firm’s first priority in cybersecurity.
Cyberattacks are becoming an increasingly common threat in Canada and around the globe. Companies of all shapes, sizes, and industries are experiencing higher risks of data breaches, including run-ins with malware and ransomware. Advocatedaily.com reported specifically on the increasing problem of cybercriminals, or hacktivists, using ransomware to target law firms. Ransomware removal for Vancouver law firms is a topic that simply can’t be ignored.
Why law firms and why now? As these cyberthreats become more and more sophisticated, criminals look to target businesses with highly sensitive data. Hospitals, governments, and law firms are among the top industries targeted simply because they can’t continue business without their database of client information, reports, and research. These companies are most likely to pay a ransom in the face of a ransomware attack.
Paying a ransom, however, doesn’t guarantee your information will be returned to you. Instead, here’s why we recommend focusing on these key IT services and preventative methods.
Ransomware Basics
In the event you are unfamiliar with this malicious cyberthreat, here are a few essentials to know about ransomware.
Ransomware uses social engineering, phishing schemes, links, and attachments to convince a user to download malware onto a device or network. The malware then targets, removes, or encrypts significant data, requesting a sum of money be paid by credit card or cryptocurrency to have the data returned and decrypted.
There are several ways a company can fall prey to a ransomware attack. Forgetting to keep systems patched and firewalls up-to-date is part of the issue, while employee education is another. Canadian Lawyer reported that “the weakest security links are those that rely on staff to follow procedures.” That is because the most common cause of ransomware is staff unwittingly clicking on phishing emails.
That is exactly what caused a large Canadian company, in 2017, to pay out $425,000 in order to recover their data. Some staff members received an email that appeared to be an invoice from a courier. They opened the attachment and ended up inserting malware that spread across the entire network, including the backup data.
Ransomware Removal For Your Law Firm
For those firms that are attacked with ransomware, what are the best practices for removal? When data is encrypted, the choices are limited. A firm can either pay the ransom or seek to recover their data from backups.
When a ransom is paid, there is no guarantee that the cybercriminal will make good on their promise to provide the encryption key for your information. What’s more, some companies that pay a ransom then become a target for a second attack, or as was the case with a Kansas hospital, the attackers will simply continue to demand more money.
Ransomware removal for Vancouver law firms begins with prevention. While that may seem contradictory, statistics show that once ransomware is in place, if preventative measures haven’t already been taken, the recovery process can be incredibly costly, if not devastating, to small and large firms alike.
Safeguarding Vancouver Law Firms
The best preventative measures start with quality IT services designed to keep your network secure and your systems up-to-date. Once you have these systems in place, the education of your legal team and staff comes next.
Lawyers are constantly on the go, quickly scanning emails on their devices, laptops, and desktops. In the fast-paced legal world, it can be easy to miss the slight nuances of a phishing email or ransomware scheme. Keeping your lawyers aware of the latest tactics will help safeguard them and your firm from unnecessary ransomware infiltration.
Work with Legal Experts to Stay Secure
Compunet Infotech focuses on IT support and cybersecurity for Vancouver-based law firms. Cybersecurity Ventures indicates that the global cost of cybercrime damages will hit $6 Trillion by 2021. At Compunet Infotech, we work with your law firm to secure your networks, systems, and backups, implementing techniques to both prevent an attack and, should you become a victim of ransomware, recover your data quickly and with little cost or downtime to your company.
