Network Solutions Unlimited Blog

No one can tell when a disaster is going to hit your business or what form that disaster is going to take. The cause could be a storm, human error, or some freak occurrence that nobody could have seen coming. In order to get back up and running after one of these incidents a company needs to have a strong business continuity strategy. An essential part of this strategy is knowing how to recover data depending on the way it’s lost. Getting data back and working for your company is the only way to stave off ruin, so let’s look at data recovery strategies that can literally save your business.

Ransomware is as unpleasant a malware as they come, and can ruin your day by encrypting your files until a ransom is paid. Unfortunately, the threat is getting worse, seeing as it’s now capable of infecting smartphones, too.

Mobile-based ransomware has been on the rise this year, so much that its presence has nearly quadrupled. Software security group Kaspersky Lab claims that their customers in Germany were victimized by mobile ransomware at the highest rate worldwide. Canada, the United Kingdom, and the United States followed closely. Kaspersky cited that it protected 35,412 mobile users from ransomware between April 2014 and March of 2015. The next year, this total blew up to 136,532 users. These figures include those who were targeted and protected from ransomware hacks, not those that were actually infected with ransomware. That total is likely much, much higher.

Mobile ransomware works in much the same way as it does on desktops and laptops. It infects the victim’s phone; however, rather than encrypt files that are stored locally on it (most users have these files backed up anyway), the ransomware will target apps, blocking access to them until the ransom has been paid.

These mobile ransomwares tend to play rough. One example is a ransomware originating in Ukraine that locks the keys and replaces the home screen with a warning from the FBI. The fraudulent warning claims that the user has broken the law by visiting illegal adult-themed websites, and it includes screenshots that incriminate the user. The ransomware demands a $500 fine, paid for with a MoneyPak voucher.

These attacks don’t seem to care who they target, either. All you need to do to download it is click the wrong link. In 2014, a 12-year-old girl accidentally installed malware on her device that locked the phone, downloaded repulsive videos, and threatened legal action if she didn’t pay the $500 fine.

How can you defend yourself against such a dangerous threat?

Update Your Phone’s Software
Malware might constantly be upgrading itself, but so are software updates. This neverending race seems to be in an attempt to thwart the other, and without the most recent versions of each software on your phone, it won’t be able to stand up to the most advanced malware on the market. If updated regularly, your device may be able to prevent potential threats from infecting it altogether.

Use Cloud-Based Backup
This is a best practice that should be implemented regardless of whether or not you’ve been struck with ransomware. In the worst-case scenario, and you have to wipe your device in order to get rid of the ransomware, your files will be safely stored in the cloud, ready to be restored.

Avoid Questionable Downloads
If you can’t identify the source of a download, or you simply don’t trust it, don’t download it. Period. It’s as easy as that. Otherwise, you’re exposing your device to a potentially malicious entity that could have easily been avoided.

Contact the Authorities
It might seem like a bad thing to do if you suddenly find illegal content on your device, but you need to contact the authorities if you suspect you’ve been the target of a ransomware plant. In the aforementioned incident with the 12-year-old girl, the authorities were contacted, and they could tell that it was a plant. Even if there is illegal material on your phone, law enforcement members will be able to tell that it’s a plant from ransomware.

For more information about how to beat ransomware on any device, reach out to us today.

As well-prepared as you might believe your business may be against disasters, the reality is that this is not always the case. In truth, you have no idea when you could fall victim to a data loss incident. As a business owner, you need to understand that it’s not a question of if you’ll experience a data breach, but when, and you need to be prepared for anything.

There are plenty of situations that won’t be under your control:

• You aren't going to be able to shield your business’s technology from a flood that sweeps through your location and takes half of your infrastructure with it.
• You aren’t going to stop your old technology from unexpectedly failing when you need it most.
• An earthquake could knock the ground out from under your business’s footing, and with it, your data systems out of commission.
• User error, despite your best efforts to ingrain proper data security practices into your staff, will persist, and could eventually lead to lost data or compromised security.

What can you do to preserve your organization’s data?

Data backup and disaster recovery are essential, but the concept is much more refined than it was in the past. Traditional backup solutions used unreliable practices in order to ensure that data was stored and accessible in the event of a disaster. Tape was, and still is, commonly used as a backup measure, in which data is stored on magnetic tape reels that could be deployed when needed. Now, however, there are much more efficient and less time-consuming ways to take advantage of data backup and disaster recovery, and it’s all thanks to the cloud.

Where tape backups are resource-heavy, user-intensive, and time consuming, cloud-based BDR is the opposite. Unlike tape backup that must be performed after-hours, and set by an employee who may or may not forget to do it, BDR is automatic and can be performed throughout the day, all to get past the possibility of an unexpected disaster destroying your data. If you want to guarantee maximum uptime and data retention, you should look for the following features for your disaster recovery solution:

Frequent Backups
Tape backups can usually only be performed once a day, and it’s often the case that they have to be done after closing time. Your business needs a solution that can back up your data multiple times a day. Modern BDR solutions can take backups as often as every 15 minutes, so you’ll always experience minimal data loss and fewer technical hiccups throughout the workday.

Off-Site Backup Storage
Storing your data backups in-house is usually a bad idea, for the specific reason that it could fall victim to the same disaster that strikes the rest of your infrastructure. If your office is destroyed, or your entire system is infected with ransomware, you won’t be able to access your data backups. It makes sense to store your data off-site and in the cloud, so that you can immediately restore your data as it’s needed.

Fast Recovery Time
You don’t want to be left waiting while your data is being restored, as this is time that your organization is wasting. You need a solution that can rapidly deploy your data as quickly as possible. With BDR, you can be back almost instantly, as the BDR can act as a temporary server in the event that yours no longer works properly.

Does your business want to leverage a truly modern data backup tool? You should ask Network Solutions Unlimited about our BDR solution. We can offer a reliable and efficient data backup and disaster recovery solution that’s capable of minimizing data loss and maximizing uptime, even in the worst of scenarios.