How Much Does a Cyber Attack Cost to Fix?
10 March 2022
A cyber attack can be expensive. Last month, Gloucester council paid £380,000 to help restore their systems after a cyber attack
Getting systems up to normal after an attack can be costly and time consuming. A way to avoid this is to prevent malware and cyber attacks before they take place.
Making protection difficult is that there are many different types of malware, our guide covers the most common ones.
Types of Malware
Trojan
This is a program pretending to be a legitimate one, which relies on the user in order to infect the device. To help protect against Trojan software do not click any links from unknown sources.
Ransomware
It Infects the computer and holds the data to ransom, using money as a leverage. If the money is not paid the data is deleted. However there is no guarantee of getting the data back if the Ransom is paid. To protect against this don’t click on malicious links and make sure the data is backed up. (Click here to read our guide on backing up your data)
Virus
A virus can easily spread once infected and takes the form of an innocent looking file. To stop a virus, make sure your antivirus is up to date.
Also watch out for
Worms
It looks deliberately for vulnerabilities in software and applications. Make sure to do updates as soon as they are available. Antivirus and email will also help to prevent them.
Spyware
It logs keystrokes in order to gain entry to passwords and usernames. Through doing this the spyware may have access to information and or money. To prevent this make sure your antivirus is up to date and anti tracking extensions will help to avoid being detected on browser
Adware
Often takes the form of annoying ads that are misleading in order to allow malware to be downloaded. To avoid being affected don’t click any ad links unless you are 100% certain about where they come from.
Issues with devices
As more people are working from home, with laptops and even their mobile phones, it can make it harder to secure the devices. Mobile phones are particularly hard to secure, which often leaves them vulnerable.
Cloud based problems
Cloud based software has become increasingly popular as you are able to access it from anywhere and have an easy way to back up your files. However, if the cloud application is not managed properly it leaves the system vulnerable.
How to stay protected
Malware is a complex and difficult problem to fix. There are several ways to ensure you aren’t caught out.
- Be aware about the different types of Malware and how they operate, often they rely on the user in order to infiltrate the system.
- Having a strong network that features penetration testing to ensure security.
- Have antivirus and anti malware software installed on your devices.
- Make sure to have your system fully backed up in order to be able to restore in case of an attack.
- Monitor your systems for any unusual signs.
- Don’t forget to extend the same level of protection to work from home devices and phones.
Concerned about your system? Get in touch and let us take care of it.