Ransomware Prevention Best Practices Checklist

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Stay a step ahead of cybercriminals with proactive protection! Ransomware attacks often start with a single breach, be it through a cloud app, software flaw, hijacked account, or an unwitting third-party vendor. Prevent data theft, unauthorized access and subsequent cyber extortion by implementing these 10 essential preventative measures.

1. Implement continuous vulnerability scanning. This is one of the easiest ways to identify computers with vulnerabilities and exposed login interfaces. You can also outsource this as a managed service to ensure experts are reviewing your reports, keeping your systems aligned with current best practices, and anticipating and stopping potential attack paths.
2. Conduct regular penetration testing. A good offense is one of the best defenses—penetration testing finds security gaps that vulnerability scanning misses. It helps you identify and close gaps before the attackers leverage them for an attack. Read our blog on why penetration testing is a crucial security control.
3. Train your team. As tactics change and criminals find ways to bypass security solutions, training every employee to be the first line of defense against a phishing attack is still one of the best means of prevention. Ensure your training program includes videos, phishing simulations, segments on deepfakes, and more. IBM’s research report found that a good employee cybersecurity training program can reduce your costs by $232,867 if you are breached.
4. Add specialized cybersecurity training. Remember that your executive, finance, help desk, and IT teams require additional advanced training (read our cybersecurity training recommendations blog for more details). Organizations with established, trained incident response (IR) teams that regularly test their IR plans can reduce their average cost of a data breach by $2.66 million. Our on-demand Ransomware Response and Cyber First Responder classes and tabletop exercises are popular, affordable ways to reduce your risk.
5. Deploy EDR/MDR. In addition to antivirus, EDR / MDR can defend against malware and facilitate an effective response.
6. Check your cloud configuration. Security setting best practices change often, and misconfigurations frequently lead to breaches and extortion. An expert cloud configuration review can identify and correct these issues. Read our cloud configuration and web app blog for more advice.
7. Use strong MFA whenever and wherever possible. Read our MFA tip sheet for details.
8. Create and maintain a data and asset inventory. You need to know what data and assets you have in order to protect them. Mapping your data is a crucial first step. Establishing a comprehensive inventory of data and technology assets, including cloud applications, helps you properly address risk and align security investments.
9. Use robust, immutable backups that include your cloud assets, and TEST those backups regularly.
10. Manage third-party and vendor risks. All too often, third-party vulnerabilities and data breaches are the cause of ransomware and cyber extortion. Ensure you have a strong vendor vetting and third-party risk management program.

By employing these ransomware prevention best practices, you can dramatically reduce your risk of a ransomware attack.

We hope you found this information helpful. If you would like support implementing any of the ransomware prevention best practices, please contact us. Our expert LMG Security team is ready to help!