Ransomware Protection Guide

This guide to ransomware protection helps you find the latest relevant, helpful information published from the Fortinet blog.

Overview of Ransomware Protection

Nearly every month news breaks about a ransomware attack destroying and exposing vital, often irreplaceable data in small to large business systems and government agencies. Your organization’s first step toward defending against and mitigating ransomware attacks is to acknowledge the threat is real for everyone. Every part of your organization plays a vital role in defending computer systems against possible intrusion and compromise.

Start your company’s journey toward a safer data future by browsing these articles. You’ll learn what the ordinary risks are, how to manage them, and who needs to participate in the process of protecting your organizational and customer data. Learn why it’s necessary and proper to educate all of your employees in how to watch out for and what to do about common cyberattacks.

As a leader in cybersecurity, Fortinet shares insights and effective strategies for preventing the intrusion of ransomware into your systems.

FortiGuard Labs 1H 2023 Global Threat Landscape Report

In our 1H 2023 Threat Landscape Report, we examine the cyberthreat landscape over the year’s first half to identify trends and share insights with security professionals, enabling them to enhance their security strategies and better prioritize patching efforts. The report findings reflect the collective intelligence of FortiGuard Labs, drawn from Fortinet's vast array of sensors that collect billions of threat events observed worldwide during this same period.

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Ransomware Protection Blogs

Extending Cybersecurity to Employees No Matter Where They’re Working Read how IT teams can provide enterprise-level cybersecurity protection to keep employees productive and secure in a hybrid workforce.

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2H 2022 Global Threat Landscape Report: Key Insights for CISOs This report draws from Fortinet's vast array of sensors collecting billions of threat events observed worldwide during the second half of 2022 to identify cyber-threat trends and insights.

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Ransomware: The Number One Cyber Threat to Enterprises Ransomware continues to be one of the most damaging cyberattacks that impact businesses. Learn how your enterprise can get ahead of risk with a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy.

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Types of Ransomware Attacks and Cyber-Hygiene Best Practices Learn about the five main types of ransomware attacks along with some ransomware best practices to protect yourself or your business from an attack.

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Proactively Detect and Respond to External Threats With FortiRecon Digital Risk Protection Service Learn how FortiRecon can help proactively protect critical digital assets and data from external threats with organization-specific, expert-curated, and actionable external attack surface intelligence.

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5 Ransomware Protection Strategies for 2023 Ransomware continues to be a top threat CISOs are concerned about. Read more about effective ransomware mitigation strategies and how you can protect your organization.

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Ransomware-as-a-Service is Fueling the Threat Landscape. Here’s What to Do About It. An increase in Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) has driven more volume and variety in ransomware attacks. Understand how RaaS works and get recommendations to ensure adequate protection for your organization.

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When It Comes to Ransomware, Don't Forget The Basics To protect against ransomware requires a cybersecurity strategy. Get the fundamentals of a cybersecurity strategy and learn how partnerships can also help provide protection.

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New Threat Report Highlights Key Ransomware Protection Practices for CISOs FortiGuard Labs’ highlights key takeaways from the 1H 2022 Threat Landscape Report and provides recommendations on best practices for ransomware prevention and protection.

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Ransomware Protection Resources

How To Prevent Ransomware Ransomware Attacks Ransomware Removal: How to Detect and Remove

eBooks

How to Close Security Gaps to Stop Ransomware and Other Threats

Solutions

Ransomware Protection Solutions Protecting Hyperscale Data Centers from Ransomware and Volumetric DDoS Attacks

Ransomware Protection FAQs

What does a ransomware attack look like?

Most ransomware attacks begin as phishing emails. The attackers may trick employees into sharing their authorizations or credentials with deceptive Websites. Or they may trick employees into downloading malware that infects their computers.

How serious is ransomware?

Once a computer system is compromised by ransomware, organizations are locked out of critical data. They will be asked to pay a ransom ranging anywhere from hundreds to millions of dollars, often through cryptocurrencies. And there is no guarantee that paying the ransom will result in the hackers unlocking frozen data, or deleting stolen data files. Ransomware attacks cost businesses, non-profits, and government agencies around the world billions of dollars every year in lost productivity, potential lawsuit settlements, and other expenses. Paying ransoms adds to the financial costs.

Can you remove ransomware?

You may be able to remove ransomware by following these steps. Some types of ransomware are self-deleting after they’ve encrypted your data. Some ransomware may require special tools. And some ransomware – often the latest variants – cannot be removed or cracked by any known means, at least for a while. If you don’t have good backups of your software, licenses, and data, you may have to rebuild your systems from scratch.

Does ransomware go away if you pay?

Paying ransoms doesn’t clean your computers. They still need to be scanned and disinfected, or reinstalled from scratch, to get rid of the ransomware. However, paying the ransom may lead to worse problems than not paying. You should carefully consider all possible outcomes before deciding to make a ransomware payment. There is no guarantee the hackers who have compromised your system will honor their word. Many hackers take the money and run. Some hackers send you decryption keys but keep your data. So even if you remove the ransomware and decrypt your files, your organization’s private data may be sold on the black market or disclosed to the general public. Worse yet, once they know you’ve paid for ransomware, if they can compromise your systems again statistics show they probably will try to do so.