Sadly, ransomware is a problem increasingly affecting medical practices. It can cause serious harm and damage to you and your patients. IT Medical Group offers ransomware protection for our clients to help in the fight against these malicious attackers and threats.
Anatomy of a ransomware attack
So what is ransomware exactly? Ransomware is malicious software, or malware, that criminals use to attack your computer and hold your data for “ransom” by requiring payment in order for you to retrieve it, or threatening to destroy it if they are not paid within a set time frame. They can also kick you out of your network or computer until you pay. A message will appear on your screen letting you know that you have been locked out and your information has been encrypted. The criminals have the complex key that unlocks the encryption, and will try to make you pay with bitcoin to obtain the key. Their goal is to cause you to panic and react quickly by giving them the bitcoin amount required, instead of logically thinking of your next steps.
IT Medical Group’s solutions for ransomware protection
Here at IT Medical Group we have preventative solutions to help protect your computer and systems from malware.
- Anti-malware and anti-virus solutions: we incorporate professional anti-malware and anti-virus solutions into our management contracts for all of our client’s devices. It is recommended to check for updates daily to ensure your security is intact. While well executed malware may not be detected by these solutions, they can still help to see where any weaknesses and openings may lie in the software that could be susceptible to ransomware. Free anti-malware and anti-virus solutions you find on the web are not recommended. Your practice’s security is serious business and proper measures must be taken.
- Security patching: IT Medical Group provides patch management for our clients to help prevent successful ransomware attacks. Oftentimes these attacks could have been stopped had proper patch updates been in place. Patch updates need to be scanned for by your system regularly and executed as soon as they’re discovered.
- Firewall device solutions: firewall devices or UTM (Universal Threat Management) solutions can typically find and block blacklisted websites that would expose your system to malware. IT Medical group can assess any firewalls you have set up and determine their effectiveness. If their quality is less than the standard required, we can help you in moving forward.
- OpenDNS (Domain Name System) solutions: we can help protect your system through strategic analysis and understanding of your system’s infrastructure. Architecturally we can set up defenses in your system that involve better intelligence, detection, and visibility.
- Cryptoprevent solutions: at IT Medical Group we provide our clients with free cryptoprevent solutions. They may not help with every ransomware case, but they can protect you in many cases.