Ransomware Attack in Denmark: Lessons

I use Imunify360 for my web servers, and this article from their blog provides some important lessons.

Those who work regularly with resources in the cloud will understand the key recommendations. For other users, I want to underline and add to one recommendation.

Backups!

I have worked with two small companies that suffered ransomware attacks and I was able to recover all data and restore their systems because of good backups. Adequate backups in the current situation means having both cloud backups for convenience with versioning, and also having a separate backup, either on-site or on a different service.

For my websites, I backup within the same cloud service I use for the sites themselves, and I also have backups that are removed from that service and stored elsewhere. In this way, a single breach cannot destroy all the data.

Note that these options do not protect you from a data breach. For that, you need to keep careful track of all your personal info that might be revealed and be prepared to take action to secure accounts. In case you’re wondering, this is one reason that security experts recommend you don’t use the same password on multiple services. The downside of not reusing passwords is that you will have many to keep track of.

There is no substitute for carefully recording your passwords and keeping them in a secure place.

Last, but not least, wherever possible use two-factor authentication. This will mean that even if people access your username or password or even both, they will still lack one factor needed to access your accounts.