We’ve noticed that after being hit by ransomware, there are generally two possible outcomes experienced by most organizations: inconvenience and devastation. Did you know you can choose which one happens to you?

We’ve noticed a trend among the countless news stories about ransomware you’ve no doubt been exposed to recently. The contrast between how organizations deal with being hit with ransomware couldn’t be starker.

Let’s take these two stories as examples.

What Not to Do

On the one hand, the city of Riviera Beach in Florida found itself paying over half a million bucks to the bad guys behind the ransomware that took over their computers, and they still had no way of knowing for sure they were going to get their data back.

Being a Good Example

On the other hand, the A. Duie Pyle trucking company incurred some downtime, inconvenience, and cost, but they’re back up and running with no ransom paid, and, most importantly, they have their files.

The Difference

What’s the difference? Is it something clever they did when they got hit with the ransomware? Some sophisticated cyber-countermeasure? No, it’s something they did before the ransomware hit, and it’s simple, easy, and cheap. The trucking company invested in protecting the company’s data before disaster struck, and it turned out to be a very sound investment. It’s really boring to talk about and to do… until you need it.

The Secret

The secret? Backup.

The trucking company planned ahead and set up a reliable backup system to make safely stored copies of their important data files. This probably seemed mundane… boring… at the time. When ransomware came along and encrypted all their files, they weren’t happy, but they knew they’d be able to restore from backup, and that’s exactly what they did.

The Solution

Backup is the answer to a long list of problems, ransomware included, but it can only be the answer if you’ve done it in before the problem occurs. Good security is a must, but even the best security will occasionally fail. A well-managed backup system will ensure you always have your important business data even when security fails. It’s good peace of mind.

Grant Hoover experiences peace of mind and has passed it along to small and mid-market clients for over 30 years at Symphony Systems.