Protecting Your Organization Against Ransomware with Laserfiche®

How Laserfiche Cloud Can Protect Your Organization Against Ransomware Attack

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What is Ransomware?

Ransomware has been around for quite some time, with early examples found dating back to the late 1980s and early 1990s. One of the earliest known ransomware families, PC Cyborg, was discovered in 1989. This ransomware used symmetric key cryptography to encrypt the user’s files and then demanded a payment of $189 to $378 in order to decrypt the files. In order to make payment, the user was instructed to use a specific credit card or purchase specific money orders. If the user did not comply with these instructions, the software would delete the key needed to decrypt the files, making them permanently inaccessible.

The methods used to distribute ransomware have also evolved over time. Early examples were typically spread via floppy disk or email attachments, but as internet usage has become more widespread, so has the distribution of ransomware. These days, it is not uncommon for ransomware to be spread via malicious email attachments or links, drive-by downloads, or even exploit kits. No matter the method of distribution, once a system is infected, the ransomware will typically take one of two forms: either it will encrypt the user’s files and demand a payment to decrypt them, or it will lock the user out of their system and demand a payment to regain access.

While ransomware can be a serious threat, there are steps that users can take to protect themselves. In the next section, we will go over some of the best practices for avoiding ransomware infections in the first place. We will also cover what to do if you find yourself the victim of a ransomware attack, as well as some steps you can take to limit the damage that these attacks can cause.

How to Protect Your Organization Against Ransomware

  • Keep your security software up to date, and make sure that ransomware protection is enabled. This will help to protect your system from known ransomware threats.
  • Regularly back up your company’s data. This way, if you do become infected with ransomware, you can restore your data from the backup and avoid having to pay the ransom.
  • Implement an enterprise content management system such as Laserfiche Cloud that includes security features such as encryption and user authentication. This helps protect your company’s data if an employee accidentally clicks on a ransomware link or opens a ransomware attachment.

Laserfiche Cloud: The Ultimate Protection Against Ransomware

As a cloud-based records management system, Laserfiche Cloud is the ultimate protection against ransomware threats to your organization. Critical business data is locked behind Laserfiche’s easy-to-use web-based or Windows desktop clients, preventing ransomware from ever gaining access to the documents.

Laserfiche Cloud is hosted in multiple redundant regions. Regions consist of multiple availability zones that are comprised of multiple data centers. These data centers are housed in separate facilities with redundant power, networking and connectivity.

Laserfiche Cloud employs many additional layers of security to protect against ransomware and other malware threats. These include:

  • Single sign-on with Active Directory Federation Services (AD FS) and Security Assertion Markup Language (SAML).
  • Industry-standard password controls, such as password minimum length, complexity, and history.
  • Vulnerability scans of backend servers that run the Laserfiche Cloud hosting environment.
  • Third-party external penetration testing of the Laserfiche Cloud system.
  • Host-based intrusion detection systems to reduce the risk of data theft by individuals or organizations attempting to gain unauthorized access.
  • Firewall configuration settings are regularly reviewed based on industry standards.
  • Controls that allow administrators to configure access rights and privileges to limit actions that users can perform across the repository based upon role assignments or group memberships, as well as access rights to limit and control access to individual documents and objects. For example, security tags restrict access to documents on a document-by-document basis.

FreeDoc has expertise in implementing Laserfiche systems that help protect organizations against critical data loss. Contact us today to learn how we can help your organization survive and thrive with Laserfiche Cloud.

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