Ransomware can affect anyone – Protect yourself against ransomware attacks 

It remains the most serious cyber threat due to its financial and disruptive impact.

Ransomware is malicious software that makes data or computer systems unusable until the victim makes a payment, often in the form of hard-to-trace cryptocurrencies.

Cybercrime syndicates are evolving their tradecraft and business models. They are not only locking up victims’ sensitive data, but increasingly threatening to release it to the public, which could damage reputations of both businesses and customers, harm operations and cost precious time.

The Have you been hacked? tool is designed to step potential victims through a series of scenarios such as ransomware attacks, to help them assess if they’ve been hacked and to guide them on how to respond.

The ACSC also released updated ransomware advice to help individuals and families protect against and respond to the attacks.

What can you do?

The best way to protect yourself against a ransomware attack is to be prepared.

The ACSC is encouraging all individuals and families to protect themselves against the attacks by taking the following steps:

  1. Regularly update your device and patch known security vulnerabilities.
  2. Install anti-virus software and turn on ransomware protection.
  3. Turn on multi-factor authentication.
  4. Set up and perform regular backups to an external storage device, such as a USB stick or the cloud.
  5. Prepare your emergency response plan.

Use the ACSC’s learning resources where individuals and families can learn how to protect their important information and respond to these attacks by using our updated easy-to-follow guides, available on their website.

Get in touch by sending us a form here or you may speak to one of our advisors via call at 1300 844 678 or drop us an email at [email protected].