Cybersecurity Glossary
Ransomware
Malicious software that encrypts your files and demands payment, usually while also threatening to publish the data.
What Ransomware means
Ransomware encrypts documents, databases and often backups, then presents a demand. Most current groups also steal a copy of the data first, so paying for a decryption key does not remove the threat of publication. Entry is usually through a stolen password, an unpatched remote access service or an emailed attachment.
Why Ransomware matters for small businesses and nonprofits
For an organisation without tested backups, ransomware is an existential event rather than an inconvenience. Recovery time, not the ransom, is what usually causes the real damage: weeks without systems, missed payroll, lost contracts and a reportable data breach.
What to do about Ransomware
- Keep at least one backup copy that cannot be altered or deleted from the network
- Test a restore, because an untested backup is only a hope
- Write down who you call in the first hour, before you need the list
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