Microsoft releases enhanced protections for ransomware aimed at small businesses

In the face of growing danger from cyber threats such as ransomware and phishing, Microsoft have released an upgraded set of features for their Microsoft 365 business edition in the hopes of safeguarding small businesses.

Microsoft has said that Microsoft 365 Business will now include sophisticated scanning of attachments and AI-powered analysis to uncover and destroy malicious messages. The updates also include automatic checking of links in emails and full device protection to prevent devices from accessing ransomware and other suspicious web locations.

How prepared are you for a massive data loss?

The ability of a business to recover quickly from an IT disaster cannot be underestimated. Getting back on your feet in a speedy manner can help avert financial loss, harm to reputation and other negative impacts. While we all hope that our own businesses will never be affected by disruptive incidents like cyber attacks, theft, fire or flooding, they can happen and failing to prepare is preparing to fail!

A good place to start when considering how prepared you are for a data loss is to look at some of the potential scenarios that could enable one, as while you may think you have plans in place you might not have covered every angle.

Ransomware here to stay says Google

Businesses are being warned to protect themselves after tech giant Google released research claiming that cyber thieves have extorted a total of £19m from ransomware since 2015.

At a talk at the Black Hat security conference in Las Vegas, Elie Bursztein from Google revealed the results of research conducted with Chainalysis, the University of California and New York University which looked at bitcoin transactions over the period. It concluded that ransomware has become a “very profitable market and is here to stay”.

Interestingly, Google highlighted the fact that less than 40% of computer users currently back up their data – a move which could protect you in the event of a ransomware attack. It also predicted that more varied strains of ransomware are being developed to compete with the already popular Locky and Cerber strains, which according to the report generated £5.9m and £5.2m from victims respectively.