Why the FBI Advises Backup to Combat Ransomware!

Ransomware is the latest kind of malware: When a computer is infected via a hacked website or infected attachment, some or all of its data is encrypted and made unavailable — until the victim pays a ransom to the anonymous criminal. In other words, victims’ personal data can be held hostage to a new category of cybercrime.

A recent Tech Crunch article reflects the U.S. Federal Bureau of Investigation's (FBI) findings that in 2015, the bureau received 2,500+ Ransomware complaints, representing $24 million in losses. These incidents are becoming more prevalent, more public, and hitting both individuals and organizations.

The good new is that tools and methodologies are being developed to avoid this particularly insidious form of malware. And there are precautions one can take today. Special Agent Chris Stangl of the FBI’s cybercrime division told the Washington Post that the FBI advises that people back up their data, because once a computer is infected with ransomware, recovery options are limited.

Backup solutions like Acronis True Image for personal use and Acronis backup solutions for business use are an important part of data protection against ransomware, as well as other threats to your data. By having an effective backup plan, you can survive a ransomware attack and avoid paying any money to the cyber thief. You can simply recover your data to the point just prior to the attack. And because downtime can be costly, recovering uninfected systems as quickly as possible is essential.

While no protection approach is perfect, using proper backup schemes can go a long way to protecting your data from many kinds of data loss, including from ransomware. There is a simple and effective solution: Acronis True Image - try it now!

On January 17, 2017, Acronis announced the release of Acronis Active Protection™ technology, designed to identify any unusual activity on computers and prevent malicious software from damaging user data, backups, and backup software. Cutting-edge behavioral heuristics technology detects and prevents cyber attacks, including zero-day ransomware.

Currently available as part of the award-winning Acronis True Image 2017 New Generation personal backup software, Acronis Active Protection is gradually being deployed across the full range of Acronis data protection products.

• Read more about ransomware protection.
• Check our blog regularly, especially the articles that have the data protection and ransomware tags. This is where we publish our research.
• What is ransomware?
• Download whitepaper: Acronis Active Protection: Constant data availability in a changing threat landscape.
• Try Acronis True Image and experience the power of our technology!