Companies across the globe are reporting a major ransomware cyber-attack today. It all started at 12am in Ukraine, but now Spain, France, UK, and more spreading FAST across Europe. People can’t access their money because banks are down, other things that are down are: government PCs, airports, and cell providers.
Upon boot-up, computers are displaying a cryptic message demanding payment of $300 paid out in Bitcoin per computer to decrypt and access their files.
The attack is the latest in a series of global cyber-attacks, including the WannaCry ransomware attack that infected hundreds of thousands of computers last month.
How to Set Up a Secure, Automated Backup
Despite their best efforts, people get hacked.
Here’s how to set up an automatic, secure cloud backup—today—that can save your critical files and data in the event of a future attack.
1. Save All Files in a Secure Cloud Storage Service
Do not exclusively store files locally on your hard drive. Doing so risks their loss or destruction in hacking events (like today’s) or events like fires or other natural disasters.
Instead, ensure all your files are stored in a cloud environment such as Dropbox, Sharepoint, or Google Drive. That way, if your desktop or laptop is attacked by a hacker or destroyed in a fire, your files won’t be destroyed.
This is your first layer of security.
2. Create a Backup on a Completely Separate Service
Second, using cloudHQ’s backup service, create an automated, one-way backup of all your files.
This will create an always-up-to-date, impossible-to-modify backup of your files, including all the latest changes and revisions.
Store the backup in a **separate** cloud storage service. If you use the same cloud storage service, it’s a negligible choice. If Google Drive gets hacked, have a copy on Microsoft OneDrive (or Sharepoint), Amazon S3, Dropbox or Box.
Only you (or your IT director or other senior employees) should have access to your backup files. Once the backup is in place, there’s nothing more you have to do.
Unlike manual backups or batch processes, cloudHQ’s backup service runs automatically in the background, keeping all your files protected, all the time.
This is your second layer of protection.
Get Started Immediately
The price to set up an automated backup of your files is minimal compared to the cost of losing everything to a cyber-attack.
If you don’t have a secure backup in place, the time to get one was yesterday.