According to recent research, by the end of 2021, a new ransomware attack could potentially happen every 11 seconds, an incredibly alarming statistic. In the first half of this year, there have been some highly prevalent attacks that have made headlines. It’s not just big organizations that are at risk either; organizations of all sizes are currently under threat from cyberattacks. Restaurants can be seen as an easy target as they don’t often have the robust security programs of larger organizations. A responsive, evolving form of defence is needed, and endpoint protection is a vital tool in that arsenal.

The ever-changing cyber security threat

It has been a hectic year of cybercrime exacerbated by the COVID-19 lockdown and the move to even more digitised services, with the first half of 2020 seeing approximately 2.5 million new ransomware attacks. Now more than ever, effective cyber protection and risk management are vital – no matter the size of your business. It might be easy to think that restaurants aren’t the primary target for attacks, but this is not the case. In fact, 71% of ransomware attacks are aimed at SMBs.

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is malicious software that seeks to encrypt files and hold them for ransom. The files are not released until the victim pays the hacker, usually a large sum of money and typically in untraceable cryptocurrency. A well-known restaurant just outside of Washington D.C. had its systems locked up by a ransomware attack and was requested to pay $10,000 in Bitcoin. Unfortunately, it doesn’t end there as, according to a recent report, 80% of ransomware victims suffer repeat attacks.

There are two solutions to a ransomware attack: pay the ransom and potentially lose a lot of money or ignore it and potentially cripple your service and or have your data made publicly available. The severity of the impact depends on the type of data that was stolen and what tools were in place to keep back-ups of that data. Either option will lead to a financial loss as well as damage to your restaurant’s reputation. To avoid this situation, it is important to have the right tools to prevent an attack outright, not just react after falling victim to an attack.

Detect and respond – the benefits of Endpoint Protection

To prevent these attacks, restaurants need strong endpoint protection across all devices. Good endpoint protection solutions can detect attacks before they become a threat and respond extremely quickly before the hacker has a chance to encrypt that valuable data.

This category of security product is designed to protect endpoint devices through which data can be obtained while allowing a company’s IT team to easily regulate its use. Modern endpoint solutions are the cornerstone of any advanced security stack and can proactively prevent cyber security attacks, rapidly isolate infected hardware, and quickly remediate any fallout from successful intrusions.

The focus of these solutions is to proactively block malware and protect the business network. This is done using a collection of built-in features, including stateful inspection firewalls, port and device control, vulnerability assessments and network monitoring tools that allow the IT team, whether internally ran or managed by a third party, to scan a network and identify abnormalities or potential risk areas.

Any endpoint connection in a business network, from laptops to smartphones, represents a potential point of intrusion for malicious hackers. It’s vital, therefore, that restaurants invest in endpoint solutions to help prevent and contain cyber security attacks, to avoid leaving themselves vulnerable to ransomware attacks and theft of customer data, and the ensuing regulatory penalties, expensive network outages, and loss of brand reputation.

Risk management – the unseen challenge for businesses

Risk management is a vital part of the defence against malicious hackers and having the tools in place to identify areas of risk and protect against it are crucial. The correct cyber security tools can be invaluable in thwarting cyber-attacks, but only if you truly understand what elements of your business are at risk and what truly needs protecting.

To protect your restaurant from ransomware, the key is to understand the effects ransomware has on your business, both financial and from a reputation point-of-view, and then introduce an endpoint solution that can monitor for potential risks and keep data safe. Add-on a dedicated IT security team to monitor that tool and include some Advanced Anti-Ransomware protection software to reinforce your network further, and you should be ready for any kind of attack. Just remember that the enemy is always evolving and so we should never feel lax about our security efforts.

Viking Cloud offers a range of security and technology solutions tailored for restaurant and food services. Viking Cloud’s Endpoint Security provides advanced protection, detection, response, and risk analytics to protect your restaurant from the full spectrum of threats, including ransomware attacks. For more information, visit https://www.vikingcloud.com/solutions/endpoint-detection-and-response/