Data loss is a common side effect of many malware infections. Whether it’s a virus, trojan, worm or ransomware, malware often causes data loss. To make matters worse, research shows that roughly half of all small businesses are forced to shut down their operations after experiencing a data loss event. The good news is that you can mitigate the risk of malware-related data loss by following these tips.
Create Backups
One of the most important things you can do to mitigate the risk of malware-related data loss is to create backups. Backups, of course, are copies of your data. If you experience a data loss event, you can restore a backup to retrieve the lost data. There’s no better or more effective way to protect against data loss than by creating backups.
Store Backups In Multiple Places
In addition to creating backups, you should store them in multiple places. You may want to store backups on the cloud, for example, and you may want to store them offline on a physical USB storage drive. By storing them in multiple places, you’ll be less likely to experience data loss from malware infections.
Use Antivirus Software
Antivirus software can protect you from malware-related data loss. Malware can cause data loss in different ways. Some forms of malware will essentially lock your files so that you can no longer access them. Other forms of malware will delete data. Regardless, antivirus software will prevent malware such as this from infecting your computer.
Encrypt
For sensitive data, you should consider using encryption. Encryption is an encoding process. It’s designed to encode data so that it can be accessed — at least not by unauthorized users. When you encrypt sensitive data, hackers or other individuals behind malware attacks won’t be able to access it. Therefore, you can rest assured knowing that it’s safe and secure.
Set Access Controls
Don’t forget to set access controls. Access controls is a cybersecurity practice that involves different levels of privileges for different users. If you own a business, you may not want all of your employees having access to all of your data. With access controls, you can specify what type of data employees can and can’t access.
Conduct Audits
Conducting cybersecurity audits can mitigate the risk of malware-related data loss. A cybersecurity audit is an analysis of your Information Technology (IT) infrastructure, including its vulnerabilities and protection measures. With a cybersecurity audit, you can find weak points in your IT infrastructure that could otherwise pave the wave for a malware infection.
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