Of all the kinds of online threat that a company can receive, one of the most concerning and pernicious is that of ransomware. Many businesses have struggled with ransomware demands in the past, and it is something that is reaching a particular zenith right now. 

For many people and businesses, there often seems to be no way out but to pay the sum being demanded by the criminals in question. This can put pressure on any business.

But now some states, including Pennsylvania, are considering bringing in legislation that would make it illegal for companies to pay the ransom that is demanded by ransomware hackers and attackers. Is this a good move, and is it likely to work? Let’s take a look at this in some detail.

What Is Ransomware?

But first of all, let’s take a dive into the matter of ransomware itself: what exactly is it, and how can you ensure that you are protecting your business from it? In simple terms, ransomware is malicious software that is used by an attacker to try and get money out of a company or a wealthy individual. 

Typically, ransomware will bring about some kind of destruction, or cause entire systems to be effectively paused and unable to be used, with a message demanding money to be paid.

That money is almost always demanded in the form of cryptocurrencies such as Bitcoin – for the simple fact that it is incredibly easy to receive funds in this manner without being tracked or traced, and without one’s personal details being discovered. 

As you might imagine, ransomware can be a very devastating thing to happen to any person or business. But what are some of the ways around it?

Dealing With Ransomware

As with most issues of this nature, the best approach is a preventative one. By having the right protection of your business’ systems, you can ensure that it is much more difficult, if not practically impossible, for hackers to install the ransomware on your systems in the first place. 

This is going to be even harder for them to do if you are making use of professional ransomware services, so that is certainly something to look out for as well.

When a company is struck by ransomware, it is not uncommon for them to simply pay up, especially if they are worried about their customers’ and employees’ details being released. But now Pennsylvania is considering legislating that this course of action should be illegal. 

The logic here is clear: this might act as a significant deterrent from criminals who think they can get money this way. But whether it will actually work in that way or not is not easy to decide at present.

For yourself, the best thing you can do to keep your business safe is to make sure you are following all the necessary protection and prevention measures. This should help to prevent the vast majority of such cases. Over time, hopefully the issue will become less and less common.