FixableRunning a website or small org
Ransomware
Your files locked and scrambled until you pay - perhaps.
Understand it
Ransomware encrypts your data so you cannot use it, then demands payment for the key. Many groups also take a copy first and threaten to publish it. It remains the most damaging threat to UK organisations.
How to spot it
Files suddenly renamed or unreadable, a ransom note on screen, systems slowing to a halt.
Close the gap
- Keep offline or locked backups, and test that they restore - this is your lifeline.
- Patch promptly; most attacks use holes that were fixed long ago.
- Turn on two-step sign-in and limit who holds admin rights.
- Write the plan in advance: who to call, how to isolate, and why not to rush to pay.
What to do about it
This is part of your plan at the Hardened level - Set up backups you've actually tested. Work through it there and you’ll close this off along with everything else it covers.