Owners must protect their businesses from ransomware before it's too late | Gene Marks

Attackers are targeting small businesses and even forcing some to close for not paying up - but there are precautions owners can take to reduce the odds

Ransomware is a multibillion-dollar a year business and when you look at it from the aspect of the hacker you can certainly understand why. It's the first type of malware that actually generates revenue for the attacker. When a company gets hit by a ransomware attack they're forced to pay a "ransom" - anywhere from hundreds to thousands of dollars - to "unlock" the files that have been maliciously encrypted. Not doing so causes loss of data " and business.

Which is what happened to Brookside ENT & Hearing Services, a two-person medical office in Battle Creek, Michigan.