Page 17 - GBC English Fall 2019

6 Tips to Protect your Facility from Cyberattacks
It’s a beautiful mid-summer day, the weather is perfect and you have a line up of golfers waiting to play. As you open your proshop, you realize that all of your computers are frozen with a locked warning screen... you have just been attacked by ransomware.
Recently, we found ourselves in this position. Ransomware had taken over our systems and the hackers demanded $8,000. Ransomware attacks have become more prevalent in Canada over the past few years, costing the average small business anywhere from $8,000-$10,000 per attack.
Most Canadian companies do not have effective technologies in place to monitor for cyberattacks and are focused on risks and outcomes that have not kept pace with the threat.1 Retail business- es are at the top of the list of companies being attacked. Golf
courses are included in this retail sector. So, how can you protect your facility from cyberattacks?
WHAT IS RANSOMWARE?
According to Statistics Canada, more than one in ve Canadian companies say they were impacted by a cyberattack last year, with businesses spending $14 billion on cybersecurity. The most common suspected motive was an attempt to steal money or demand a ransom payment.2
So, what is ransomware? Ransomware is a malicious virus that computer hackers use to demand money from businesses in return for the ability to regain access to their computer les. A computer can be infected by ransomware in a number of ways but most commonly it involves victims clicking on a malicious link or attachment received through a phishing email.3
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