How Restaurant Operators Can Defend Against Ransomware

It’s a restaurant operator’s worst nightmare. You have stores full of patrons, and no way to collect their money because the POS system has been hijacked by ransomware. That’s how the McMenamins restaurant and hospitality chain closed out 2021, a banner year for ransomware attacks. The bad news is that according to most predictions, 2022 will be worse as gangs organize and focus on SMBs. 

McMenamins confirmed the attack, reporting that ransomware locked the company’s systems and potentially exposed sensitive employee data. While customer data was not exposed, the company’s operations, including corporate email and point of sale systems, were affected.  

What Is Ransomware?Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts data, preventing you from accessing it until you unlock it with an encryption key. Today’s ransomware attacks have three stages. First, the attacker – frequently a Russian-based malware gang – penetrates your network by exploiting a vulnerability…