Ransomware is no longer a question of if, but when. Small and mid-sized companies in Portland face the same threats as Fortune 500s — but with smaller budgets and leaner teams. The good news: a tight, layered playbook stops the vast majority of attacks before they encrypt anything.
The ransomware kill chain — and where to break it: Initial access: stop with MFA, secure email gateways, and patched VPNs. Execution: stop with EDR/XDR that recognizes living-off-the-land techniques. Persistence: detect with continuous endpoint and identity monitoring. Lateral movement: block with network segmentation and least-privilege identity. Exfiltration & encryption: contain with isolated, immutable backups and a rehearsed IR plan.
Don't forget the basics: offline backups, written incident response runbooks, and tabletop exercises every six months.
