You protect against ransomware with a layered defence: application allowlisting so it cannot run, managed endpoint protection, email security to stop it arriving, multi-factor authentication, and isolated, tested backups so you never have to pay. No single control is perfect, but together they make ransomware very hard to land and survivable if it ever does. For a software firm, losing your code or systems to ransomware would be devastating, so this is worth getting right.
Ransomware usually arrives by email or a malicious download and then tries to run and spread. Here’s how each layer stops it.
1. Allowlisting stops it running
Ransomware has to execute a program to encrypt your files. With application allowlisting, only approved software runs, so it never gets to start, even if someone clicks the wrong thing. This is one of the strongest protections you can have.
2. Email security and endpoint protection
Most ransomware starts with a phishing email or a bad attachment. Managed email filtering blocks much of it, and endpoint protection catches and stops threats on the device. Together they remove the common entry points.
3. MFA to stop account-based attacks
Some attacks get in through a stolen password and then deploy ransomware. MFA across your accounts makes that route much harder, closing off another way in.
4. Isolated, tested backups
If the worst happens, encrypted backups kept isolated from your live systems let you recover without paying a ransom. Testing those backups means you know recovery will actually work when it counts.
A real example: layered protection in place
We supported a software company serving financial trading firms with application allowlisting, managed endpoint protection, email security and tested backups all in place, so unknown programs were blocked and data stayed recoverable. That combination is exactly what keeps ransomware from becoming a disaster.
For a software, technology or financial trading firm, this is part of managed IT and security that usually costs about £45 to £100 per user per month, scaling with your headcount, your security needs and how much uptime the business depends on.
Why technology and trading firms choose First Stop IT
First Stop IT has supported businesses since 2002, including software and technology companies and firms that serve financial markets. We know the systems these teams depend on: secure VPN and remote access, source control and build pipelines, virtual dev and test environments, Microsoft 365 and Teams, and the security that banks and regulators expect, from multi-factor authentication and endpoint protection to application allowlisting and email security. We work with technology and trading firms in London and across Essex and Hertfordshire. Our credentials include:
- Cyber Essentials Certified
- IASME Cyber Assurance (Gold)
- NCSC Assured Service Provider (Cyber Advisor for Cyber Essentials)
- Microsoft Partner
- Crown Commercial Service Supplier (G-Cloud)
- Quality Principles Certified
We look after more than 2,000 endpoints across 50 companies, we’ve been named a Top 50 UK MSP for three years running, and we support organisations with 10 to 100 employees across Essex, Hertfordshire and London, including Harlow and Bishop’s Stortford.
Book a free IT and cyber security review
Want to be ransomware-ready? Book a free IT and cyber security review with First Stop IT and we’ll build the layers.