Checklist
The Ransomware Readiness Checklist
A control-by-control checklist for preparing to withstand, detect and recover from a ransomware attack, organized around the decisions that matter in the first hours and the weeks before.
Checklist · about 12 pages · free
What’s inside
- Eight readiness areas with pass-or-fail checks
- Backup and restore tests that prove recoverability
- Identity and privileged access hardening steps
- A first-four-hours incident decision list
- A 30-60-90 day action plan
Why readiness beats reaction
Most ransomware outcomes are decided before the first file is encrypted. Organizations that recover quickly tend to share a few traits: backups that have actually been restored, administrator accounts that cannot be abused from an ordinary laptop, monitoring that notices unusual behavior outside business hours, and a response plan that names who decides what.
This checklist turns those traits into checks you can mark pass, partial or fail. It is aligned with the Identify, Protect, Detect, Respond and Recover functions of the NIST Cybersecurity Framework and with the safeguards in the CIS Controls.
How to use this checklist
Work through each area with the person who owns it, not the person who thinks they know. Record evidence, such as a screenshot, a ticket or a test result, for every pass. Anything you cannot evidence is a partial at best.
- Score each check as pass, partial or fail
- Convert every fail into an owner and a date
- Repeat the scoring every quarter and after any major change
More guides
Keep building your playbook
- GuideThe Cyber Insurance Questionnaire GuideA plain-language guide to the questions cyber insurers ask, why they ask them, and how to answer accurately and with evidence, so applications and renewals go smoothly and claims are not put at risk.Learn more
- WhitepaperThe SOC 2 Readiness RoadmapA whitepaper that takes you from the first customer request for a SOC 2 report through scoping, control design, evidence and audit, with a realistic timeline and the pitfalls that delay first-time audits.Learn more
- ChecklistThe Microsoft 365 Security Baseline ChecklistA checklist of the identity, email, device, data and monitoring settings that give a Microsoft 365 tenant a defensible security baseline, ordered by impact so you can start with the changes that matter most.Learn more
Let’s build what’s next
Ready to Secure, Modernize, and Scale Your IT?
Talk to our experts and discover how vinemobile can help you achieve your business goals.