Ransomware attacks are breaking records—and showing no signs of slowing down. In March 2025 alone, over 100 attacks were publicly disclosed, marking an 81% increase from the previous year and the highest monthly total ever recorded.
If your business is hit, having a clear, well-practiced ransomware response plan is critical. In this article, we walk through a practical, step-by-step checklist of what to do after an attack—from immediate containment to communication, recovery, and long-term prevention.
5 Steps To Take After a Ransomware Attack
Here’s a simple, step-by-step ransomware response plan to guide your team through the first critical hours.
Step 1: Disconnect from the Source
If you’re able to detect which compromised device or server is infected with ransomware, disconnect it from your other systems, devices, and network immediately. This can prevent the ransomware from spreading to your other devices and infecting your entire network.
By isolating the infected devices or systems, you’re stopping the attack from fully compromising your network. You may even prevent the malware from reaching your most essential and sensitive assets, preventing business disruption or a downtime scenario. This will also make any next steps you take much more effective.
Step 2: Identify the Strain and Scope
Once the ransomware is contained, it’s crucial to identify the ransomware that has breached your network. Different types of ransomware have unique characteristics and may be easier to recover from than others.
Depending on the strain, there may be available decryption tools that can easily get any locked files back. If there is no known decryption tool, the type of strain is still important to know as there may be additional contingency measures that an organization can take to mitigate any damage.
Step 3: Notify Stakeholders and Coordinate Response
Once the attack is contained enough, it’s time to start moving as an organization. You should have a plan in place that details what departments, stakeholders, and top executives are part of the incident response strategy. If not, this is a good place to start thinking about that.
Reach out to all affected department heads then work with legal, PR, and potentially HR, to develop effective internal and external communication and response plans. By having everyone ready to take action (ideally in a proactive way), your organization will be mobilized for a swift response, ultimately reducing the impact and cost the ransomware attack will have.
Step 4: Choose Your Recovery Path (But Think Twice Before Paying)
Often the initial decision to make when faced with a ransomware attack is whether or not to pay the ransom. While the decision is ultimately up to leadership and depends on factors such as the type of data affected, industry, and how disrupted your organization is, it’s highly recommended you don’tpay the ransom and find other ways of recovery.
78% of organizations who paid the ransom will suffer another attack, largely because the same vulnerability that led to the attack isn’t addressed. And there is no guarantee that you’ll get your data back.
Step 5: Restore Data and Patch Up Vulnerabilities
A strong post-attack analysis helps prevent future breaches.
Once the ransomware has been removed, restore affected files using verified backups or secure tools like targeted file recovery. Then shift to remediation: identify and patch the exploited vulnerabilities, update security protocols, and perform penetration testing to confirm fixes and prevent future attacks.
Stop Attacks Before They Start: The Case for a Multi-Layered Strategy
When it comes to ransomware, prevention is always better than cure. While incident response is essential, the most effective security strategies stop threats before they escalate.
That’s where the Defense in Depth (DiD) approach comes in. It’s a proactive, layered model that combines prevention, detection, and rapid response. If one layer fails (like malware slipping through a firewall), others are in place to contain the threat and minimize damage.
A strong DiD strategy includes:
- Physical controls, such as access badges and surveillance for physical infrastructure
- Technical controls, including antivirus, endpoint detection, SIEM platforms, access management, and storage-level protection
- Administrative controls, like security policies, risk assessments, and employee training to reduce human error
Ransomware often exploits multiple weak points across people, processes, and technology. By implementing a Defense in Depth model, your organization can close gaps, detect threats early, and recover faster while reducing overall risk exposure.
Strengthen Your Storage-Layer Defense with DataDefense
Ransomware attacks move fast—but DataDefense moves faster. Designed specifically to protect your central storage systems, DataDefense monitors file activity in real time, detecting and blocking known ransomware strains and suspicious behavior before damage is done.
In the rare case an attacker does get through, DataDefense enables rapid, targeted recovery of only the affected files—no need to restore entire systems from backups or risk unnecessary data loss.
Want to see how it works? Book a demo and explore how DataDefense can fit into your ransomware response plan.
About ProLion
ProLion offers powerful data protection solutions that safeguard critical storage and backup data, on-premises or in the cloud. From ransomware protection that detects threats in real time to data transparency, our industry-leading solutions ensure your storage system remains secure, compliant, manageable, and accessible around the clock.
