RiverTrail Technology Blog

Antivirus used to be the gold standard for network security. It worked like a digital “most wanted” list, catching viruses, malware, and other threats by working off a list of known threat definitions. That was well and good over a decade ago, but these days, threats change so quickly that they don’t stay on that list for long. So what's a modern business supposed to do against rapidly changing threats?

We recommend you make the shift to Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR). Here’s how you can do just that.

When I talk to business owners about cybersecurity, I try to stay away from the doom and gloom scripts that most IT companies use to sell expensive software. But I do believe in being honest about the stakes.

Historically, there is a statistic that has been floating around for years: 60% of small businesses close their doors within six months of a major data breach. As we sit here in 2026, that number isn't just a scare tactic; it’s a reflection of how expensive and exhausting a recovery actually is.

Imagine a cyberattack has successfully infiltrated your network. While having a data backup is the standard recovery method, this strategy fails if the attacker prioritizes the deletion of your backup files before deploying ransomware.

Traditional data backups are an essential part of security, but they possess a significant vulnerability: they can be modified or erased by anyone with high-level access. To address this, businesses should implement immutable backups.

What would you do if you came to work one morning only to find your entire network infrastructure was encrypted by ransomware? For many businesses, this isn’t a hypothetical; they’ve lived through it and can attest to the financial setbacks and permanent data loss that can result. Depending on how well you’ve prepared, your business could be set back weeks, months, or even years… but it doesn’t have to be this way.

I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but when it comes to cybersecurity threats it’s kind of hard not to be. I used to look at it from two sides; one side is fascinated at the innovation and intensely brutal ways that high-end cyberattacks work, and the other side of me loses sleep at night worrying about these risks affecting our clients, prospects, and even my own business. This one particular classification of cyberattack, however, takes the cake for being especially frightening.