When to Call for Backup (IR-7)
You turn on your computer and every file has a strange extension. There’s a text file on your desktop demanding $500 in Bitcoin to get your photos, documents, and everything else back.
You have no idea what Bitcoin really is or how to buy it. You also have no idea if paying would even work, or if there’s another way to fix this.
This is the kind of problem where Googling “how to remove ransomware” for three hours isn’t going to cut it. You need actual help.
Why We Don’t Ask
Most of us try to handle tech problems ourselves first. We’re capable adults who use computers every day. Plus, calling for help feels like admitting we messed up or don’t know what we’re doing.
So we spend hours clicking through help articles and forum posts, often making things worse, when someone with experience could have pointed us in the right direction immediately.
But when something is genuinely broken and you don’t know how to fix it, that’s when getting help makes sense.
What This Looks Like
Going it alone: You spend hours researching ransomware removal tools. You try a few free ones that don’t work. You read conflicting advice about whether to pay. You’re not sure if the ransomware spread to your backup drive. You don’t know if your other accounts are compromised. Three days later, you still haven’t recovered your files and you’re not confident you removed the infection properly.
Getting help: You call a local computer repair shop that handles security issues. They check if your backups are clean, help you decide whether the files are recoverable without paying, properly remove the infection, and show you how to prevent it from happening again. Costs you $150 and an afternoon instead of days of stress and potentially lost files.
Figure Out Your Resources Now
Don’t wait until you’re panicking at late at night to research this.
For tech problems:
Local computer repair shops that handle security
Your internet provider’s security support line
For identity theft:
Your bank’s fraud hotline (if you didn’t earlier) and identity theft recovery program
Credit monitoring services that include recovery assistance (not just alerts)
IdentityTheft.gov for step-by-step instructions
Quick Task
Take ten minutes to:
Look up your bank’s fraud number and save it in your phone
Check if your credit card offers identity theft assistance
Find a local computer repair shop and see what security services they offer
We’ve worked through seven of the eight incident response controls.
Next up: IR-1, the policy that organizes everything.
