How to protect yourself from ransomware.

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that infiltrates systems, encrypts and exfiltrates valuable data, and holds it hostage until the hackers get what they want, oftentimes a financial payment. The outcome for many organisations that are not prepared can range from severe financial damage due to the downtime they experience while getting their systems restored to the devastating loss of critical data and reputational damage due to the potential negative press coverage and unhappy clients.

The recent escalation in ransomware attacks worldwide, from crippling health care and education systems to paralysing entire city infrastructures, shows that no organisation or entity is immune from the complex ransomware tactics used by today’s hackers. In addition to ransomware attacks being on the rise, recovery proves far more challenging for most organisations. Even those that pay a ransom often recover only part of their data, and hackers will often leak sensitive information unless a second ransom is paid. This is why having a ransomware containment solution in place will help an organisation if, or more likely, when it is under an attack from hackers.

There are various types of ransomware, each with its unique features. These types of ransomware include, but are not limited to, crypto ransomware that encrypts and exfiltrates valuable files and data, locker ransomware that infiltrates and infects devices, in turn locking the user out of their device, exfiltration ransomware or doxware that threatens to leak confidential information, and DDoS ransomware that attacks your target network services, not your data. The potential damages caused by these attacks can range from temporary disruption of services to total loss of control over sensitive data and infrastructure.

Many organisations are not aware that no combination of security tools is able to prevent all ransomware. The reason why complete ransomware prevention is not possible is because attackers are perpetually refining their techniques and employing advanced tactics like spear phishing, SQL injection attacks, exploiting zero-day vulnerabilities, cross-site scripting, denial of service attacks and even leveraging AI to breach the defences of organisations. Preventative solutions alone cannot keep pace with the motivated hacker. Since total ransomware prevention is not possible, many organisations are turning to tools and software that are designed to contain and mitigate the impact of ransomware attacks.

Ransomware protection refers to the defensive measures taken to guard against a ransomware attack. This includes robust firewalls, anti-malware software, secure network configurations, and stringent access controls. On the other hand, ransomware containment is a proactive approach designed to limit the spread of an attack when it happens. Effective ransomware containment solutions can contain a ransomware attack as it starts, limiting the encryption and exfiltration of valuable data and reducing the potential damage to the organisation.

While protection measures aim to prevent an attack, ransomware containment strategies help keep the impact small if an attack does occur. By implementing ransomware containment solutions, businesses are not just waiting for the next attack but actively preparing to limit its impact.

• URL filtering. When an organisation decides to set up URL filtering and web proxy solutions, they are working to keep employees from being able to go to certain URLs that are known for being potentially compromised. This type of preventative measure is helpful to keep employees from accidentally landing somewhere they shouldn’t that would potentially lead to a malware attack on your systems.

• Software and system updates. Keep all systems and software up to date. Outdated software often has vulnerabilities that developers have patched in updates, meaning that hackers can exploit those vulnerabilities to gain access to your data if your system and software is not regularly updated.

• Malware scanning solutions. If your organisation has a malware scanning solution in place, it will work to increase the visibility of malware attacks across your networks, systems and endpoints. A successful malware scanning solution is often run by signature-based detection, heuristics and machine learning. These scanning solutions can be run on demand or scheduled as often as an organisation would like.

• Staff education. Cybersecurity is everyone’s responsibility. Regular staff training on recognising and avoiding phishing emails, suspicious websites, and other common ransomware entry points can significantly reduce the risk of an employee falling victim to a ransomware attack.

• Incident response plan. Establish a detailed response plan for potential attacks. This includes identifying key personnel, outlining communication protocols, and setting guidelines for restoring systems.

• Web Application Firewall (WAF). A Web Application Firewall (WAF) helps to protect an organisation from many different application layer attacks like SQL injections, cookie poisoning and cross-site scripting. This preventative measure will constantly monitor your outward-facing websites and applications, which allows it to identify, log and remediate a wide variety of different types of attacks.

• Robust backup solutions. Regularly backing up data is an essential part of limiting the impact of ransomware. Store backups offsite or in a cloud storage system with high-level security features. This will allow your organisation to get back to normal operations quicker after a ransomware attack has been contained.

• Ransomware containment solution. Implementing an advanced ransomware containment solution that can contain a ransomware attack in real time offers businesses the best chance of mitigating the impact of ransomware once it has bypassed your preventative measures. Not only can ransomware containment help to prevent the widespread encryption and exfiltration of data, it can also give businesses the time needed to respond effectively.