Ransomware attacks have been on the rise in recent years and have caused a lot of damage to businesses and organizations around the world. Most ransomware employs malware that encrypts important files from a computer or network and demands payment to decrypt them. Ransomware will lock users out of an entire system, even with more sophisticated variants, and will come to a grinding halt for the business.
A ransomware attack can have a devastating impact on the indicator: from high ransom payment demand to permanent data loss if the ransom was not decryptable after payment. Apart from the loss of immediate financial hit, ransomware can also bring about reputational damage, lawsuits, and loss of competitive advantage for victimized companies. This is why security teams have to strengthen network defenses to protect their organizations from this threat.
To prevent and prevent ransomware attacks, this article concludes with actionable recommendations that improve how your network is secured in general. Implementing these network hardening best practices properly reduces the risk profile of an organization to ransomware.
Keep Operating Systems and Software Up-To-Date
One of the most important ransomware prevention measures is to ensure that internet-connected devices and servers have installed the latest OS and software security updates. Cybercriminals are constantly searching for and weaponizing new vulnerabilities in common software products. As vendors become aware of flaws in their software, they release updates and patches to address them. Keeping systems fully updated closes security gaps before attackers can penetrate a site or broader environment and launch ransomware.
Central patch management is something that must be brought into play by organizations because they must coordinate and automate the patching of endpoints and infrastructure. Wherever possible, turn on auto updates on devices and standardize the software version so that it becomes easier. It denies attackers some of the easiest initial access points into company networks by prioritizing critical security updates for internet frontend systems and servers.
Harden Authentication and Access Controls
While software vulnerabilities provide technical means for malware delivery, human-driven actions often enable the necessary access for successful ransomware execution. Attackers frequently steal user credentials or exploit weak access controls to gain initial entry, then move laterally through networks to deploy ransomware widely.
Implementing strong identity and access management measures makes unauthorized network access much more difficult in the first place. Using multi-factor authentication (MFA) for all user and admin accounts adds an extra layer of security, forcing attackers to compromise more than just a password to get in. More than 99.9% of compromised accounts don’t have MFA, which leaves them vulnerable to password spray, phishing, and password reuse.
Role-based access controls for permissions along with the principle of least privilege for file/folder access prevent threat actors from accessing sensitive data or making damaging changes even with valid credentials. Disable dormant accounts, limit workstation-to-workstation communication and promptly deactivate ex-employee credentials.
Auditing user behavior and access attempts can also help early detection of abnormal activity indicating compromised accounts that warrant investigation.
Segment and Monitor Network Traffic
With ransomware attacks often spreading quickly once a foothold is established, organizations must limit lateral movement through network segmentation and traffic monitoring. Separating subnetworks and restricting workstation-to-workstation communication makes wholesale ransomware deployment much more difficult.
Segment networks based on device type, functionality, and access needs. At a minimum, isolate corporate servers, workstations, networked storage, and guest Wi-Fi onto different subnets with firewalls. Granular micro-segmentation takes this further by dividing network sections by department, data sensitivity, etc. Additional access controls between segments prevent threats from traversing network boundaries.
Next-generation intrusion detection and prevention systems (IDS/IPS) provide deep traffic inspection and analysis to detect known attack patterns and anomalies that could indicate malicious activity. Quality IDS/IPS solutions even have automated response capabilities to block detected threats before they progress.
Securing internet entry and exit points with web application firewalls adds similar protections against attacks from external connections. Cloud access security brokers (CASBs) extend cloud-based traffic and data security through encryption, malware detection, access controls, and activity monitoring.
Secure Endpoints and Mobile Devices
With many ransomware attacks starting with a single infected endpoint that then compromises wider networks, hardening device defenses is imperative.
All endpoints including laptops, desktops, and mobile devices should run endpoint detection and response (EDR) software for advanced threat monitoring at the host level. Quality EDR solutions prevent common attack vector processes like malware downloads and unrecognized encryption activities in real-time.
Disk-level encryption on endpoint hard drives also mitigates damage if malware gets through to prevent easy access to the underlying data. Without the ability to encrypt files, ransomware loses its leverage for extortion.
For portable devices, disable USB drives if not expressly required. Conduct frequent access rights reviews to limit users to only necessary applications and resources based on their duties. Push automated security policy changes to enforce device hardening consistently across your environment.
Keep Backups Offline and Test Restores
While hardening defenses aim to prevent ransomware execution entirely, regular offline backups provide insurance to recover encrypted data without paying the demanded ransom. Storing backup copies disconnected from the main network ensures malware has no means to access and corrupt them.
Implement system-level backups as well as file/folder backups based on criticality, ideally with a 1-3-2 rule: At least one local backup, three copies total including one offsite, with at least two on different media types. Test restoration from multiple points to ensure the success of recovery processes in the event backups become necessary.
Simulation testing can uncover gaps in backup strategies that undermine their real-world integrity during incidents. Periodically restoring sample data identifies potential issues like lag between backups, backup corruption/errors, or inadequate recovery documentation.
Develop Incident Response Plans with Reporting Procedures
Despite best efforts at prevention, some ransomware attacks inevitably succeed. Organizations must also implement formal incident response plans to ensure effective containment, remediation, and recovery in response.
Incident response plans establish procedures including threat detection processes, investigation and response protocols, backup restoration, public relations strategies, and documentation requirements. They designate response personnel roles and standardize communications for faster mitigation when incidents occur.
User ransomware infection reporting procedures facilitate early detection of active attacks before they spread widely. Outline internal infection notification policies and contact methods for employees to quickly report suspicious activity.
Testing these response processes with hypothetical breach scenarios uncovers deficiencies and shows where policies fail to provide adequate support. Tabletop exercises also build confidence in a plan’s real-world viability and help participants become more familiar with required actions.
Invest in Ongoing Cybersecurity Training
Ultimately, successful ransomware defense requires a workplace culture focused on cybersecurity. Dedicated awareness training teaches employees to identify warning signs of phishing emails, suspicious links, and attachments, or social engineering attempts aiming to steal credentials or distribute malware.
Conduct regular end-user education addressing top ransomware infection vectors while highlighting the cyber threats combatted by the technical controls implemented. Ensure cybersecurity training completion ties into formal employee requirements and performance metrics.
More advanced, role-based cybersecurity training empowers IT/InfoSec teams to bolster in-house expertise around threat hunting, attack detection, and mitigation response. Because ransomware threats constantly evolve, cybersecurity skills development enables defenders to keep pace.
Consider Cyber Insurance
Despite its implementation, even well-implemented defenses fail from time to time, particularly when it comes to the most sophisticated ransomware operations. To mitigate this organizations are financially overcome by the costs of business interruption, recovery, legal liabilities, and PR crisis management.
Specialized offerings related specifically to the expenses resulting from breaches exist in the form of cyber insurance policies, which help to offset these breach-related costs. Dedicating cyber insurance also indicates to customers that an organization takes cybersecurity readiness seriously.
Also, the premium costs encourage policyholders to meet minimum security standards and adopt best practices to keep coverage eligibility. But insurance should not be a substitute for other defenses.
Use a Cybersecurity Services Firm
Outsourcing cybersecurity to a managed service provider (MSP) for small and mid-sized businesses without the specialized security staff allows them to augment capabilities efficiently. Reputable MSPs provide 24/7 threat monitoring, provide services from your vendors, patch and maintain, optimize controls, and offer incident response services.
Cloud security platforms also dump the security work to them with advanced protections and SLAs as in fact behind the scenes. Cloud security vendors are responsible for stopping ransomware threats in subscriber environments in exchange for subscription fees.
Conclusion
More organizations are suffering damage from the growing threat of ransomware and those who do not defend their networks adequately. Nevertheless, the countermeasures described in this article help security leaders implement layered protections that significantly reduce their ransomware risk.
Best practices for the prevention of ransomware include maintaining offline backing, developing an incident response plan, security services, cyber insurance, training, keeping software updated, hardening access controls, segmenting networks, and securing the endpoints.
While the threats are always evolving, applying these basic foundational network security attacks continues to make a forceful and flexible defense against the current and future ransomware attack tactics. If these recommendations are institutionalized, organizations will have the best chance of avoiding being a victim of business disruption at the hands of ransomware operators going forward.
