Winning The Battle Against Ransomware

Ransomware is a form of malware designed to damage and destroy computers and computer systems, usually to facilitate extortion.  Just one successful ransomware attack that leads to a data breach is an existential threat to any organisation, with the average cost of a ransomware-related data breach stands at $4.54m, which can take down many companies. 

It is also increasingly linked to data theft, and to threats to publish sensitive information online. Mass data loss from an attack can be irreversible, even when the ransom is paid.  After a downturn in attacks and payouts in 2022 ransomware returned with a vengeance in 2023 with  514 reported attacks in September alone and the trend will likely grow in 2024.

The highest-profile ransomware incident in 2023 was the attack on the MGM casino and hotels business September 2023, which forced the company to shut down its nationwide computer network, incurring an estimated $100 million loss. The same attacker, also hit rival gaming giant Caesars Entertainment, which paid a $15 million ransom. 

One important solution is context-sensitive defence, which has a threat exposure reduction, deep learning anti-malware protection, and comprehensive anti-ransomware and anti-exploit capabilities. 

A key components of context-sensitive defence is the adaptive nature of endpoint security that can automatically apply more aggressive protection when a device is under attack. However healthcare often don’t have context-sensitive defences and this trend is having a greater impact was the continuous onslaught upon health-care providers, who are hit by ransomware attacks and these attackers hit even harder in 2023. 

Healthcare ransomware attacks can lead to hospital increasing the risks on patients who need immediate treatment for such time-sensitive emergencies as strokes and heart attacks.

Overall, organisations seemed to be growing more confident that they could successfully respond to ransomware attacks. 70% of survey respondents had "moderate to high levels of confidence" in their companies' abilities to handle ransomware attacks, and 79% said they had mostly or fully completed secure backups of critical data.

Unfortunately, organisations in sectors hit hardest by ransomware, such as healthcare and education, often have ineffective security safeguards. Few educational institutions are public companies, but we may see a record number of breach-related SEC penalties levied against publicly traded healthcare providers in 2024. 

Even the best cyber security systems sometimes fail, so make sure that all sensitive data is protected by multiple layers of defence. 

At a minimum this should include: file encryption, including data stored in the cloud, employee access controls, multi-factor authentication, network segmentation and limiting or turning off remote access to the network. 

Parlaiment.UK:    SC Magazine:   Malware.news:    Sonic Wall:     Graphus.AI:     Help Ransomare:   

Power Grid International:    Cybersecurity Collaboration      Imge: Shubham Dhage

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