However, several companies still operate with archaic security measures that are incompetent in combating modern ransomware.
It has been falsely believed that ransomware attacks are declining. In reality, Q1 of 2022 reported a 200% YoY hike in ransomware activities. Moreover, the increase in Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) offerings indicates that ransomware attacks have in fact turned into a commodity for threat actors.
Ransomware as a Service
The RaaS market opens a new and challenging trend for organizations and IT experts.
With RaaS – a subscription ransomware model that charges affiliates for setting up malware – the access barriers for hackers are lower than ever.
The unsophisticated nature of RaaS hackers is the reason why the average downtime has decreased to just 3.85 days (as compared to the average attack duration of two months in the year 2019).
While the decrease in attack downtime sounds promising, the emergence of RaaS still indicates a fact for the business leaders, i.e. all organizations are vulnerable. Consequently, demanding the role of IT and business experts to combat the risk by implementing robust cybersecurity protocols.
The need for the aforementioned action could be estimated by reviewing the ransomware attack cases that organizations have witnessed in recent times.
Bernalillo County’s Ransomware Breach
In January 2022, threat actors breached data centers in Bernalillo County, New Mexico. The largest detention facility in the county's automatic locking systems and security cameras were among the critical infrastructure disruptions that continued for several days.
Months after subverting the ransomware agents, Bernalillo County officials finally implemented a stronger cybersecurity strategy that included endpoint detection and response (EDR) systems, multi-factor authentication (MFA) on all employee accounts, 24/7 security monitoring, and new virus-scanning software.
Bernalillo County’s Ransomware Breach has taught security experts several lessons. The incident highlights how ransomware can cause non-financial harm to persons and businesses. Since, residents of Bernalillo County suffered severe service interruptions during the incident, while county convicts were confined to their cells for several days.
The incident also emphasized the importance of rapid response to such situations. Cybersecurity measures such as MFA, remote monitoring, and EDR work wonders in preventing ransomware attacks, but only if implemented before the cyberattack.
Unfortunately, a lot of business executives still hold off on putting strong cybersecurity policies in place. As a result, ultimately and inevitably, their organizations end up suffering like the residents of Bernalillo County.
Prioritizing a Robust Security Strategy is Crucial
Organizations must not compromise in implementing security protocols and services. In order to boost the effectiveness of cybersecurity, business and IT leaders are suggested to have access to the same evolving AI and machine learning capabilities that are utilized by modern hackers.
An adequate tactile protection plan usually requires a third-party vendor in order to provide security insights or monitoring capabilities. However, business and IT leaders only consider Ransomware Protection as a Service (RPaaS) solutions that provide adaptive tactics for cloud-based, on-premises, and hybrid data centers. Doing so will eventually ensure the organization’s cybersecurity package scales as it grows—or, in some instances, shrink —without the need for extra software.
Preparing For “When,” And Not “If”
The first step to combat a ransomware threat is by accepting that any organization, big or small, could be a target sooner or later. This realization will eventually become more crucial in combatting the attacks, as one witnesses a constant rise in casual ransomware attacks via RaaS, and as international conflicts have further increased the chances of large-scale breaches and ransomware attacks.
Although one cannot entirely evade ransomware attacks, breaches could still be dodged by taking cybersecurity measures such as a robust cyber defense, that will consequently secure an organization from any financial loss or a mission-critical service outage.