How organizations are beefing up their cybersecurity to combat ransomware

Image: Shutterstock/Carlos Amarillo

The caller question of ransomware attacks has triggered heightened concerns among everyone from the backstage assemblage to the national government. To amended combat ransomware attacks, organizations recognize that they person to amended cardinal aspects of their cyber defenses. A report released Monday by individuality absorption supplier Hitachi ID looks astatine the changes that businesses are making to debar becoming a unfortunate of ransomware.

SEE: Security Awareness and Training policy (TechRepublic Premium)

A survey conducted by Pulse and Hitachi ID passim September asked 100 IT and information executives what modifications they're making to their cybersecurity infrastructure, however those changes are capable to amended grip cyberattacks, and however authorities plays a relation successful their strategy.

Software-as-a-service (SaaS) is 1 cardinal method successful cybersecurity. A afloat 99% of the respondents said that astatine slightest immoderate portion of their information initiatives includes a determination to SaaS successful which an outer supplier hosts and delivers cloud-based applications to its customers. Some 36% said that much than fractional of their efforts impact this benignant of move.

Among different information goals that person been initiated, multi-factor authentication has been started by 82% of those surveyed, azygous sign-on by 80%, individuality entree absorption by 74% and privileged entree absorption by 60%. But Zero Trust, which progressively is being advocated arsenic a much effectual strategy, is little connected the list.

Only 47% of the respondents said they've executed Zero Trust principles and policies. However, astir three-quarters admitted that they spot an vantage successful outsourcing their Zero Trust architecture components from less vendors arsenic a mode to simplify the strategy.

One situation successful shifting applications to the unreality rests with bequest systems that can't easy beryllium migrated. A afloat 86% of those surveyed acknowledged that they bash person bequest systems that request to beryllium secured.

SEE: Ransomware attackers are present utilizing triple extortion tactics (TechRepublic)

Cybercriminals who deploy ransomware person been getting bolder successful however they devise their attacks. One strategy is to effort to enlistee insiders consenting to exploit their ain company. Almost fractional (48%) of the respondents said that they oregon different employees had been approached straight to assistance successful pulling disconnected a ransomware attack. More than fractional (55%) of directors said that they'd been approached successful the aforesaid way. Among those who said they were contacted, 83% said this method has accrued since much radical person been moving from home.

Educating employees astir cybersecurity is different cardinal method to assistance thwart ransomware attacks. Among those surveyed, 69% said their enactment has boosted cyber acquisition for employees implicit the past 12 months. Some 20% said they haven't yet done truthful but are readying to summation grooming successful the adjacent 12 months.

Knowing however to plan your worker information grooming is paramount. Some 89% of the respondents said they've educated employees connected however to forestall phishing attacks, 95% person focused connected however to support passwords harmless and 86% connected however to make unafraid passwords.

Finally, much than three-quarters (76%) of the respondents said they're acrophobic astir attacks from different governments oregon federation states impacting their organization. In response, 47% said they don't consciousness their ain authorities is taking capable enactment to support businesses from cyberattacks, and 81% judge the authorities should play a bigger relation successful defining nationalist cybersecurity protocol and infrastructure.

"IT environments person go much fluid, open, and, ultimately, vulnerable," said Bryan Christ, income technologist astatine Hitachi ID Systems. "As a result, much companies are relying little connected accepted methods specified arsenic a VPN to support their networks secure. Certain credentials, specified arsenic passwords to privileged accounts, are the keys to the kingdom. If a atrocious histrion gets their hands connected these credentials, a ransomware onslaught is astir definite to ensue."

Recommendations

To assistance your enactment amended support itself against ransomware attacks, Christ recommends a proactive strategy to fastener down information and entree absorption from the wrong out.

First, passwords that are static oregon stored locally tin beryllium exploited successful a information breach. Therefore, organizations request to acceptable up entree absorption defenses to trim this risk.

Second, utilizing multi-factor authentication (MFA) and azygous sign-on (SSO) tin lessen the menace by stopping attackers from gaining entree to your network.

Third, giving users conscionable the minimum entree indispensable for them to bash their jobs tin further support your organization. Two methods to get this level of information are just-in-time entree (JIT) and randomized privileged relationship passwords.

Fourth, astute password absorption and privileged extortion should pb to the eventual extremity of Zero Trust.

"Zero Trust is simply a information attack that addresses these caller web realities by trusting nary one—and galore are gravitating to Zero Trust to mitigate hazard from cyberattacks from aggregate introduction points (including internal)," Christ said. "That being said, it's important to retrieve that Zero Trust is simply a journey, not a destination—and it tin instrumentality time."

But organizations tin execute Zero Trust done a bid of steps: 1) Trust nothing; 2) Secure everything; 3) Authenticate requests and measure entree requests based connected context; 4) Evaluate each requests; and 5) Grant entree by the rule of slightest privilege (PoLP).

Also see

• Ransomware: What IT pros request to cognize (free PDF) (TechRepublic)
• How to forestall different Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack (TechRepublic)
• SolarWinds attack: Cybersecurity experts stock lessons learned and however to support your business (TechRepublic)
• How to go a cybersecurity pro: A cheat sheet (TechRepublic)
• Hiring Kit: Cybersecurity Engineer (TechRepublic Premium)
• Cybersecurity and cyberwar: More must-read coverage (TechRepublic connected Flipboard)