How Business Owners Can Prevent Ransomware

Ransomware Prevention: A Layered Approach

Jump to how business owners and managers can prevent ransomware

Historical Perspective of IT Security

Each time a new attack is found, technology companies develop a new product to detect and prevent that attack. This strategy worked well for a time. In the 1990’s security measures were focused on controls such as firewalls and internal policies. By the early 2000’s, antivirus protection was a must. A new worm or Trojan arose and antivirus professionals quickly developed and sent us a method to detect it and stop it before it damaged our systems. But by 2005, attacks shifted from causing chaos to data theft and ransom. Additionally, the volume of attacks grew substantially. Over 5 million new malware samples were being found annually.

So what did marketing departments everywhere do? They renamed their product as "NextGen endpoint protection" because legacy antivirus wasn’t keeping up. Unfortunately, by 2010 it was clear that cyber attacks were becoming a business model. Keyloggers were running rampant getting bank information. Fileless malware and more targeted attacks became the norm. Technologies like endpoint detection and response (EDR) were developed and added to the security stack.

By 2015, IT teams were buried in alerts and security operations centers (SOC) were formed to manage alerts. SOC analysts were reactionary and trying their best to find issues and stop invaders before they caused irreparable damage. The end result is a teetering tower of protection.

Reconnaissance	Attackers gain knowledge of their target by gathering information such as system architecture, configurations, user profiles, open ports, etc
Weaponization	Attackers select or create malicious code or payloads to be delivered in order to exploit the target system.
Delivery	After weaponizing the attack, attackers deliver it to the target through a direct connection or via email or other means of communication.
Exploitation	The attacker attempts to exploit any vulnerabilities found in the target system using the malicious code delivered in the previous step.
Installation	The attacker then installs malicious components on the compromised system in order to gain persistent access for future attacks and/or data exfiltration purposes.
Command and Control	Malicious components installed on the compromised system are used for remote control and/or further exploitation of the system by attackers who have gained access from outside locations using various techniques such as botnets, tunneling protocols, etc.
Actions on Objectives	Once attackers have achieved their objectives — such as data theft or ransomware deployment – they use their access points in order to execute those actions across multiple systems within a network that can result in massive damage and disruption of business operations if not detected soon enough.

Reconnaissance	Firewalls block port scans Intrusion Detection Systems block the source of the traffic Applications authenticate an account before providing information Employees are taught not to click on links in phishing emails or answer questions from unknown callers
Weaponization	Event Detection and Response software looks at patterns and flags suspicious activities Zero Trust enforcement software blocks unknown or altered software
Delivery	Spam filters stop delivery via email Configuration policies block the use of USB drives
Exploitation	Security patches are applied regularly Vulnerability scans attempt to find gaps before attackers can Applications re-authenticate periodically to limit attacks
Installation	Data Loss Prevention (DLP) limits the damage from exfiltrated data Zero Trust enforcement software blocks unknown or altered software Computer policies and permissions should stop software installation
Command and Control	The firewall attempts to detect and block command and control traffic at the network level EDR software attempts to detect and block command and control traffic at the computer level SIEM tools look for patters in network traffic to detect the attack
Actions on Objectives	DLP limits the damage from exfiltrated data EDR software tracks and prevents the spread of malware from PC to PC

Provide training to employees.

Training should be tracked
Training should have both an on-line self paced and in person components
Short 2-3 minute online training sessions often work better than longer once a year sessions

Insist on MFA

Use MFA on all of your own accounts
Have your MSP force MFA on all systems where it is available
Use MFA and security options as a criterion when selecting new software and systems

Observe and participate in backup and disaster recovery testing

Mandate backups be tested at least quarterly
Dedicate at least one hour a year to one of the most critical components of your infrastructure
Participate for 10-15 minutes per quarter in backup testing
Observe if your IT person is having an easy time with the restore or is frustrated
Observe if the test completed in the amount of time you expected

Ransomware Prevention: A Layered Approach

Historical Perspective of IT Security

Modern Ransomware Prevention

7 steps of the Lockheed Martin Cyber Kill Chain

Stopping attacks at each step

How can business owners prevent ransomware

Provide training to employees.

Run phishing tests

Insist on MFA

Observe and participate in backup and disaster recovery testing

Review cyber insurance applications

More ransomware prevention resources

Go to our guide to cyber security for small business