Ransomware encrypts or steals data to disrupt operations and extort victims, making backups, access controls, and incident response essential.
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Background for this topic.
Ransomware is malware used to deny access to systems or data, usually by encrypting files and demanding payment for decryption. Many operations also steal sensitive information and threaten to publish it, so an attack can create both an availability crisis and a privacy or disclosure risk. Initial access may involve phishing, stolen credentials, exposed remote services, or exploitation of unpatched vulnerabilities; attackers may then move through the network before deploying the payload.
Defenses should combine vulnerability management, phishing-resistant authentication where practical, endpoint and network monitoring, and backups that are isolated from routine administrator access and regularly tested for recovery. Organizations should also limit privileges and segment critical systems to reduce the blast radius. An incident requires rapid containment, preservation of forensic evidence, restoration from known-good backups, and assessment of notification, legal, and regulatory obligations. Threat intelligence can help identify relevant criminal infrastructure or tactics, but it does not replace sound access control, patching, detection, and recovery practices.
Security teams — who are already fighting off malware challenges — are also facing renewed attacks on cloud assets and remote systems.
The QNAP network-connected devices, used to store video surveillance footage, are a juicy target for attackers, experts warn.
Most of the attacks involve the use of automated exploits, security vendor says.
SharePoint and OneDrive libraries can be encrypted in ransomware attack, researchers say.
Cyber insurance is more than a policy for paying off ransomware gangs. It's designed to be something you transfer risk to when security controls fail.
A working group of European and US officials meet at The Hague to collaborate on ransomware operations and strategies.