It was also discovered that it does not pay to-pay ransom demand. Ransomware attacked 80% of ransomware victims again, and 68% claimed that the ransomware attack took place in less than a month. Ransom demands were higher from threat actors. In February, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published a joint report that stated, "The market in ransomware has become more professional in 2021." It also stated that the evolution of ransomware strains last year "demonstrates...threat actors' growing technological sophistication." Spam emails laced in malware and resulting in ransom demands of hundreds upon thousands of dollars have been stopped. These ransomware operations include RansomOps. Our report RansomOps: Inside Complex Ransomware Operations & the Ransomware Economy explores these "lower" and "slower" attacks, which try to hide while they penetrate as much target network before a ransom request can be issued. Organizations can avoid becoming victims by being aware of ransomware's evolution and nature.

1. Safeguarding Against the Five Stages Of a
Ransomware Attack
It was also discovered that it does not pay to-pay ransom demand. Ransomware
attacked 80% of ransomware victims again, and 68% claimed that the ransomware
attack took place in less than a month. Ransom demands were higher from threat
actors.
In February, the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA) published a
joint report that stated, "The market in ransomware has become more professional in
2021." It also stated that the evolution of ransomware strains last year
"demonstrates...threat actors' growing technological sophistication."
Spam emails laced in malware and resulting in ransom demands of hundreds upon
thousands of dollars have been stopped. These ransomware operations
include RansomOps. Our report RansomOps: Inside Complex Ransomware Operations
& the Ransomware Economy explores these "lower" and "slower" attacks, which try to
hide while they penetrate as much target network before a ran som request can be
issued.
Organizations can avoid becoming victims by being aware of ransomware's evolution
and nature.
FIVE STAGES OF RANSOMWARE ATTACK
RansomOps attacks may occur in several stages. Gartner defines as ingress and
compromise (burrowing/tunneling), command and control, and
burrowing/tunneling. These are the five stages we will be looking at, and how to stop
them.
 Initial Ingre ss An attack starts with ingress (i.e. The initial attack point. This
could be a compromised site, an API endpoint compromised or a rogue actor
using stolen credentials. These vulnerabilities can easily be detected
and insecure IT practice highlighted through penetration testing. Penetration
testing should include penetration test based on OWASP guidelines.
 Compromise When Dropper installs on a computer, this starts the infection
stage. Tools for endpoint detection and response (EDR). tools can detect
malicious activity and prevent it from spreading. EDR is a collection of modern,
integrated security tools that detect, contain, and investigate cyber-attacks high
in the cyber kill chain.
 Burrowing/Tunneling Once inside the attackers "burrow down", then "tunnel
up" using prem resources. They then move laterally through a network to gain
access to the environment and release the ransomware payload. This can be
stopped using endpoint controls like firewalls and network segmentation.
 Command and Control: This process uses command-and-control channels (C2)
to install additional malware tools, and then the ransomware paymentload. This
activity can be detected and blocked by an Extended Response &
Detection solution. This solution uses AI to detect malicious chains and other

2. behavior that could be used to launch a RansomOps attack. Certain
combinations of behavior may be rare, or g ive attackers an advantage. Your
team must also be able distinguish between malicious and benign use of
legitimate tools. This includes executions that use legitimate instruments for
malign purposes.
 Encryption Once the attacker has detonated ransomware, t hey will encrypt the
assets on the network and take them hostage until the victim agrees to
pay. RansomOps smugglers use double extortion schemes for
payment. Ransomware gangs sometimes use double extortion in order to obtain
sensitive information from their targets prior to launching the encryption
program. To stop attackers from publishing victims' data online the threat actor
demands victims to pay additional extortion. Cybereason CEO LiorDiv outlined
the different levels of extortion companies will face if their data gets
compromised.
RANSOMWARE PREVENTION
WannaCry infected more than 7000 computers within an hour, and more that one
hundred million IP addresses over the next two days. We know the ransomware
was stopped but the virus was amateur-in-nature and couldn't have been
prevented. There are two options for dealing with ransomware. You can either respond
or prevent ransomware from occurring.
Ransomware attacks are often prevented by data backups. As we've already
discussed, only a small portion of the damage can be covered by data backups. It is
smart to back up data and systems. However, this doesn't solve double extortion.
An ransomware prevention program is highly effective and includes the following:
 Se curity Hygie ne Tips: These include regular patch management, regular
software updates, security awareness programs, and the deployment of the best
security solutions for the network.
 M ulti-Laye r Pre vention Capabilities: Enterprise endpoints need NGAV to
protect against ransomware attacks leveraging both known and custom TTPs.
 De ploying Endpoint and Exte nded De tection, Re sponse (EDR/XDR): Point
solutions that detect malicious activity across the environment such as
RansomOps attacks provide visibility to stop ransomware attacks before data
exfiltration or deliver ransomware payload.
 Se curity Ke y Playe rs: Responders should be available at all hours of the
day. Weekend/holiday holidays can cause delays in critical mitigation
efforts. Clear instructions are needed for those who need to be on -call in the
event of an emergency that occurs outside of normal business hours.
 Conducting Pe riodic TOP Exe rcises: To ensure a smooth incident response,
these drills should be attended by key decision -makers from Legal, Human
Resources, IT Support, and other departmen ts.
 Ensure Cle ar and Consiste nt Isolation Policie s: This will stop further
intrusions into your network or spread ransomware on other devices. Teams
should be able to disengage a host, lock down compromised account, block
malicious domains and so on. To ensure that the procedures and personnel
work as expected, it is important to test them with scheduled or unscheduled
drills at least once per quarter.

3.  Ev aluating M anaged Se curity Se rv ices Prov ider Option If your security
organization experiences staff shortages or skills shortages, you can make pre -
agreed solutions with your MSPs so that they can take immediate action
following an agreed-upon plan.
 Prote cting critical accounts during we e kends and holidays. Most
ransomware attackers will use the following met hod to spread ransomware
throughout a network. They will escalate privileges to the administrator domain
level and then deploy it. Teams should create highly secure, emergency-only
accounts within their active directory. These accounts cannot be used if
operational accounts are temporarily disabled by ransomware attacks or made
inaccessible. Similar precautions should be taken regarding VPN access. You
can limit its availability on weekends or holidays, depending on your business
requirements. Our 2021 Study Ransomware attackers don’t take holidays
contains more information on weekend and holiday ransomware threats.
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