John Dunn
Among software vulnerabilities, none is more feared than so-called “zero days,” which are known only to the attackers (that is, defenders have “zero days” to patch). These have traditionally been used sparingly in targeted attacks carried out by nation-states.Recently, however, this has started to change, and zero day exploits have started turning up more regularly […]
Brad Rudisail
Sponsored Post: NasuniRansomware is a term that strikes fear in the minds of many CIOs and Technology Directors. While not a death sentence, it can certainly seem so as downtime turns from minutes, into hours or even days. During that time, operations grind to a complete stop or at least slow down as digital processes […]
John Dunn
Should organizations extorted by ransomware gangs pay their attackers?It’s a question that cuts to the heart of ransomware response. Some take what might be viewed as a pragmatic stance and say there is no right or wrong answer, and organizations should be free to make their own decision. On the other side is a growing […]
How does ransomware work? It starts with a vulnerability on your network. That vulnerability can take many forms: a phishing email that someone opens, a compromised password, or a malicious website a worker is convinced to visit.
And the less secure an organization’s IT infrastructure, the more likely it is to be victimized by ransomware. An unpatched, Internet-facing server is especially vulnerable, as is an application that’s not up-to-date. Networks can be hacked if they have weaknesses in a router. Operating systems of all kinds are juicy targets for ransomware.
The same goes for end-user systems, like desktops, laptops, and mobile phones. These attacks can rely on a combination of “social engineering”—fooling users into unsafe actions like clicking on email links or downloading attachments—and technical methods of entry, like automated attacks that look for vulnerabilities.
Once it gets on the network ...
... it’s pretty much Game Over for an organization. Files are encrypted, and the only way to decrypt them is with the mathematical key held by the attacker. At that point, it’s pay up (usually in Bitcoin or other cryptocurrency) or lose all the data.
Companies are having discussions on whether or not to pay the ransom. Paying is unwise, for numerous reasons. Two of the most important are
Rarely is all the data recovered. Statistics show that about 65% of the data is recovered on average.
Once a company shows a willingness to pay, they become targets for more attacks. This can be in the form of another ransomware attack immediately following the first, or a blackmail attempt whereby the hackers threaten to publicly release the confidential data stolen unless the company pays up again.
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What kinds of ransomware is out there in the wild?
While there are plenty of ransomware examples, and a nearly infinite number of variations, some types remain popular with hackers, and pop up again and again.
Ransomware news is everywhere these days. It’s nearly impossible for a week to go by without reading or hearing about another company that was hit by an attack.
The most recent gold standard for ransomware in the news, of course, is the Colonial Pipeline attack in May 2021. In that attack, which hit the source of 45% of the fuel used on the Eastern Seaboard of the United States, a criminal gang of hackers calling itself DarkSide caused the price of fuel to briefly skyrocket.
It served as a wakeup call to many—not only the brazenness of the attack, but the ability of ransomware to take out a critical bit of U.S. infrastructure shook up the IT industry, bringing a new urgency to efforts to protect and defend against the ransomware plague.
In a recent story about the growing threat of ransomware, it was reported in late September 2021 that Russian hackers launched a ransomware attack against two farming co-ops in Iowa and Minnesota. The Minnesota attacks badly disrupted the victims’ daily operations. In the other attack, the hackers demanded a $5.9 million payment in cryptocurrency, which is the favored payment method.
Unfortunately, the ransomware news isn’t likely to slow down anytime soon.
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