Ransomware on the Rise

02 Oct Ransomware on the Rise

Ransomware has rapidly emerged as the most visible cybersecurity risk for our nation’s networks, locking up private sector organizations and government agencies alike. And that’s only what we’re seeing – many more infections are going unreported, ransoms are being paid, and the vicious ransomware cycle continues.

CISA’s Role as the Nation’s Risk Advisor

Helping organizations protect themselves from ransomware attacks is a main concern for having cybersecurity. We assist with many ransomware response and recovery efforts, building an understanding of how ransomware attacks unfold and what potential steps you can take to defend systems better. We recognize that there’s no such thing as perfect cybersecurity; ransomware infections can still happen. Below are some recommendations to help organizations limit damage and recover smartly and effectively.

Ransomware Mitigations to Help You Defend Today and Secure Tomorrow

Actions for Today – Make Sure You’re Not Tomorrow’s Headline:

1. Back up your data, system images and configurations, and keep the backups offline
2. Update and patch systems
3. Make sure your security solutions are up to date
4. Review and exercise your incident response plan
5. Pay attention to ransomware events and apply lessons learned

Actions to Recover if Impacted – Don’t Let a Bad Day Get Worse:

1. Ask for help! Contact your IT provider or department
2. Work with an experienced advisor to help recover from a ransomware attack
3. Isolate the infected systems and phase your return to operations
4. Review the connections of any business relationships (customers, partners or vendors) that touch your network
5. Apply business impact assessment findings to prioritize recovery

Actions to Secure Your Environment Going Forward – Don’t Let Yourself be an Easy Mark:

1. Practice good cyber hygiene: back up, update, whitelist apps, limit privilege, and use multifactor authentication
2. Segment your networks; make it hard for the bad guy to move around and infect multiple systems
3. Develop containment strategies; if bad guys get in, make it hard for them to get stuff out
4. Know your system’s baseline for recovery
5. Review disaster recovery procedures and validate goals with executives

Need help implementing ransomware strategies for your business? The good news is we can help your business make these necessary changes.