3 Ransomware Protection Strategies for 2023

The world of cybersecurity is becoming increasingly complex, and no one can afford to be lax in their efforts to keep systems safe from cybercriminals. Within this article, we will discuss three strategies that can help you protect your network against ransomware attacks in 2023.

Ransomware is a multi-billion dollar market, and it's growing.

Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts data and threatens to delete it unless the victim pays a ransom. It’s on the rise: attacks have grown by more than 50% in 2019, with nearly 1.5 million incidents so far this year alone – up from just 651,000 attacks in 2018.

The UK was hit hard by ransomware attacks in 2022 when more than 16 million devices were infected with malicious software between January and June 2022 alone according to statistics released by the National Cyber Security Centre (NCSC). This resulted in widespread disruptions across massive industries including healthcare and transport as well as government services such as HMRC who reported losses of ￡400 billion due to inability to access critical data during this period.

With these numbers steadily increasing each year it’s clear we need better ways of protecting ourselves against ransomware attacks before they happen so let’s take a look at some strategies you can use today!

As long as there are vulnerable targets, ransomware operators will continue to attack them.

The ransomware market is worth a staggering $1 billion, and it has been growing steadily since 2020. In fact, research shows that the average ransom payment doubled in 2020 from $116,000 to $312,000. This trend will likely continue as long as there are vulnerable targets—like hospitals or municipal governments—that can be held for ransom by malicious actors.

Ransomware operators recognise this opportunity and have begun building new strategies for exploiting these targets.

Cybercriminals have gotten smarter and more efficient. What used to take months now only takes weeks or even days.

The average ransomware attack takes several months to execute. But cybercriminals are getting smarter, faster, and more efficient. What used to take months now only takes weeks or even days.

The reason for this change is that the cybercriminal world has become much more competitive—and therefore opportunistic—and it’s no longer feasible for a single criminal organisation or crime ring to target its own attacks against every potential victim at once. That’s why ransomware operators are moving away from big bang attacks where they try to infect as many victims as possible (which means they have less time to spend on each one) in favour of targeting specific organisations with whom they can negotiate payment terms directly by emailing an infection notification message instead of just infecting them blindly through an exploit kit or phishing campaign like they used to do before.

A honeypot decoy can be an effective deception tactic as cybercriminals tend to be opportunistic, which means they attack targets of opportunity when they find them.

A honeypot decoy is a tactic that can be used to trick cybercriminals into believing they've found an easy target. The idea behind the honeypot decoy is that you want to make your network look attractive and tempting for an attack, but you don't actually want them to be able to cause damage or steal data from your network.

If you successfully lure attackers in with a honeypot decoy, you'll have more time to detect them before they do any real damage on your network. Ideally, if attackers are tricked into thinking they can get in and out quickly with little effort, then it will be easier for you to find them before they cause too much harm.

Security awareness training is another important strategy for creating a security culture that acknowledges the human vulnerability element of ransomware attacks.

Security awareness training is another important strategy for creating a security culture that acknowledges the human vulnerability element of ransomware attacks. It can help users recognise phishing attacks, malware downloads, and other security threats that could lead to infection. For example, one study found that employees who received security awareness training were able to recognise malicious emails in 97 percent of cases versus only 50 percent for those who did not receive such training.

Security awareness training is also beneficial because it helps identify which employees are more susceptible to falling victim to cyberattacks—and thus requires more attention from companies when it comes to protecting their accounts. Such information can be used by organisations in their incident response plans: for example, if high-risk employees have detected suspicious activity on their computers but failed to report it through proper channels (e.g., calling IT instead), then managers should follow up with them directly and remind them of the importance of alerting administrators about any suspicious activities so they can be addressed as soon as possible.

The most effective protection strategy requires a variety of tools to keep your organisation secure at all times. Look at external security risks to your organisation.

To combat ransomware and other types of malware, organisations must have a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity. The most effective protection strategy requires a variety of tools to keep your organisation secure at all times. Look at external security risks to your organisation. Use firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), honeypots and other security awareness training programs to monitor your network for suspicious activity.

Look at external security risks to your organisation and run security awareness training.

Use firewalls and intrusion detection systems to monitor network traffic for suspicious activity.

Review your antivirus software regularly and make sure it's up-to-date, as well as on the lookout for any new threats.

Run regular penetration tests against your systems or hire an external auditor to do this for you—this can help you identify weaknesses in your security posture before they're exploited by attackers.

Find an effective network solution

With cybersecurity being a top priority for businesses, it’s important to have an effective network solution in place that can prevent security and data breaches. A best practice solution should include:

• Improved protection against ransomware by using SASE to determine whether systems are at risk of being attacked. This will help you prevent an attack before it happens, allowing you to take steps towards mitigating the damage once the threat has been identified.
• SD-WAN supports BYOD (bring your own device) policies while providing users with seamless access to files across multiple branches without compromising on security or performance.

There’s no doubt that ransomware attacks are on the rise—and they're becoming more sophisticated. But you can take some simple steps to protect yourself from these attacks, and keep your organisation safe from harm. By following our three strategies and keeping up with the latest developments in cybersecurity technology, you'll be well positioned to keep your files safe from ransomware attacks.

If you would like to discuss how we can assist in your SD-WAN or SASE solution choice, then please arrange a call back with one of our team.??

Sources

1.] NCSC, 2022, https://www.ncsc.gov.uk/collection/annual-review-2022/threats-risks-and-vulnerabilities/cyber-incidents-in-the-uk