New security insights on stopping the ransomware scourge
In the ransomware corner of the cyber-crime arena, bad actors have held the advantage for too long over enterprises and other legitimate organizations. Without any regard for laws, or other rules and regulations, cybercriminals move with speed and dexterity. They use every available technology to create and rapidly launch new attacks against which legitimate organizations are largely defenseless.
To help enterprises regain the upper hand, TrueFort has published a new position paper that outlines how to be as agile as your attackers.
Seizing the upper hand
In Seizing the Upper Hand in Ransomware Attacks, our cyber security experts look at how the industry got here. They discuss how enterprises, following applicable laws and regulations, as well as their compliance and corporate governance directives, wound up with less nimble, albeit more well-managed IT environments and development processes. While strong in several ways, this approach has critical weaknesses, specifically in its lack of speed and dexterity in responding to changing ‘battlefield’ conditions.
The paper contrasts these measured, corporate processes with the faster, looser, ‘run-and-gun’ approach embraced by cybercriminals and other threat actors. Unencumbered by laws, rules, and regulations, these sophisticated, well-funded, and well-organized groups use the latest technologies to create and launch new attacks at a shockingly rapid pace and with increasing success.
How enterprises must change
Enterprises’ hand-crafted, static security controls won’t go away anytime soon. However, the numbers of successful ransomware attacks make it equally obvious that more needs to be done. The question is, what exactly?
Seizing the upper hand with modern attacks requires one fundamental change. Organizations must move toward more dynamic, real-time controls that go beyond just detecting problems. Making this change involves embracing automated, intelligent, and preventative controls that provide more autonomous and more accurate response capabilities.
As with any change, making this shift can be bumpy. But things that can smooth the path – such as algorithmic boundary controls, immutable infrastructure, and red teaming concepts for testing, are discussed.
Now is the time
It’s well past time to move past static security controls and the wet blanket they throw over the speed, accuracy, and effectiveness of response. It’s time to close the persistent functional and responsiveness gaps that have caused so much financial and reputational disadvantage for legitimate organizations.
The new techniques described in this paper, coupled with a more agile, DevOps-based approach, will enable security teams to develop controls that can detect ransomware and other sophisticated cyber-attacks rapidly, and respond to them automatically in real time.
Are you and your team ready to start seizing the upper hand in the battle against ransomware and other modern cyberattacks? Download your copy of this TrueFort position paper.
