Ransomware prevention

The key to ransomware prevention 

Ransomware has become one of the most prevalent and devastating types of malware attacks in recent years. Cybercriminals are drawn to this attack vector because it can be incredibly profitable. Companies that are victim to attacks often end up paying millions of dollars to regain access to business-critical data and systems. As a result, ransomware has become big business – groups of cybercriminals have even begun offering Ransomware-as-a-Service. 

While security awareness training can help employees recognize the phishing attacks that are often a prelude to a ransomware attack, it takes just one user mistake for attackers to successfully gain access to an IT environment and encrypt the files on it. Consequently, early threat detection and mitigation is essential for ransomware prevention. 

Cybersixgill assists with ransomware prevention by providing threat intelligence drawn from the dark web. Deploying advanced automated threat monitoring and intelligence collection technologies, we capture, process and alert teams to emerging threats like ransomware along with other TTPs and IOCs as they surface on the clear, deep and dark web.

How ransomware works 

In a ransomware attack, cybercriminals gain access to an IT environment, using encryption to block access to data, files, applications and systems. Attackers may use phishing techniques to dupe an employee into revealing credentials that provide access to a system or they may exploit an unpatched software vulnerability that enables them to access a network and install malware on it.

Ransomware blocks access to IT resources in one of two ways. Attackers may use encryption to encrypt the Master Boot Record – a map of the layout of the computer’s memory. They may also use malware that searches for certain types of files and encrypts each one individually.

Once a ransomware attack has been successful, the attackers issue a demand for a ransom, usually an amount of cryptocurrency to be paid in return for a decryption key.

Ransomware groups use different techniques to attack systems and extort victims. Ransomware operators increasingly combine attacks with data theft, distributed denial-of-service (DDoS) attacks or threats to leak sensitive information. 

Understanding how attacks play out is one of the keys to ransomware prevention. By monitoring the activity of threat actors on the deep and dark web, organizations can improve their knowledge of the structure of potential attacks as well as the methods of individual cybercriminals. With this threat intelligence, security teams can improve ransomware detection capabilities and put defenses in place to mitigate attacks before they strike.

Ransomware prevention with Cybersixgill

Cybersixgill’s fully automated threat intelligence solutions help organizations expose the earliest indications of risk to pre-empt attacks like ransomware. With the most extensive intelligence collection capabilities in the market, we covertly extract data from the broadest range of sources on the deep and dark web, including underground forums, illicit marketplaces, invite-only messaging groups, paste sites, and code repositories, as well as social media sites and blogs on the clear web.

Using advanced AI and machine learning algorithms, we automatically prioritize, enrich and score data according to the unique assets and attack surfaces of our customers. By publishing profiles and identifying the behavior patterns of threat actors, we enhance ransomware prevention by enabling security teams to know what attackers are planning.

With threat intelligence and dark web monitoring solutions from Cybersixgill, security teams can achieve higher levels of ransomware protection.

• Continuous ransomware monitoring keeps security teams updated on the interests, motivations, activities, tools and TTPs of threat actors in ransomware markets.

• Access to data leak sites the dark web reveals insights into which companies are being targeted and what kinds of new capabilities attackers have acquired.

• Tracking Ransomware-as-a-Service groups enables teams to understand their methods and develop security controls to mitigate their efforts.

• Monitoring the sale of compromised access and credentials allows organizations to better understand their risk exposure.

• By accurately predicting which vulnerabilities attackers are likely to exploit, security teams can optimize their patching cadence to remediate the most dangerous vulnerabilities first.

Cybersixgill threat intelligence solutions 

Cybersixgilloffers three threat intelligence solutions that contribute to superior ransomware prevention.

A threat intelligence feed. Cybersixgill’s vast collection of cyber threat intelligence data can be consumed via an application programming interface (API) that integrates directly into existing workflows and system architectures to address multiple use cases & functionalities. The API offering supports database queries and query-based notifications, actionable alerts tailored to your organizational assets, automated feed of malicious IOCs, detection of leaked user credentials, real-time feed of CVE-related events and developments, multi-tenant (MSSP) configurations and more. A new integration per customer request can be created within a week.

• A portal for investigating threats. The Cybersixgill Investigative Portal provides exclusive access to closed underground sources as well as the most comprehensive and automated collection from the deep and dark web. This Cybersixgill solution helps security analysts to get the big picture, connecting the dots to better understand the plans and motivations of threat actors. The Investigative Portal automatically maps threat intelligence to organizational assets and use cases, triggering imminent threat alerts that provide an earlier warning of potential risk.

• Vulnerability management. Cybersixgill Dynamic Vulnerability Exploit (DVE) Intelligence offers a more effective way to analyze vulnerabilities and prioritize remediation. Rather than assessing severity – the traditional method for evaluating vulnerabilities – DVE Intelligence calculates scores based on the likelihood that attackers will exploit a given vulnerability in the next 90 days. Based on deep and dark web threat intelligence and proven machine learning algorithms, DVE Intelligence can accurately predict which vulnerabilities attackers are most interested in, enabling security teams to prioritize those vulnerabilities for patching and remediation to improve ransomware prevention.

Why choose Cybersixgill? 

Cybersixgill is dedicated to protecting organizations against malicious attacks that come from the deep and dark web, before they materialize. Our technology continuously exposes the earliest indications of risk, even before a threat actor has a chance to execute their mission.

Our threat intelligence solutions uncover threat activity in any language, platform or format. By indexing 10 million new threat intelligence items per day, we provide intelligence that is highly accurate, comprehensive, covert and automated.

With Cybersixgill, security teams have all the tools they need to fight cybercrime, block ransomware, prevent malware, stop fraud and remediate vulnerabilities more effectively.

FAQs

What is ransomware?

Ransomware is a type of malicious software that prevents users and organizations from accessing files on computers or servers until a ransom has been paid to the attacker. Ransomware typically blocks access to files by encrypting them, which renders them inaccessible to anyone without a decryption key.

What is ransomware prevention?

Ransomware prevention technology relies on a multilayered approach to security and employs a variety of techniques for identifying, detecting, blocking, responding to and recovering from a ransomware attack. Ransomware detection solutions watch for signs of ransomware, blocking web traffic, email attachments, file downloads and other activity that could give attackers access to an IT environment. Ransomware prevention technologies are often informed by dark web monitoring solutions that identify ransomware in the earliest stages, using that intelligence to configure protections that can deny ransomware attempts more effectively.