Ransomware poses a pervasive threat to businesses, with no foolproof method to completely ward it off. However, organizations can adopt practical measures to reduce their vulnerability and bounce back swiftly in the face of an attack.

While all organizations are potential targets by ransomware threat groups, Trustwave SpiderLabs’ most recent threat intelligence report noted the manufacturing sector is the most impacted industry by ransomware. Ransomware attacks have a devastating impact on manufacturing companies, causing financial losses, operational disruptions, and reputational damage.

When it comes to the most active threat gangs, Trustwave’s ransomware research reported that LockBit 3.0 has emerged as the predominant ransomware strain, representing more than 30% of the purported manufacturing victims. Other prominent ransomware strains such as Clop, BlackCat/ALPHV, and Royal have also substantially affected the manufacturing threat landscape. The presence of multiple strains, each less prevalent, indicates a strategic diversification by attackers in their operational tactics, eschewing dependence on a singular strain.

The fact is ransomware will remain a high-level threat for not only manufacturing, but for most other industries. Soi, here are five key strategies to mitigate the ransomware threat:

1. Conduct regular penetration testing and vulnerability assessments: To protect what cannot be seen, organizations must regularly run penetration testing (pen testing) and vulnerability assessments. These assessments reveal network connections, identify unmanaged vulnerabilities, and prioritize critical assets. Given the complexity of modern organizations with diverse networks and environments, it's crucial to conduct regular pen tests and adjust security policies accordingly.
2. Understand the Danger of Phishing Attacks: Phishing attacks are a significant gateway for ransomware, with 36% of data breaches involving some form of phishing (Verizon's 2023 DBIR). What's more, such attacks are often the first step in a ransomware campaign, as cybercriminals can leverage phishing tactics to deploy their malicious payloads or collect credentials to be used later down the line.
3. Email Security: Mitigating against phishing attacks is not as simple as deploying one email security solution. Most organizations that have been the victim of a successful email-initiated ransomware attack had an email security solution. Instead, layering email security solutions is a very cost-effective way of reducing the volume of phishing attacks. Also, training employees to decrease the likelihood of them falling for a phishing email and clicking on a malicious link bolsters email security technology.
4. Deploy advanced threat detection solutions: Stay ahead of evolving threats by deploying detection solutions that leverage artificial intelligence and machine learning. These solutions detect indicators of compromise and behavior, providing security teams with timely notifications of malicious activities. While these solutions offer valuable threat intelligence, organizations must weigh the cost-effectiveness of outsourcing this capability versus building it internally.
5. Develop and refer to an incident preparation and response plan: Every organization should assume it could be a target of a ransomware attack and create a comprehensive incident preparation and response plan. Collaborating with C-level executives, security practitioners should address key aspects such as data backup and retrieval, containment of ransomware, identification of affected systems, cyber insurance evaluation, considerations for negotiation or ransom payment, and identification of external resources needed for response.

Trustwave battle-tested solutions, managed by its elite SpiderLabs team of researchers and analysts can help an organization implement these five strategies, bolstering their defenses against ransomware and enhance their resilience in the event of an attack. Proactive measures, coupled with a well-defined incident response plan, contribute to mitigating financial and reputational damage associated with breaches and attacks.

Click the image above to find out exactly how Trustwave can help your organization defend against ransomware attacks.

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