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Ransomware is a type of malware, which restricts users from accessing their own PCs / laptops. It is observed to be spreading through a computer worm and email attachments. Generally, it infects the system and demands some form of compensation (or ransom) in order to remove the restriction.
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RaaS – Ransomware Sauce Added To The SaaS Recipe?
To understand Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) and how it impacts Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) we must first understand ransomware and Software as a Service (SaaS) and how these intersect.
How do you deal with ransomware?
Sadly, if the ransomware acts as intended, the only real way to get rid of ransomware is to have an antivirus software that protects against it beforehand, or to pay the ransom. If it asks for payment in the form of bitcoins or some other currency you do not currently have, you will lose your information.
RaaS Is A Nightmare For SMBs?
Before the RaaS model was developed, ransomware developers would prefer attacking large companies as the ransom collected would have to be large enough to justify their effort and risk in developing and deploying the ransomware. Development of ransomware required great skill which limited the number of ransomware developers and therefore the number of attacks. Under the RaaS model, the attack can be carried out by an affiliate who has no coding knowledge, which significantly increases the number of attackers. It now becomes profitable for ransomware operators to attack a large number of smaller victims which opens the floodgates to attacks on SMBs, which is supported by attack statistics: the USA reports that 50-70% of all ransomware attacks target SMBs. This is a nightmare for SMBs because the disruption caused by a ransomware attack may be sufficient to shut down operations.
Ransomware as a Service (RaaS)?
Ransomware is quite complex and not easy to develop, especially as businesses are ramping up their protection against ransomware and therefore ransomware developers have to increase the sophistication of the ransomware to evade enterprise defences. Continuous development of ransomware leaves the developers with little time to search for suitable victims and carry out attacks. They have therefore applied the SaaS delivery model to ransomware to create Ransomware as a Service where the developer provides the ransomware on a subscription or commission basis to affiliates who identify potential victims and carry out attacks. RaaS offerings can be very sophisticated with developers advertising their offerings on the dark web and offering dashboards for the affiliates to use to monitor their attacks. Some RaaS providers even include Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attacks and voice-scrambled VoIP calls to the victim’s business partners and the media as part of their service to increase pressure on the victim to pay the ransom. From the threat actors’ point of view, this is a superior model as division of labour creates specialisation, increases productivity, and improves return on investment. However, this is bad news for victims especially for SMBs.
Anti-ransomware Measures?
There are two types of anti-ransomware measures that you can implement to stop ransomware: Management/Organisational Initiatives – These include formulating a cybersecurity policy, maintaining pasword hygiene, and educating users against cyberattacks Technology Solutions – These involve using cybersecurity, like K7 Endpoint Security (K7 EPS), that is designed to detect and defeat ransomware Our earlier blog Cyber-hygienic Healthcare – Preventing Digital Infections has a detailed discussion on the Management/Organisational initiatives that will need to be implemented. This blog will discuss the technology aspects of ransomware and how K7 Endpoint Security works to identify and block this cyberthreat.
Things You Should Know About Ransomware As A Service (RaaS)?
Besides targeting prime industries with malicious vectors, many ransomware actors have also transformed it into a high-paying revenue model by offering it as a service.
How Ransomware Works?
There are different flavours of ransomware but they all attempt to block your access to your data and devices, and demand a ransom to restore access. They block access by encrypting data. Some ransomware look for and encrypt files, such as Word or Excel documents, that are present on the device and some encrypt the Master Boot Record (MBR) to prevent the OS from loading.
Describe preventive measures and steps to take if a ransomware attack occurs?
Tips Identify assets that are searchable via online tools and take steps to reduce that exposure. Protecting Against Ransomware. Understanding Patches and Software Updates. Using Caution with Email Attachments. SMB Security Best Practices. Website Security. Rising Ransomware Threat to Operational Technology Assets.
What is ransom ware?
Ransomware is a form of malware that depending on how it's designed, it can deny its victim access to their personal data or their entire computer (thus holding it hostage) unless certain criteria were met, thus giving the term ransomware.
How K7 Protects Against Ransomware?
K7 EPS employs two methods to provide direct protection against ransomware: Signature-based Detection – The K7 Threat Lab analyses hundreds of thousands of malware samples every day and releases malware definition updates multiple times a day to identify ransomware by their signatures and stop them Behaviour-based Detection – Ransomware operators know that cybersecurity firms utilise signatures to stop ransomware, and develop obfuscation methods to hide their signatures. Behaviour-based detection uses heuristic scanning, monitoring potentially suspicious processes, and increases in file entropy to identify ransomware that is obfuscated. This method is also used to detect new ransomware that may not have a malware sample One of the challenges faced in creating anti-ransomware solutions is the legitimate use of encryption for data security, which you may use in your organisation to protect private or proprietary information. K7 EPS is designed to differentiate between malicious encryption and legitimate encryption, and only stop the former. Signature- and behaviour-based detection stops ransomware once the malicious payload is activated. K7 EPS also includes features that stop cyberthreats before their payload can be deployed, including automatic email scanning, blocking of phishing links and malicious websites, and scanning of USB drives (or even blocking them entirely if you wish) to stop malware ingress.
Winning Against Ransomware?
Before we begin discussing how we can win against ransomware, let us first address the belief that small organisations, or organisations that do not operate in large cities, will not suffer ransomware attacks because they are low value targets. This is not true. Ransomware does not depend on your data having value to threat actors. It only depends on your data having value to you i.e., how well can your healthcare facility operate if you cannot access all or a majority of your data? Many enterprises will have to admit that they will not be able to operate at all, or will be able to operate with severely diminished capability. Additionally, your organisation may not be the intended victim of the attack but the attack can still spread to your organisation from another victim because we are all digitally interconnected in today’s world. Quick summary: Your facility will be attacked if you are in healthcare, and the attack will most probably be ransomware. With that out of the way, let us look at what your healthcare facility can do to defeat ransomware.
The Propagation Old School Methods?
The earlier version of REvil/Sodinokibi ransomware exploited an Oracle WebLogic Server Vulnerability (CVE-2019-2725) or spam documents to access the victim’s machine. Once it gets in, the ransomware manipulates user rights to retrieve all the files and resources of the system. The ransomware has also shown instances where it loaded itself in the memory of PowerShell via reflective loader technique to execute itself as a fileless malware instead of an on-disk file execution. The ransomware was also found abusing malspam emails loaded with spear-phishing links/attachments, illegitimate RDP access, compromised sites, and a range of exploits.
