Staying One Step Ahead: The Ultimate Anti-Ransomware Assurance Checklist

Once considered a passing fad, ransomware attacks have consistently risen in frequency and complexity. New research from Cyentia confirms ransomware’s threat dominance — its findings note that ransomware accounts for 32% of all security incidents and 38% of financial losses from cyber events over the past five years.  

Ransomware breach recovery costs continue to rise too — the IBM Cost of a Data Breach Report for 2024 reports that the global average cost of a data breach topped USD $4.88M, which represents a 10% increase over 2023, and the highest total ever. There is about a 10% chance that any given organization will experience at least one ransomware incident in the next 12 months.  

The emergence of ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS) has lowered barriers for threat actors, while fileless, in-memory attacks are evading conventional endpoint protection solutions. These tactics enable threat actors to establish a presence within company systems, waiting for the opportune moment to execute their attacks. Once activated, the extortion process begins, often leading to irreversible consequences. 

Ransomware delivery techniques are changing – and challenging response processes 

Attackers are moving away from file-based ransomware deployment which tends to focus on static files and network behavior. More commonly, a payload delivery attack chain often starts and ends inside device memory at runtime, exploiting a highly vulnerable attack vector for most organizations.   

Chae$ 4 is one such example. In January 2023, Morphisec identified an alarming trend where numerous clients, primarily within the logistics and financial sectors, were under the onslaught of a new and advanced variant of Chaes malware. The sophistication of the threat was observed to increase over multiple iterations from April to June 2023.   

This variant had undergone major overhauls: from being rewritten entirely in Python, which resulted in lower detection rates by traditional defense systems, to a comprehensive redesign and an enhanced communication protocol. Additionally, it boasted a suite of new modules that expanded its malicious capabilities.  

Like Chae$ 4, malware often creeps across networks, sometimes for weeks, before triggering ransomware. Most endpoint solutions either miss advanced attacks or catch them too late. A threat that evades endpoint technology (EDR or EPP) can move laterally across a network, attacking critical systems, anywhere at any time. 

Ransomware adversaries are big business, with an increasingly crowded field of ransomware gangs behind many of today’s attacks.  

Access the real-time dashboard here. 

Avoiding ransomware response pitfalls 

Companies navigating a ransomware attack often face significant pitfalls and risks that can delay their response. Delayed detection is a common issue, often caused by a lack of awareness or insufficient monitoring tools. Poor communication, both internal and external, can also slow down the response. Ineffective communication channels within the organization and delays in coordinating with external partners like cybersecurity experts or law enforcement can exacerbate the situation. 

Unpreparedness is another critical factor. Companies without a well-defined incident response plan may struggle to coordinate an effective response, and untrained staff may react inappropriately, worsening the situation. Technical challenges, such as a complex or outdated IT infrastructure and insufficient backups, can further delay containment and recovery efforts. Decision-making delays, particularly around whether to pay the ransom, and confusion over roles and responsibilities, can also hinder the response. 

Psychological factors like panic and stress come into play, reducing efficiency and effectiveness, while cross-departmental coordination or confusion can complicate efforts in large or multinational companies. Proactive planning, regular training, and robust incident response protocols are essential to mitigate these risks and ensure a swift, effective response to ransomware attacks. 

Achieve cyber resiliency with Anti-Ransomware Assurance powered by Automated Moving Target Defense  

Modern ransomware attacks call for a modern response. Gartner, a leading market research firm, has identified key trends that are shaping the future of cybersecurity: Automated Moving Target Defense (AMTD), which is hailed as essential to any modern security strategy and a game-changer for cyber defenses, and Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM), an approach to spot, evaluate, and fix attack paths and security risks tied to digital assets.  

Morphisec is leading the charge in ransomware defense as the industry’s first provider to seamlessly integrate crucial elements — ransomware protection, AMTD and CTEM —into a single, powerful solution. The Morphisec Anti-Ransomware Assurance Suite with Adaptive Exposure Management is designed to help organizations pre-emptively reduce exposure to cyber risk, proactively prevent advance threats and ensure optimal anti-ransomware defense. Powered by Automated Moving Target Defense (AMTD), this solution helps organizations adapt, protect and defend with a multi-layered guard against ransomware threats. 

Built on Morphisec’s pioneering AMTD technology, the Anti-Ransomware Assurance Suite provides multiple distinct layers of anti-ransomware protection, pre-emptively reducing an organization’s exposure, and proactively preventing attacks at multiple phases. Additionally, it protects critical system resources and data when ransomware attempts to execute, reducing mean time to recovery.  It’s an industry-first offering that brings Anti-Ransomware, AMTD and Continuous Threat Exposure Management (CTEM) together into one seamless solution.  

With the Anti-Ransomware Assurance Suite, organizations can get a clear understanding of their attack surface, identify the unique factors that affect it, and gain the ability to address those factors before impact.   

Optimize ransomware response processes with the ultimate anti-ransomware assurance checklist 

People, process and technology are essential to any cyber threat response. Ensuring those components are optimized for today’s brand of sophisticated and evasive threats (like ransomware) is key to minimizing damage and getting back to business as usual faster. The Comprehensive Checklist for Anti-Ransomware Assurance is a practical and actionable resource that can help your team optimize the way they mobilize and respond to ransomware attacks. 

Download this checklist for actionable guidance that identifies: 

• Immediate actions 

• Crisis communication considerations 

• Data and privacy considerations 

• Ransomware payment considerations 

Additionally, preventative precautions are suggested that can help your team address: 

• Assessment and preparedness 

• Infrastructure and network and security 

• Governance 

• Security hygiene 

• Operational readiness 

• Principle of least privilege  

• Advanced threat prevention  

• Education and security awareness training 

• How Automated Moving Target Defense and Adaptive Exposure Management can help 
  

In an era where ransomware is becoming increasingly sophisticated and frequent, adopting an automated cyber resiliency strategy is essential for ensuring organizational security and operational continuity. 

By integrating anti-ransomware assurance into your cybersecurity strategy, you can significantly reduce the impact and blast radius of ransomware attacks while ensuring that your critical assets and data remain protected.  

to support your resiliency efforts.