7 Essential Steps to Becoming Ransomware Resilient 

According to Nationwide, the ransomware attacks have already surpassed one every 14 seconds and are expected to increase to every two seconds by the end of 2031. With a staggering pace like that, organizations must implement ransomware resilience tactics in order to stay vigilant against cyber criminals that are only growing bolder and more sophisticated by the day.  

Traditional defenses such as firewalls and antivirus software will always have a place in a holistic cybersecurity strategy, however, they are no longer enough to stand up to the modern adversary of today and tomorrow. Ransomware resilience goes beyond prevention, it is about preparing for, responding to and recovering from attacks when they occur.  

7 Essential Steps to Becoming Ransomware Resilient 

Becoming ransomware resilient requires a proactive approach to cybersecurity, a blend of prevention, detection and recovery strategies. Here are seven essential steps to help your organization build a strong defense against ransomware: 

1. Implement advanced cybersecurity measures, including a ransomware assessment

• Identify vulnerabilities using a variety of means including: Deploying endpoint detection and response (EDR), network configurations and access controls, that provide real-time monitoring, threat detection and automated responses to potential ransomware attacks.
• Network segmentation: Segment your organization’s network to limit the spread of ransomware across systems. This critical step will help isolate vital systems and prevent an attack from affecting the entire organization.
• Breach and attack simulation (BAS): Implement BAS tools to simulate real-world attack scenarios, helping you assess the effectiveness of your current defenses and evaluate your resilience to ransomware.

2. Implement least privilege access control

• Role-Based Access Control (RBAC): Restrict access to sensitive systems and data based on employees' roles within the organization. This minimizes the chances of a ransomware attack gaining access to critical resources.
• Zero Trust Principles: Adopt a zero-trust approach, verifying every request for access regardless of whether it comes from inside or outside your network. This helps prevent lateral movement within your system if an attacker gains entry.
• Minimize Privileged Accounts: Limit the number of accounts with elevated privileges to reduce the attack surface. Privileged accounts are a common target for ransomware, so restricting them reduces risk.

3. Develop a comprehensive incident response plan

• Establish Clear Protocols: Create a detailed ransomware-specific incident response plan that outlines steps for detecting, isolating, and containing ransomware attacks, as well as notifying stakeholders and law enforcement.
• Simulate Ransomware Attacks: Regularly run tabletop exercises or simulations to ensure your team knows how to respond swiftly and effectively under pressure.

4. Conduct regular backups and ensure availability

• Frequent, inaccessible backups: Ensure that all critical data is backed up regularly and store backups in an offline and air-gapped environment to prevent them from being encrypted by ransomware.
• Backup testing: Regularly test your backups by restoring data to verify that the storing methods are working and processing accordingly and are accessible when needed. This ensures your recovery plan will function as expected in the event of an attack.

5. Train employees on cyber hygiene and ransomware awareness

• Phishing Awareness Training: Conduct regular training sessions for employees on how to recognize phishing emails and suspicious links. Since many ransomware attacks start with a phishing email, this is essential for prevention.
• Create a Security-Centric Culture: Foster a workplace culture that emphasizes the importance of cybersecurity, encouraging employees to report suspicious activity and adhere to best practices.

6. Strengthen access control and privilege management

• Use the Principle of Least Privilege (PoLP): Restrict user access to only the data and systems necessary for their role. Limiting administrative privileges reduces the likelihood that a ransomware attack can spread across systems.
• Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): Enforce MFA across all critical systems to make it harder for attackers to perform a credential compromise, even if they have login credentials.
• Be Aware of Advanced Tactics Like BYOVD: Threat actors are increasingly using Bring Your Own Vulnerable Driver (BYOVD) attacks to exploit legitimate but flawed drivers to gain kernel-level access. Once inside, ransomware can bypass standard protections and escalate privileges. Ensuring endpoint protection tools can detect and block vulnerable drivers is crucial to defending against such advanced techniques.

7. Continuously validate security controls

• Regular Security Assessments: Continuously validate the effectiveness of your security measures with regular assessments and penetration testing. This helps you identify gaps in your defense before attackers can exploit them.
• Exposure Management: Leverage exposure management tools to monitor and mitigate external risks, ensuring that your organization’s vulnerabilities are identified and addressed in real time.

How Cymulate Can Help with Ransomware Resilience 

Cymulate offers a powerful and comprehensive approach to enhancing ransomware resilience through its proactive security validation platform. By simulating real-world ransomware attacks, Cymulate can help organizations identify weaknesses in real-time, improve their defenses and strengthen their overall security posture.  

Through breach and attack simulation (BAS) Cymulate can replicate ransomware attacks and other malicious activities to help security teams assess how their defenses would perform under real-life attack conditions, pinpoint vulnerabilities and prioritize areas of improvement. A critical factor of being ransomware resilient is continuously scanning and assessing your environment for risks. Our platform provides real-time security gap reports of your organization’s potential risk exposure, allowing you to measure the effectiveness of your defenses and make prioritized remediations. 

The Cymulate AI-powered platform offers faster, more accurate and efficient results making them a world-class cybersecurity provider.  

Key Takeaways 

Building ransomware resilience isn't a one-time task—it's an ongoing process that involves preparation, detection, and quick recovery. By following these 7 essential steps, organizations can minimize the damage caused by ransomware attacks, reduce downtime, and safeguard critical data. As ransomware tactics evolve, maintaining a flexible, multi-layered defense is the key to staying resilient in the face of increasing cyber threats.