Ransomware attacks have grown exponentially in recent years, becoming one of the main threats to organizations' digital security.
With increasingly sophisticated techniques, criminals invade systems, encrypt data, and demand millionaire ransoms for its release.
It is necessary to understand that the impact of this action goes beyond financial loss, affecting the company's reputation and the continuity of operations, making prevention an essential factor.
To protect yourself, it is essential to adopt a strategic approach that combines technology, processes, and employee awareness.
But is your company really prepared to face this threat? Keep reading this text and learn how you can protect yourself and mitigate the risks related to ransomware.
What is a ransomware attack?
More and more organizations understand the threats that ransomware attacks pose, because these actions are more frequent and focused.
After all, ransomware is one of the most destructive cyber threats today, operating with increasingly sophisticated models and impacting companies of all sizes.
In 2024 alone, these attacks increased by 11% compared to 2023, totaling 5,414 incidents recorded globally.
This growth was accompanied by the emergence of 46 new ransomware groups, bringing the total number of active groups to 95, a 40% increase compared to the 68 active groups in 2023.
This is evident if we observe that institutions from all sectors have already had some experience with this type of attack.
Ransomware is dangerous, because unlike conventional malware, which can steal data silently, it stands out for completely blocking access to critical systems and files, requiring a financial ransom for release.
This type of attack has evolved from massive, opportunistic campaigns to highly targeted operations, exploiting specific vulnerabilities and advanced techniques such as double and triple extortion.
In this way, in addition to encrypting the data, criminals threaten to leak it publicly if payment is not made.
The dynamics of these attacks have become a true business model for criminal groups, operating under schemes where affiliates use tools developed by experts to increase the efficiency of attacks.
In addition, techniques such as lateral movement within the network, data exfiltration before encryption, and attacks on backups reinforce the lethality of these campaigns.
The average time to execute a full attack has decreased dramatically, making early detection and immediate response even greater challenges for security teams.
Companies that underestimate this threat or that believe that only conventional solutions are enough end up discovering, in the worst way, that the impact of ransomware goes beyond technical damage, reaching the viability of the business.
That is why prevention should not be seen as an isolated process, but as a strategic pillar within cyber risk management.
In a scenario where ransomware variants become more aggressive and attacks faster and stealthier, relying solely on reactive responses means always being one step behind criminals.
What is the impact of ransomware attacks?
Ransomware is not just malware that locks files and systems. It has become a highly lucrative operation for criminals, driven by sophisticated models.
In this structure, developers create and provide tools for affiliates who carry out the attacks, expanding the reach and frequency of attacks.
In addition to data encryption, extortion techniques increase the pressure on victims, with the threat of leaking sensitive information or denial-of-service attacks if the ransom payment is not made.
This evolution demonstrates that ransomware is no longer a threat and has become a well-structured criminal strategy, with increasingly severe impacts on institutions.
With this, its ransomware impacts go far beyond the ransom payment demanded by the criminals. Operational disruption is often the first and most immediate effect of a successful attack.
After all, when systems are encrypted, companies lose access to data essential to their operations, ranging from financial information to customer records and internal processes.
Depending on the sector, this stoppage can generate millionaire losses per hour, affecting everything from production lines to essential services, such as hospitals and critical infrastructure.
And this financial impact goes far beyond the rescue. Even organizations that choose not to pay face significant costs to mitigate damage, restore operations, and strengthen their defenses to prevent further incidents.
How to protect your organization?
To protect your organization from ransomware, it is important to implement a strategic and integrated approach, which includes:
Technology;
Processes;
Communication.
Awareness.
With increasingly frequent attacks and sophistications that scare any company, prevention needs to be continuous and part of people's lives. With this, three pillars are fundamental to minimize risks.
Data Backup and Recovery
Having a robust backup plan is essential to reduce the impact of a ransomware attack.
For this it is important to follow the rule, three copies of the data, stored in two different types of media, with at least one of them offline or in an immutable environment, these actions ensure greater security.
This is because the isolation of backups prevents attackers from being able to corrupt or delete them during an attack, providing a reliable alternative for restoring systems.
In addition, continuous backups help minimize information loss in the event of an incident.
Proactive security
Proactive security drastically reduces the chances of an attack being successful. Implementing multifactor authentication (MFA) makes unauthorized access to critical systems difficult.
Meanwhile, rapid security patching fixes vulnerabilities before they can be exploited.
In addition, continuous monitoring of suspicious activity and analysis of anomalous behavior help identify attackers before they can cause significant damage.
Solutions such as EDR (Endpoint Detection and Response) and XDR (Extended Detection and Response) offer greater visibility into potential threats, allowing for faster responses.
Another essential aspect is network segmentation, which prevents an attack from spreading indiscriminately.
Many institutions still operate with flat network architectures, where a single compromised credential can give unrestricted access to the entire infrastructure.
Creating barriers between critical sectors, implementing the concept of least privilege, and utilizing internal firewalls make it difficult for attackers to move laterally, limiting the potential damage to an incident.
Awareness
People remain one of the main gateways for ransomware attacks, especially through phishing and social engineering. A single click on a malicious link can compromise the entire organization.
Therefore, continuous training programs are essential for people to know how to identify scam attempts and act safely.
Another important action is periodic phishing simulations that help reinforce this awareness, reducing the likelihood of human error facilitating an attack.
In addition, having a well-defined incident response plan is essential to minimize the impacts of an attack. This plan should include:
Clear detection processes;
Containment;
Eradication;
Recovery.
Coupled with conducting simulations, ensuring that in the event of a real attack, everyone knows exactly how to act to mitigate the damage and restore operations in the shortest possible time.
Prepare your business for threats with PhishX solutions
PhishX is a platform specialized in awareness and prevention against cyberattacks, offering a complete ecosystem to strengthen the security of organizations.
With a strategic focus on employee education and engagement, we enable personalized phishing simulation campaigns, interactive training, and continuous analysis of user behavior.
This allows companies to identify human vulnerabilities before they can be exploited by criminals, significantly reducing the risk of ransomware infections and other cyberattacks.
In addition, PhishX offers intelligent features for automating incident response, such as PhishX Assistant, which assists users in identifying threats in real-time and reporting suspicious messages.
With detailed reports and insights, companies can monitor the level of security maturity and adjust their protection strategies continuously.
In this way, PhishX acts as an essential ally in building a more resilient organizational culture, where prevention becomes part of everyday life and security is not just a technology, but a collective commitment.
Contact our experts and learn more!
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