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Media Alert: Sophos shows how the most prevalent and persistent ransomware families attack victimsPlaybook for defenders covers attack tools and techniques used by 11 major ransomware families including WannaCry, SamSam, RobbinHood, Ryuk, MegaCortex, and more Automated, Active Attack-style was the Most Common Approach Seen Among Top Ransomware Families in the Report OXFORD, United Kingdom , Nov. 14, 2019 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Sophos (LSE: SOPH), a global leader in next-generation cybersecurity, has published How Ransomware Attacks, a playbook for defenders that explains how ransomware variants attack and impact victims. The playbook complements the 2020 Threat Report released on Nov. 4, and features a detailed analysis of 11 of the most prevalent and persistent ransomware families, including Ryuk, BitPaymer and MegaCortex. The research by SophosLabs highlights how ransomware tries to slip unnoticed past security controls by abusing trusted and legitimate processes, and then harnesses internal systems to encrypt the maximum number of files and disable backup and recovery processes before an IT security team catches up. The tools and techniques covered by the playbook include: The main modes of distribution for the major ransomware families. Ransomware is typically distributed in one of three ways: as a cryptoworm, which replicates itself rapidly to other computers for maximum impact (for example, WannaCry); as ransomware-as-a-service (RaaS), sold on the dark web as a distribution kit (for example, Sodinokibi); or by means of an automated active adversary attack, where attackers manually deploy the ransomware following an automated scan of networks for systems with weak protection. This automated, active attack style was the most common approach seen among the top families listed in the report. Lateral movement and hunting across the network for file and backup servers while staying uder the radar in order to unleash the full impact of the ransomware attack. Within an hour, attackers can create a script to copy and execute the ransomware on networked endpoints and servers. In order to speed up the attack, the ransomware might prioritize data on remote/shared drives, target smaller document sizes first, and run multiple encryption processes at the same time. Remote attacks. The file servers themselves are often not infected with the ransomware. Instead, the threat typically runs on one or more compromised endpoints, abusing a privileged user account to remotely attack documents, sometimes via the Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) or targeting remote monitoring and management (RMM) solutions typically used by managed service providers (MSP) to manage customers’ IT infrastructure and/or end-user systems. File encryption and renaming. There are a number of different methods for file encryption, including simply overwriting the document, but most are accompanied by either the deletion of the backup or original copy to hinder the recovery process. “The creators of ransomware have a pretty good grasp of how security software works and adapt their attacks accordingly. Everything is designed to avoid detection while the malware encrypts as many documents as possible as quickly as possible and makes it hard, if not impossible, to recover the data. In some cases, the main body of the attack takes place at night when the IT team is at home asleep. By the time the victim spots what’s going on, it is too late. It is vital to have robust security controls, monitoring and response in place covering all endpoints, networks and systems, and to install software updates whenever they are issued,” said Mark Loman, director of engineering for threat mitigation technology at Sophos, and the author of the report. How to protect against ransomware
The complete How Ransomware Attacks playbook, as well as a SophosLabs Uncut article, How the Most Damaging Ransomware Evades IT Security, are available. About Sophos As a worldwide leader in next-generation cybersecurity, Sophos protects more than 409,000 organizations of all sizes in more than 150 countries from today's most advanced cyberthreats. Powered by SophosLabs - a global threat intelligence and data science team - Sophos' cloud-native and AI-enhanced solutions secure endpoints (laptops, servers and mobile devices) and networks against evolving cybercriminal tactics and techniques, including automated and active-adversary breaches, ransomware, malware, exploits, data exfiltration, phishing, and more. The award-winning Sophos Central cloud-based platform integrates Sophos' entire portfolio of best-of-breed products, from the Intercept X endpoint solution to the XG Firewall, into a single system called Synchronized Security. Sophos products are exclusively available through a global channel of more than 53,000 partners and Managed Service Providers (MSPs). Sophos also makes its innovative commercial technologies available to consumers via Sophos Home. The company is headquartered in Oxford, U.K., and is publicly traded on the London Stock Exchange under the symbol “SOPH.” More information is available at www.sophos.com. Press Contacts: Samantha Powers, March Communications |