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2021-05-14
Ransomware is a series of malicious code intended to carry out cyberattacks on a system. Without a proper ransomware protection system, your data and information might be compromised and result in unrecoverable damages.
As a matter of fact, no company or industry is safe from ransomware attacks as they have always been the most common targets.
Some examples of ransomware include:
Ransomware infections can occur in various ways, for example, victims often trigger ransomware through clicking on malicious files or links attached to phishing emails. Sometimes, when a user visits an infected website, the ransomware will be downloaded and installed automatically even without the user's permission, and this is called drive-by downloading.
To avoid users from unknowingly giving access to ransomware, ransomware protection software will detect and block ransomware in advance, protecting your sensitive data from ransomware attacks.
In short, ransomware protection helps businesses to take a proactive role in fighting against malware.
Basically, ransomware protection involves several measures, which are:
The ransomware protection software will notify users once a malicious attack is detected, preventing the users from activating the ransomware.
The ransomware protection system will also perform regular scanning on your device to discover any infected files.
Once the ransomware is detected, the ransomware protection system will seek user permission to delete and decrypt the infected files, helping to mitigate the consequences of an attack.
The largest fuel pipeline company in the United States was
reported being attacked by Ransomware, and shut down all four of its major
pipelines that serve the country. The hacker group called DarkSide infiltrated the
pipeline’s network, extracted about 100GB of data, and threatened to leak the
data onto the Internet. It demanded nearly US$5 million in order to decrypt all
computers, servers and networks.
The cyberattacks on Operational Technology (OT) networks are
increasing in frequency and severity, mainly due to the higher availability
requirements of utilities and manufacturing industries. Due to the nature of
business that requires continuous operation 24/7, there is nearly no downtime
for IT infrastructure maintenance and system updates. The lack of important
security updates, patches and features may cause the systems and networks
vulnerable to cybersecurity threats. Another fact is such companies are more
willing to pay a ransom in exchange for the opportunity to resume business
after an attack, which makes the OT networks more vulnerable to cyberattacks.
In fact, the aging of OT infrastructure and the lack of
effective network security solutions are the main reasons for the increase in vulnerabilities
in Industrial Control Systems (ICS) and IoT infrastructure. According to
Claroty's latest report, compared with the first half of 2020, ICS
vulnerabilities increased by 33% in the second half of 2020, of which 71% were
network vulnerabilities. In order to avoid ransomware attacks, companies should
deploy OT and IT network security solutions as soon as possible to ensure
network compliance, security, control and binding with industry standards.
Effective ICS security solutions which consist of industrial firewall, sandbox,
unified management platform, and next-generation firewall, can fully protect
the OT networks from ransomware attacks and maintain business continuity.
► 3 Steps to defend against Ransomware: Detect, Intercept & Response! Read the related article
Analytic-driven Approach is the Solution to Cybersecurity Threats
The network convergence of OT and IT is on the rise. While
protecting the security of OT systems, IT security is also unneglectable. In
order to cope with the ever-changing cybersecurity threats, companies can adopt
analytics-driven cybersecurity solutions, collecting big data from proactive
monitoring of networks, systems and users for further analysis. These analytics
help identify vulnerabilities and anomalies more accurately for remediation
actions.
► How can analytic-driven cybersecurity solutions close the security gap? Read the related article
CITIC Telecom CPC is ready to provide customers with comprehensive managed security services at any time. TrustCSI™ MSS solutions make use of the advanced Security Information and Event Management (SIEM) technology to detect vulnerabilities and prioritize threats for timely remediation actions. These processes allow customers to review and refine their network security measures to strengthen their capabilities to respond to cyberattacks. Please feel free to contact our security consultants for a free security consultation! For more information about TrustCSI™ 2.0 Information Security solutions, please click here.
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