• 5 min read
How to Prevent Ransomware
Comprehensive guide to preventing ransomware attacks through detection, hardening, and response strategies.
ransomware prevention detection hardening
Originally published on Red Canary Blog
Read the full article: How to Prevent Ransomware
Ransomware Kill Chain
Understanding how ransomware operates helps us prevent it:
- Initial Access - Phishing, RDP, vulnerabilities
- Execution - Malicious payloads run
- Persistence - Maintain access
- Privilege Escalation - Gain admin rights
- Credential Access - Steal credentials
- Lateral Movement - Spread through network
- Encryption - Encrypt files
- Exfiltration - Steal data (double extortion)
Prevention Strategies
Block Initial Access
- Email filtering and sandboxing
- Patch management
- Disable unnecessary RDP
- VPN with MFA
- Application whitelisting
Detect Early Execution
Monitor for:
- Suspicious process execution
- PowerShell abuse
- Script execution
- Unusual network connections
Limit Lateral Movement
- Network segmentation
- Least privilege access
- Disable SMBv1
- Monitor credential usage
- Restrict admin accounts
Prevent Encryption
- Behavioral monitoring for mass file changes
- Backup critical data (offline/immutable)
- File integrity monitoring
- Honeypot files
Detection Opportunities
Pre-Encryption Indicators
- Reconnaissance activity
- Credential dumping
- Tool deployment
- Backup deletion
- Shadow copy deletion
Encryption Indicators
- Rapid file modifications
- File extension changes
- Ransom note creation
- Unusual process behavior
Response Planning
Before Ransomware
- Incident response plan
- Backup strategy (3-2-1 rule)
- Communication plan
- Legal/PR preparation
During Ransomware
- Isolate affected systems
- Preserve evidence
- Assess scope
- Execute recovery plan
After Ransomware
- Root cause analysis
- Improve defenses
- Update procedures
- Share lessons learned
Critical Controls
- Backups - Offline, immutable, tested
- Patching - Rapid vulnerability remediation
- MFA - On all remote access
- EDR - Behavioral monitoring
- Network Segmentation - Limit spread
Read the full prevention guide: How to Prevent Ransomware
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