Ransomware

The biggest online threat to businesses and consumers today is ransomware, a category of malware that can encrypt your computer files until you pay a ransom to unlock them. With this practical book, you’ll learn how easily ransomware infects your system and what steps you can take to stop the attack before it sets foot in the network. Security experts Allan Liska and Timothy Gallo explain how the success of these attacks has spawned not only several variants of ransomware, but also a litany of ever-changing ways they’re delivered to targets. You’ll learn pragmatic methods for responding quickly to a ransomware attack, as well as how to protect yourself from becoming infected in the first place. Learn how ransomware enters your system and encrypts your files Understand why ransomware use has grown, especially in recent years Examine the organizations behind ransomware and the victims they target Learn how wannabe hackers use Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) to launch campaigns Understand how ransom is paid—and the pros and cons of paying Use methods to protect your organization’s workstations and servers

Protect Your Organization from Devastating Ransomware and Cyber Extortion Attacks Ransomware and other cyber extortion crimes have reached epidemic proportions. The secrecy surrounding them has left many organizations unprepared to respond. Your actions in the minutes, hours, days, and months after an attack may determine whether you'll ever recover. You must be ready. With this book, you will be. Ransomware and Cyber Extortion is the ultimate practical guide to surviving ransomware, exposure extortion, denial-of-service, and other forms of cyber extortion. Drawing heavily on their own unpublished case library, cyber security experts Sherri Davidoff, Matt Durrin, and Karen Sprenger guide you through responding faster, minimizing damage, investigating more effectively, expediting recovery, and preventing it from happening in the first place. Proven checklists help your security teams act swiftly and effectively together, throughout the entire lifecycle--whatever the attack and whatever the source. Understand different forms of cyber extortion and how they evolved Quickly recognize indicators of compromise Minimize losses with faster triage and containment Identify threats, scope attacks, and locate "patient zero" Initiate and manage a ransom negotiation--and avoid costly mistakes Decide whether to pay, how to perform due diligence, and understand risks Know how to pay a ransom demand while avoiding common pitfalls Reduce risks of data loss and reinfection Build a stronger, holistic cybersecurity program that reduces your risk of getting hacked This guide offers immediate value to everyone involved in prevention, response, planning, or policy: CIOs, CISOs, incident responders, investigators, negotiators, executives, legislators, regulators, law enforcement professionals, and others. Register your book for convenient access to downloads, updates, and/or corrections as they become available. See inside book for details.

Know how to mitigate and handle ransomware attacks via the essential cybersecurity training in this book so you can stop attacks before they happen. Learn the types of ransomware, distribution methods, internal structure, families (variants), defense strategies, recovery methods, and legal issues related to reporting ransomware incidents to authorities and other affected parties. This book also teaches you how to develop a ransomware incident response plan to minimize ransomware damage and recover normal operations quickly. Ransomware is a category of malware that can encrypt your computer and mobile device files until you pay a ransom to unlock them. Ransomware attacks are considered the most prevalent cybersecurity threats today—the number of new ransomware variants has grown 30-fold since 2015 and they currently account for roughly 40% of all spam messages. Attacks have increased in occurrence from one every 40 seconds to one every 14 seconds. Government and private corporations are targets. Despite the security controls set by organizations to protect their digital assets, ransomware is still dominating the world of security and will continue to do so in the future. Ransomware Revealed discusses the steps to follow if a ransomware infection occurs, such as how to pay the ransom through anonymous payment methods, perform a backup and restore your affected files, and search online to find a decryption tool to unlock (decrypt) your files for free. Mitigation steps are discussed in depth for both endpoint devices and network systems. What You Will Learn Be aware of how ransomware infects your system Comprehend ransomware components in simple terms Recognize the different types of ransomware familiesIdentify the attack vectors employed by ransomware to infect computer systemsKnow how to prevent ransomware attacks from successfully comprising your system and network (i.e., mitigation strategies) Know what to do if a successful ransomware infection takes place Understand how to pay the ransom as well as the pros and cons of paying Set up a ransomware response plan to recover from such attacks Who This Book Is For Those who do not specialize in the cybersecurity field (but have adequate IT skills) and want to fully understand the anatomy of ransomware threats. Although most of the book's content will be understood by ordinary computer users, it will also prove useful for experienced IT users aiming to understand the ins and outs of ransomware threats without diving deep into the technical jargon of the internal structure of ransomware.

Avoid becoming the next ransomware victim by taking practical steps today Colonial Pipeline. CWT Global. Brenntag. Travelex. The list of ransomware victims is long, distinguished, and sophisticated. And it's growing longer every day. In Ransomware Protection Playbook, computer security veteran and expert penetration tester Roger A. Grimes delivers an actionable blueprint for organizations seeking a robust defense against one of the most insidious and destructive IT threats currently in the wild. You'll learn about concrete steps you can take now to protect yourself or your organization from ransomware attacks. In addition to walking you through the necessary technical preventative measures, this critical book will show you how to: Quickly detect an attack, limit the damage, and decide whether to pay the ransom Implement a pre-set game plan in the event of a game-changing security breach to help limit the reputational and financial damage Lay down a secure foundation of cybersecurity insurance and legal protection to mitigate the disruption to your life and business A must-read for cyber and information security professionals, privacy leaders, risk managers, and CTOs, Ransomware Protection Playbook is an irreplaceable and timely resource for anyone concerned about the security of their, or their organization's, data.

In May 2021, Jim Gosler, known as the Godfather and commander of US agencies’ cyber offensive capability, said, ''Either the Intelligence Community (IC) would grow and adapt, or the Internet would eat us alive.'' Mr Gosler was speaking at his retirement only several months before the terrorist attacks of 9/11. He possibly did not realise the catalyst or the tsunami that he and his tens of thousands of US IC offensive website operatives had created and commenced. Over the last two decades, what Mr Gosler and his army of Internet keyboard warriors created would become the modus operandi for every faceless, nameless, state-sponsored or individual cybercriminal to replicate against an unwary, ill-protected, and ignorant group of executives and security professionals who knew little to nothing about the clandestine methods of infiltration and weaponisation of the Internet that the US and UK agencies led, all in the name of security. This book covers many cyber and ransomware attacks and events, including how we have gotten to the point of massive digital utilisation, particularly during the global lockdown and COVID-19 pandemic, to online spending that will see twice the monetary amount lost to cybercrime than what is spent online. There is little to no attribution, and with the IC themselves suffering cyberattacks, they are all blamed on being sophisticated ones, of course. We are witnessing the undermining of our entire way of life, our economies, and even our liberties. The IC has lots to answer for and unequivocally created the disastrous situation we are currently in. They currently have little to no answer. We need—no, we must demand—change. That change must start by ensuring the Internet and all connections to it are secure and no longer allow easy access and exfiltration for both the ICs and cybercriminals.

Ransomware will cost companies around the world $20 billion in 2021. Prepare for, recognise and survive ransomware attacks with this essential guide which sets out clearly how ransomware works, to help business leaders better understand the strategic risks, and explores measures that can be put in place to protect the organisation.

Crack a ransomware by identifying and exploiting weaknesses in its design KEY FEATURES ● Get an overview of the current security mechanisms available to prevent ransomware digital extortion. ● Explore different techniques to analyze a ransomware attack. ● Understand how cryptographic libraries are misused by malware authors to code ransomwares. DESCRIPTION Ransomware is a type of malware that is used by cybercriminals. So, to break that malware and find loopholes, you will first have to understand the details of ransomware. If you are looking to understand the internals of ransomware and how you can analyze and detect it, then this book is for you. This book starts with an overview of ransomware and its building blocks. The book will then help you understand the different types of cryptographic algorithms and how these encryption and decryption algorithms fit in the current ransomware architectures. Moving on, the book focuses on the ransomware architectural details and shows how malware authors handle key management. It also explores different techniques used for ransomware assessment. Lastly, the book will help you understand how to detect a loophole and crack ransomware encryption. By the end of this book, you will be able to identify and combat the hidden weaknesses in the internal components of ransomware. WHAT YOU WILL LEARN ● Get familiar with the structure of Portable Executable file format. ● Understand the crucial concepts related to Export Directory and Export Address Table. ● Explore different techniques used for ransomware static and dynamic analysis. ● Learn how to investigate a ransomware attack. ● Get expert tips to mitigate ransomware attacks. WHO THIS BOOK IS FOR This book is for cybersecurity professionals and malware analysts who are responsible for mitigating malware and ransomware attacks. This book is also for security professionals who want to learn how to prevent, detect, and respond to ransomware attacks. Basic knowledge of C/C++, x32dbg and Reverse engineering skills is a must. TABLE OF CONTENTS Section I: Ransomware Understanding 1. Warning Signs, Am I Infected? 2. Ransomware Building Blocks 3. Current Defense in Place 4. Ransomware Abuses Cryptography 5. Ransomware Key Management Section II: Ransomware Internals 6. Internal Secrets of Ransomware 7. Portable Executable Insides 8. Portable Executable Sections Section III: Ransomware Assessment 9. Performing Static Analysis 10. Perform Dynamic Analysis Section IV: Ransomware Forensics 11. What’s in the Memory 12. LockCrypt 2.0 Ransomware Analysis 13. Jigsaw Ransomware Analysis Section V: Ransomware Rescue 14. Experts Tips to Manage Attacks

Ransomware is a threat variant that has existed for a very long time, contrary to popular belief. Today, ransomware attacks have become much more covert and stealthier than when they first came out. In this book, the author provides an overview of ransomware and the timeline of its evolution. The author also discusses famous ransomware attacks that have occurred, with a special focus on SolarWinds and critical infrastructure before taking a deep dive into penetration testing and how it can be used to mitigate the risks of a ransomware attack from happening. The author also covers incident response, disaster recovery, and business continuity planning. We even look at an appropriate data backup plan as well.