Ransomware Attacks Defy Deterrent Efforts, Titaniam Finds

A majority of organizations claim to use data protection, prevention, and detection service, however many were still hit with ransomware attacks last year, according to Titaniam’s recent survey and report. A majority of organizations claim to use data protection, prevention, and detection service, however many were still hit with ransomware attacks last year, according to Titaniam’s recent survey and report. The “State of Data Exfiltration & Extortion Report” found that more than three-quarters of respondents invested in all three categories of ransomware protection for their security stack, including prevention and detection (75%), backup and recovery (73%), and traditional data protection (78%) services. Plus, many of them also use data masking (54%), encryption at rest (49%), encryption in transit (49%), and tokenization (25%) as the main means of protection. Despite those efforts, survey results showed more than 70% of organizations experienced at least one ransomware attack over the last five years, and 60% of them paid the ransom. So not surprisingly, almost all of those surveyed (99%) reported they are looking for better data protection tools to combat ransomware and extortion. “Reliance on legacy technologies worked for years, but as bad actors continue to evolve our technology must evolve as well,” Titaniam founder and CEO Arti Raman said in a statement. “It is unfortunate that organizations continue to believe that investing in detection, backup, and recovery solutions constitutes the complete solution to ransomware. These organizations overlook data security, which, when not implemented adequately, becomes the ultimate reason attackers gain excessive leverage and win – the results of this survey highlight this enormous gap in current cybersecurity solutions,” Raman added. The research also found cybercriminals are no longer limiting themselves to just encrypting entire systems, but they also steal data ahead of the encryption for additional leverage. The report noted that such data exfiltration during ransomware attacks was up 106% compared to five years ago. Sixty-five percent of respondents who experienced a ransomware attack also suffered data theft or exfiltration due to the incident. Plus, 60% of those victims reported the hackers used the data theft to extort them further, a tactic known as double extortion.  A recent Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 report showed that ransomware groups took tactics such as double extortion to a new level last year, “popularizing multi-extortion techniques designed to heighten the cost and immediacy of the threat,” Ryan Olson, VP of threat intelligence at Unit 42 by Palo Alto Networks, wrote in the report.  With multi-extortion techniques, attackers encrypt victims’ files and also name and share the leak, and threaten additional attacks, trying to force victims to pay the ransom.  Titaniam’s report also found nearly half (47%) of respondents uncovered publicly exposed data in their systems over the past year.  “We need to understand that while prevention, detection, and backup are essential, no ransomware defense strategy is complete without eliminating data exfiltration. This is what would take us beyond the notions of impenetrability and towards immunity,” Raman said.