As Senior Partnership Manager for ScaleSec, one of my favorite things to do is listen to our partners and our SMEs chop it up in thought-leadership pieces. It’s one of the best ways to give back to our security community and to empower everyone to think about security in ways they haven’t before.
I had the opportunity to sit in on our How to Prevent Ransomware Attacks webinar with Spin.AI, where our Scaliens, Principal Cloud Security Consultants Steven Smiley and Jack Ryan, along with Spin.AI’s Solution Engineer Rainier Gracial, shared invaluable strategies for ransomware protection tailored to SaaS businesses.
The session highlighted five fundamental strategies organizations should adopt to enhance their defenses against these growing threats.
- Inventory: Maintaining a comprehensive inventory of all assets is of the utmost importance. Understanding what you have is critical for effective risk management and allows organizations to prioritize their security efforts. Something that I thought was spot on from Jack was how organizations should look at inventory in their environments. He adds that, “When it comes to the inventory, you’re not going to be able to properly secure and be able to recover your data if you don’t know what that is and where it is. So that means fully understanding where your data is stored, what types of data you have, what’s the criticality of that, and who’s responsible for securing it.”
- Backup: Secure and regular backups were discussed as a non-negotiable aspect of ransomware defense. Having a backup and restoration process is great, but are you ensuring its efficiency within your organization? Rainier stated something I fully agree with, he said, “It’s great you have a backup in place, that’s the first step. The next part is to be able to audit the processes and procedures you have in place and see if you can get that data back that you’re trying to restore.” Multiple backup solutions and a strong restoration process ensure that organizations can recover their data without giving in to ransom demands, which is a vital point for any SaaS provider.
- Educate: This point was near and dear to my heart because continuous education for employees is key to minimize the chance of a ransomware attack. It doesn’t completely absolve you from an attack and sometimes your users can be the entry point for an attack. Jack stated something that was very true: “A lot of times when ransomware attacks happen, and to be clear it’s not always, it’s through a user. There’s not a lot of least-privilege access happening and the impact of one user being compromised can be massive.”
Rainier highlighted how informed staff can better recognize potential threats and empower other groups within the organization to reduce the risks of falling victim to phishing attacks and other tactics employed by cybercriminals. He said, “Something that is innate to our roles as cybersecurity professionals is the hunger and ability to continue learning about ransomware. Do you expect that of the accounting team? Do you expect that of the marketing team or whatever it may be? That’s not their job. It is the responsibility of the IT team to be able to give them tools and arm them with the knowledge that they need to be more secure.”
- Detect and Respond Quickly: A streamlined but quick detection and response plan is essential in minimizing the impact of ransomware attacks. Something that was echoed by all speakers is the use of automation when it comes to ransomware detection. “Automation is huge when it comes to detecting a ransomware attack. The sooner you can stop it, the better. Why? Because whatever is being compromised, the sooner it’s detected, the less data that you have to figure out how to restore, assuming you don’t already have a streamlined restoration process,” Rainier stated. This underscored the need for robust detection tools and a well-defined incident response plan to reduce recovery time and damage. Speed and understanding what and where the impact has fallen on your organization starts with automation.
- Pursue Comprehensive Security: Implementing a more holistic approach to security is essential to any company that wants to take a more proactive stance against ransomware attacks. Jack added that, “Having a comprehensive framework to ensure you’re fully understanding your threat landscape is imperative. Fully understanding your environment and having something that is guiding you along gives you a backstop for why you’re doing backup inventory and testing your restoration. Using a comprehensive framework like a NIST CSF gives you a lot more control and reduces the risk of things that aren’t a user.” Integrating preventive measures with an incident response strategy, including regular updates and vulnerability assessments is imperative if you want to foster a security-first culture and help increase your defenses against ransomware attacks.
As a partner in this space, I found the insights shared during the webinar relevant and extremely impactful. The ScaleSec and Spin.AI partnership, allows us to help our clients implement these five fundamentals, significantly enhancing their resilience against ransomware threats. Together, we can create a more secure environment for SaaS businesses.
For those looking to deepen their understanding of ransomware protection, I highly recommend exploring the ransomware prevention and cloud protection resources and services offered by ScaleSec and Spin.AI. Let's stay informed and proactive in our fight against cyber threats!