By PJ Bradley

We're now in an era where not a single day passes by without seeing ransomware in the news. Ransomware is one of the costliest types of cyberattacks for organizations, as the costs associated with a ransomware attack can be staggering, even posing an existential threat to organizations. As ransomware and cybercriminal tactics get more advanced, it becomes more critical for organizations to implement sophisticated tools to combat them. While traditional security solutions are often not equipped to detect and stop ransomware, there are things that artificial intelligence (AI) can do at nearly every stage of the ransomware lifecycle to prevent catastrophic damages.

Shortfalls of Traditional Protection Against Ransomware

The traditional tools used to detect and prevent cyberattacks are often inadequate to protect against ransomware for a range of reasons:

• Ransomware actors often take advantage of zero-day exploits - unknown threats that traditional security tools are not designed to detect.
• Based on Verizon's analysis of vulnerability management data from the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (CISA), it takes around 55 days after patches are available before 50% of vulnerabilities are remediated.
• Traditional measures are less effective against advanced persistent threats (APTs) as attackers extensively exploit unknown vulnerabilities to infiltrate organizations.
• Social engineering attacks such as phishing are often used to achieve ransomware deployment, and the human element is difficult to counteract with traditional security solutions.
• Endpoint protection solutions are trained on malware samples, only a small portion of which is ransomware, leading to the failure to detect ransomware attacks.

Dangers of Ransomware Attacks

There are many risks to falling victim to a ransomware attack, from financial costs to less tangible consequences like loss of reputation. Ransomware is a pervasive and insidious threat for several reasons:

• According to Verizon's Data Breach Investigations Report 2024, ransomware is the top threat in 92% of all industries, accounting for almost one in three data breaches (32%) and 70% of system intrusions in 2023.
• The MOVEit vulnerability was traced to over 1,500 breach notifications.
• The Cl0p ransomware family has used a handful of zero-day vulnerabilities to compromise more than 8,000 organizations.
• Ransomware costs are complex to calculate due to the many factors that go into the final valuation.
• The FBI's Internet Crime Complaint Center data shows that the median adjusted financial loss associated with paying ransoms is $46,000 after efforts have been made to recover some of the money.

Stages of Ransomware and AI Response

While traditional tools lay a solid foundation for ransomware defense, they often fall short in today's rapidly evolving threat landscape. AI-enabled controls excel where conventional methods struggle, offering predictive threat intelligence, real-time anomaly detection, and adaptive response capabilities. Unlike static traditional tools, AI-powered solutions continuously learn and evolve, providing dynamic protection against sophisticated ransomware attacks that often bypass traditional defenses. 

1.     Initial Distribution/Infection

The initial attack vector that leads to ransomware deployment can be a phishing email, a backdoor exploit, or credential theft, to name a few possibilities. In this first stage, stopping ransomware requires using tools with advanced detection capabilities. Traditional security solutions find it difficult to detect and identify sophisticated phishing tactics, zero-day vulnerabilities, and other ransomware distribution methods.

AI-empowered tools can use behavioral analysis to detect abnormalities that may indicate attacks that threat intelligence has not yet identified. By monitoring for anomalous behavior, AI can detect subtle differences in email contents or unknown vulnerabilities that can allow attackers to infect devices with malware.

2.     Command and Control

After ransomware has infiltrated and infected the target, it can communicate with an external server controlled by threat actors. The server sends encryption keys to the target device, and sometimes attackers use this time to deploy further malware to facilitate the following steps. Tools with AI functionality can use advanced analysis and monitoring to detect command and control connections that typically evade traditional security solutions and their ransomware detection capabilities.

3.     Discovery and Lateral Movement

Upon establishing a foothold in an organization via the infected device, attackers attempt to learn more about the systems and networks they have infiltrated. By conducting reconnaissance into the devices and valuable data of the organization, the ransomware actor expands the attack to infect more devices and increase privileges. AI tools can learn what normal activity looks like for the organization and use advanced detection capabilities to identify lateral movement.

4.     Data Theft and Encryption

When attackers have discovered the organization's valuable assets and gained control over the systems, they move on to exfiltrating and encrypting files. Modern ransomware attacks may include measures to account for the fact that organizations often have data backups. This means that attackers take steps to destroy backups as well as steal and encrypt data. AI-empowered solutions are able to detect the low and slow data exfiltration that other tools often fail to detect.

5.     Extortion

This stage involves the attacker informing the victim that their files have been compromised and demanding their ransom. At this point, the target does not have a lot of options, and security tools cannot do much. Ransomware victims must decide whether or not to pay the ransom, and having the right solutions in place can help mitigate the damages.

6.     Resolution

Resolving a ransomware attack involves containment, remediation, and examination of the vulnerabilities that led to the ransomware infiltration. In the same way that traditional security tools often fail to detect ransomware, they also fall short in this regard. AI-empowered analysis can grant organizations full visibility into the anatomy of the ransomware attack to more effectively determine what went wrong.

With ransomware attacks growing more advanced, it is more important than ever for organizations to implement the right tools and solutions to prevent ransomware. Sophisticated attacks require sophisticated solutions, and AI-empowered tools have a greater capability to detect and stop ransomware attacks at almost every stage, making it easier for organizations to protect their valuable data and assets against theft and extortion.

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