Today’s interconnected world means cybersecurity is no longer a concern that is confined to just the realm of IT departments and tech companies. It has become a critical aspect of global geopolitics, influencing international relations, national security, and economic stability. For IT security leaders at medium and large enterprises, understanding the geopolitical implications of cybersecurity is an important component to developing a resilient cyber strategy.

Echoing thoughts that were shared at WEI’s recent Cyber Warfare & Beyond event, let’s explore the intersection of cybersecurity and geopolitics, highlighting best practices for IT security leaders to navigate this complicated environment. Panelists that joined WEI for this powerful roundtable discussion were former U.S. Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch, Palo Alto Networks Unit 42 Chief Technology Officer, Michael Sikorski, and N2K Chief Security Officer and Chief Analyst at The CyberWire, Rick Howard.

The Geopolitical Impact on Cybersecurity

As recent history has demonstrated, geopolitical tensions significantly impact cybersecurity, and vice versa. Nation-states often engage in cyber warfare, targeting each other’s critical infrastructure, government agencies, and private companies. As we’ve seen, such attacks are not just about data theft as they are also designed to disrupt essential services, causing widespread economic and social disruption. While cyberattacks have occurred for decades, their appearances in mainstream media are much more prevalent as events are growing in severity and frequency.

For instance, the increasing rivalry between major powers like the United States, China, North Korea, and Russia has led to a surge in state-sponsored cyberattacks. These attacks are often sophisticated, leveraging advanced persistent threats (APTs) to infiltrate networks, gather intelligence, and sabotage operations. Such activities underscore the need for IT security leaders to be in their cybersecurity efforts.

Photo: Former US Ambassador to Ukraine Marie Yovanovitch and cyber thought leader Michael Sikorski share a thought during WEI’s Cyber Warfare & Beyond roundtable discussion on June 20, 2024.

“We’re in a world that is changing with lots of threats out there, and everyone in the cyber community is very well aware of those threats that are coming from criminal actors as well as (nation-state adversaries),” Ambassador Yovanovitch remarked at the WEI Cyber Warfare & Beyond roundtable discussion. “The actions that we take now are going to determine the kind of world we’re living in in the future.”

The Rise of State-Sponsored Cyberattacks

State-sponsored cyberattacks are typically aimed at achieving strategic objectives, such as gaining a competitive economic advantage, undermining political stability, or demonstrating technological prowess.

For example, the 2017 WannaCry ransomware attack originating out of North Korea, compromised over 200,000 computers across 150 countries, causing billions of dollars in damage. Similarly, the SolarWinds hack in 2020, believed to be orchestrated by Russian intelligence, compromised multiple U.S. government agencies and numerous private companies, highlighting the far-reaching consequences of such breaches.

WEI roundtable panelist Michael Sikorski, a renowned cyber thought leader, was part of the incident response team to both the SolarWinds and Colonial Pipeline hacks. Sikorski emphasized that the serious degree of these infrastructure hacks is what prompted President Joe Biden to issue an executive order to enhance American cybersecurity defenses. This included efforts to improve collaboration between public and private sectors and to establish more robust security protocols across critical infrastructure.

“We need to think about how we are going to train up our students, our young generation to provide that capability,” said Sikorski. “The cyber war is only getting closer and closer as it creeps up, especially as we see (our nation-state adversaries) hacking the critical infrastructure.”

Watch: WEI Cyber Warfare & Beyond Roundtable Discussion

The Role of International Collaboration

According to the panelists, international collaboration is crucial in combating cyber threats that transcend national borders. Organizations like the United Nations and NATO are increasingly focusing on cybersecurity, promoting norms and best practices for responsible state behavior in cyberspace. Meanwhile, IT security leaders should stay informed about these international efforts and participate in information-sharing initiatives to enhance their cyber defenses.

“I’m glad we are having these conversations here in government circles and industry circles,” Ambassador Yovanovitch said. “We are being tested and we need to be thinking hard about what we are going to do when one-too-many buttons have been pushed and when that magical threshold gets crossed.”

Watch: Harnessing A Diverse Talent Pipeline For Cybersecurity Personnel

Best Practices for a Resilient Cyber Strategy

As digital operating models advance and threat actors become more sophisticated, the need for a modern security operations center (SOC) is clear. SOC analysts are recognizing the benefits of integrating automation and analytics into their systems, as potential threats can be detected sooner and swiftly responded to for minimal impact. This “Left of Bang” approach, something WEI has documented and preached to our network in the past, helps organizations strengthen their overall cybersecurity posture and prevent costly incidents before they occur.

Given the geopolitical landscape, IT security leaders must adopt a multi-faceted approach to cybersecurity. Here are some best practices that were discussed at the roundtable to help an enterprise build a proactive and resilient cyber strategy:

1. Comprehensive Risk Assessment
   

Conducting a comprehensive risk assessment is the first step towards developing a proactive cyber strategy. This involves identifying what the attack surface is of your entire IT environment, identifying critical assets, assessing potential threats, and evaluating known vulnerabilities.

2. Implementing Multi-Layered Defense
   

A multi-layered defense strategy, often referred to as defense in depth, is essential to protect against sophisticated cyber threats. This concept includes:

• Perimeter Defense: Firewalls, intrusion detection systems (IDS), and intrusion prevention systems (IPS) to protect against external threats.
• Internal Security: Network segmentation, access controls, and encryption to safeguard sensitive data within the organization.
• Endpoint Protection: Anti-malware solutions, endpoint detection and response (EDR), and regular patching to secure devices.
• Behavioral Monitoring: Continuous monitoring and anomaly detection to identify and respond to suspicious activities.

3. Advanced Threat Detection and Response
   

Investing in advanced threat detection and response capabilities is crucial to mitigate the impact of cyberattacks. SOCs equipped with artificial intelligence (AI) and machine learning (ML) can enhance the ability to detect and respond to threats in real-time. AI-driven tools can analyze vast amounts of data to identify patterns and anomalies that may indicate a cyberattack.

4. Supply Chain Security
   

Supply chain attacks, where cybercriminals target third-party vendors to infiltrate an organization, are on the rise. IT security leaders should implement stringent supply chain security measures, including:

• Vendor Risk Assessments: Evaluating the security posture of third-party vendors and requiring them to adhere to the organization’s security standards.
• Continuous Monitoring: Regularly monitoring the supply chain for vulnerabilities and suspicious activities.
• Secure Procurement Practices: Ensuring that all hardware and software procured meet stringent security requirements.

5. Employee Training and Awareness
   

An organization’s cyber posture is only as strong as its weakest link. And to no surprise, human error remains one of the weakest links in an enterprise’s overall cybersecurity posture. Regular training and awareness programs can help employees recognize and respond to potential cyber threats. Topics should include phishing awareness, safe internet practices, and the importance of strong, unique passwords.

6. Incident Response Planning
   

An effective incident response plan is critical to minimize the damage caused by cyberattacks. This plan should outline the steps to be taken in the event of a security breach, including communication protocols, roles and responsibilities, and procedures for containment, eradication, and recovery.

7. Regular Security Audits and Assessments
   

Regular security audits and assessments help identify and address vulnerabilities before they can be exploited. These assessments should include penetration testing, vulnerability scanning, and compliance checks to ensure that the organization’s security measures are up to date and effective.

Building a Culture of Security

Creating a culture of security involves more than just implementing technical controls. It requires buy-in from the entire organization, from top management to frontline employees. This can be achieved through:

• Executive Support: Gaining commitment from top executives to prioritize cybersecurity and allocate necessary resources.
• Clear Policies and Procedures: Establishing clear and enforceable cybersecurity policies and procedures.
• Continuous Education: Providing ongoing education and training to keep employees informed about the latest threats and best practices.
• Encouraging Reporting: Encouraging employees to report suspicious activities and potential security incidents without fear of repercussions.

Staying Ahead of Emerging Threats

The cyber threat landscape is constantly evolving, with new threats emerging regularly. IT security leaders must stay ahead of these threats by:

• Threat Intelligence: Leveraging threat intelligence to stay informed about the latest attack vectors and tactics used by cybercriminals.
• Research and Development: Investing in research and development to explore new security technologies and methodologies.
• Industry Collaboration: Participating in industry groups and forums to share knowledge and best practices.

Conclusion

IT security leaders must recognize the importance of holistic asset management and Zero Trust principles as foundational elements of their cyber strategy. If there was anything to take away from WEI’s powerful Cyber Warfare & Beyond event, it’s that IT leaders must realize that without a clear understanding of their systems, endpoints, users, and applications, establishing an effective security program is impossible.

Zero Trust has been a core principle at WEI for 35 years, demonstrating its efficacy in creating secure networks. Additionally, SOC modernization is highlighted as a vital area for reducing detection and resolution times, with WEI’s expertise ensuring that security operations are agile and responsive. By adopting a proactive approach to cloud security through practices like “shift left and shield right,” IT security leaders can better protect their organizations.

“We are at a hinge moment in history,” said Ambassador Yovanovitch. “There are a lot of threats out there. There are a lot of challenges, and we need to be on top of it. We need to figure out how to go forward so that our interests and our values are taken into account. There’s no roadmap for how to do this whether it is on the cyber front or the diplomatic front or the military front. But the other part of this is there are a lot of opportunities as well, so it really matters that we get this right. And I think we can.”

Next Steps: Following a cyber incident, cybersecurity teams often resort to their data sources to identify how the incident transpired. While analyzing these data sources, a critical question must be asked what prevented cyber personnel from stopping the cyberattack in real time? 

In this data-driven era, cybersecurity practices have increasingly focused on the prevention phase, made possible by leveraging the data already present in a cybersecurity environment. Prevention is your first line of defense, it is time to leverage its power and potential.

to learn more about this cloud-based, integrated SOC platform that includes best-in-class functions including EDR, XDR, SOAR, ASM, UEBA, TIP, and SIEM.

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There used to be a single test to determine the effectiveness of your data backup strategy. It centered around successfully restoring your data from a backup, and you would rest easy knowing that you would, in theory, recover from a data loss event. It was really that simple.

The simplicity of these dated digital environments has given way to today’s complex and time-sensitive landscape. With digital transformation accelerating, data now spans from data centers to the computing edge, supporting mission-critical applications built on intricate layers. Business processes today crucially rely on IT, making any disruption not just inconvenient, but costly. As the highlights, business interruption costs form the bulk of losses in ransomware attacks.

The New Reality Of Ransomware Costs And A Heightened Focus On Prevention

Reflecting this reality, the manufacturing sector often shows a greater willingness to pay ransoms compared to other industries, primarily due to the high costs associated with downtime. Ransomware ganges capitalize on this and frequently demand exorbitant ransoms, sometimes exceeding $1 million from these targets. These perpetrators truly understand the critical impact of operational disruptions in this sector.

Today’s businesses can’t afford the downtime associated with recovery from such attacks as the cost of being offline can be astronomical. The simple need for uninterrupted operation is a vital truth in today’s digital era. Implementing a secure backup strategy is still important. In fact, our team has identified common mistakes that cybersecurity professionals continue to make with their backup systems. But IT security leaders must shift away from the reactive mindset of detect and respond, and turn their focus to full-on prevention.

Ransomware Attacks Are Performed In Stages

Infiltrating your network is only the first step of a multi-pronged ransomware attack. Attackers often spend extensive periods, ranging from weeks to months to years, covertly studying targeted systems. This period of surveillance is aimed at not only locating your data but also understanding its protective measures. As a security leader, this must be unnerving knowing there are unidentified eyeballs surveying your practice. During this hidden phase, attackers meticulously plan their strategy, which may involve compromising backups by deletion, corruption, or alteration, followed by targeting the virtual infrastructure to disable servers. Once these boxes are checked, the process of encrypting the data stores begins.

This multi-stage strategy is referred to as the cyber kill chain, a model used to describe the stages of a cyberattack, from initial reconnaissance to the final execution of the ransomware. This more calculated approach to attacks signifies the evolving sophistication of ransomware operations. Although recent ransomware reports suggest a slowdown in ransomware proliferation in 2022, this trend is misleading. The decrease partly stems from attackers becoming more selective, focusing on targets capable of yielding substantial ransoms. The shift from high-volume to more calculated, strategic ransomware campaigns mark a significant change in the tactics of modern cybercriminals.

Companies Turning To AI For Combatting Ransomware

Security leaders must consider the escalating complexity of threats as the primary challenge in thwarting ransomware attacks. Thankfully, WEI has long recognized the adoption of advanced technologies, particularly those powered by Artificial Intelligence (AI), Machine Learning (ML), and Deep Learning (DL) as a top priority for evolving enterprise security strategies. The unique ability of AI to detect ransomware at each stage of the cyber kill chain is essential for protecting the expansive and complex networks of modern enterprises. WEI operates in lockstep with industry leaders to ensure customers are receiving an advanced and custom-tailored security product that is infused with AI capabilities to bolster ransomware defenses. Four key benefits to this next-gen approach include:

• Efficiently handling vast amounts of event data produced by contemporary, digital-first organizations.
• Detecting anomalous and high-risk activities that often resemble legitimate operations.
• Providing complete coverage across all cyber kill chain stages to assemble a comprehensive overview.
• Seamlessly integrating with traditional security measures in a unified cybersecurity platform, enhancing simplicity and operational speed.

The sooner cyber analysts can identify a ransomware attack, the sooner eradication measures are deployed. AI can correlate data from various sources to provide a holistic view of the security landscape, which is vital to detect multi-vector ransomware attacks. Once detected, AI-driven tools automate responses to detected threats, significantly reducing the time between detection and response. In the case of ransomware, this rapid response is crucial to prevent the spread of the attack and limit damage.

Talk To WEI About Your Ransomware Prevention Strategy

A longtime partner of the industry’s top cybersecurity leaders, the seasoned experts at WEI know firsthand that AI-driven security products stand as a formidable line of defense in the ongoing battle against ransomware. By harnessing the power of advanced AI and ML technologies, automation offers unparalleled threat detection, predictive analytics, and rapid response capabilities. WEI can effectively guide organizations with the proven tools needed to not only identify and mitigate ransomware threats swiftly, but to also adapt and stay ahead of evolving cyber threats.

Further fortify their defenses, minimize vulnerabilities, and ensure a more secure and resilient digital environment against the ever-present threat of ransomware. Contact WEI today to learn how and where to start strengthening your ransomware prevention strategy.

The post Focus On Prevention To Solidify Your Ransomware Protection Strategy appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Many enjoy capturing photos and videos with their phones, but we often forget that our phone storage can get full fast. To solve this, some store their photos in the cloud. To keep our memories safe from loss or hacking, we utilize passwords and other security measures. But it’s tough to keep our data organized and protected online.

Businesses deal with a similar problem on a much larger scale. As the demand for data-related work grows, businesses struggle with storage performance and availability issues. With the increasing demand for data-related workloads, businesses face challenges addressing storage performance and availability issues. This, in addition to the rise in ransomware attacks and shifts in business dynamics, means more enterprises need integrated security measures.

Navigating The Ransomware Protection Landscape

The surge in cyber-attacks, specifically ransomware and malware, has become a prevalent concern for not just IT leaders, but also the executives they work alongside with. Given the alarming and evolving threats, IT teams are focusing on boosting their data storage protection as much as possible. And while we have talked about blueprints for ransomware protection in the past, the recommended approach is different for every organization.

Many organizations often resort to crafting customized strategies, frequently drawing from the . This framework is widely organized by the five key functions of Ultimately, it provides a framework for enterprises to manage their cybersecurity risks by better determining the scope of an attack and responding swiftly.

In response to these challenges, unified storage emerges as a strategic solution.

Unified Storage In The Digital Transformation Era

Unified storage emerges as a strategic cybersecurity ally against threats like ransomware. It offers the following advantages:

• A single, scalable platform for streamlined management of data across various locations, be it on-site or in the cloud.
• Cost-effective solution to strengthen data security and recovery strategies.

Implementing unified storage can be challenging for teams without proper guidance and tools. WEI and Nutanix each address this by streamlining the service, eliminating inefficient systems, and minimizing downtime for simplified operations.

Advanced Ransomware Protection

On top of offering a unified storage platform, Nutanix provides IT leaders the opportunity to improve their respective enterprise’s security posture through . This advanced, as-a-service solution seamlessly integrates with multiple techniques and technologies to ensure ransomware resilience, detection, protection, and recovery. The service provides:

• Global Data Visibility: Data Lens facilitates a proactive assessment of potential threats, coupled with detailed auditing capabilities, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of data security risks and activities. By providing this panoramic view, Data Lens empowers organizations to identify and mitigate potential risks in a timely and effective manner.
• Automated Threat Detection And Blocking: Gain access to a 20-minute containment window for automatic threat detection and blocking. This rapid response mechanism is crucial in preventing the escalation of ransomware attacks, which minimizes potential damage and disruption.
• File-Blocking And Anomaly Detection: This entails the detection of ransomware patterns and the automatic blocking of files exhibiting suspicious behavior.
• One-Click Rapid Recovery: This feature offers a quick and flexible set of automatic options for responding to ongoing ransomware attacks. Simultaneously, it facilitates efficient snapshot recovery, minimizing downtime and ensuring a swift return to normal operations.
• Data Analytics And Lifecycle Management: This includes data age analytics, smart tiering, and space-efficient snapshots. These features enhance the overall efficiency of data management and contribute to storage resource optimization.
• Compliance Assurance: Data Lens provides detailed visibility into user activity, maintains comprehensive audit trails, and offers customizable reporting functionalities. With this solution in place, organizations can adhere to regulatory requirements, demonstrate compliance, and swiftly respond to any audit-related inquiries.

While Data Lens offers valuable features, it’s important to emphasize that it should – not substitute – a comprehensive cybersecurity and backup service, especially for tasks beyond snapshot recovery. These services are essential for detecting changes early, monitoring access patterns, and identifying potential threats. Even in situations where a company acknowledges the risk of ransomware, the primary objective remains the swift restoration of normal business operations using snapshots and rapid recovery options. 

Final Thoughts

To effectively counter the growing threat of cyber attacks, organizations must prioritize resilient cybersecurity infrastructure. To achieve this goal, enterprises need to adopt unified storage systems, especially those fortified with advanced ransomware protection features like Nutanix’s Data Lens. This advanced technology not only acts as a robust defense against immediate ransomware threats, but also streamlines data consolidation, bolsters security measures, and facilitates prompt recovery processes.

In the pursuit of strengthening data protection measures, our team of experts at WEI is ready to assist you in attaining your cybersecurity objectives. In the continually changing digital landscape, unified storage emerges as a strategic and technologically savvy decision.

The post Improve Cybersecurity Posture With Nutanix Data Lens appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

A constant, unwelcome guest in the digital transformation era refuses to leave: ransomware. This digital villain continues to adapt and grow despite years of battle. Although there have been a about ransomware, enterprises are still finding it difficult to ward off these threats.

According to the , two-thirds of the surveyed global organizations experienced ransomware attacks, with half of those targeted ultimately giving in to attackers’ demands. This ongoing struggle against digital extortion sheds light on the enduring challenges of modern times. In light of this, it’s essential for businesses to equip themselves with effective defenses to counter this persistent problem.

Strategies To Counter Ransomware

Ransomware poses a significant threat to organizations, from data loss to operational disruptions. Fortunately, there are a host of measures available to reinforce defenses. In fact, surveyed for the report identified some key technologies to safeguard systems:

• Internet of Things (IoT)
• Secure Access Service Edge (SASE)
• Secure cloud workloads
• Next-Generation Firewalls (NGFWs)
• Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR)
• Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA)
• Secure Email Gateways (SEG)

Additionally, these stakeholders understand that proper security training, backup capabilities, and reassessment of resources are important in enhancing cybersecurity measures. This goes to show that IT leaders already see the value of investing in these solutions to mitigate the impact of ransomware.

Tackling Ransomware With Fortinet

A longtime partner of WEI and bona fide leader in the cybersecurity world, Fortinet continues taking significant strides in blocking the threats to suit various organizational needs. Its Security Fabric portfolio offers a suite of tools and services designed to address every facet of data and network protection and recovery.

This integrated system harnesses the power of AI and machine learning to seamlessly merge prevention, detection, and response functions across the entire spectrum of cyberattacks. Moreover, Fortinet’s solutions are scalable and extend personnel support by offering readiness assessments and specialized training to effectively counter ransomware incidents.

Here’s how Fortinet’s five-point solution and service helps businesses thwart ransomware, as outlined by the U.S. Commerce Department’s National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) :

1. Identify: Fortinet’s Risk Assessment offers a comprehensive approach to cybersecurity responses. Through the , existing investments are optimized, gaps are pinpointed, and security operations are elevated. In addition, counters reconnaissance-phase attacks to minimize later-stage threat costs.
2. Protect: Fortinet’s network security suite is anchored in AI-powered NGFWs that deliver an intensive threat mitigation strategy across diverse locations. The platform offers the following:
   1. ensures consistent user security regardless of network connection.
   2. (network access control) is a zero-trust access solution that manages network access for diverse devices.
   3. is enabled on any device or service running FortiOS 7.0 and higher and extends its coverage to remote work scenarios.
   4. A range of complementary products, including , , , ; for data protection; for email security; and , , , and for identity protection.
   5. Playbook development and security awareness training for IT teams.
3. Detect: Fortinet has these tools to enable quick threat identification:
   1. entices attackers to expose themselves.
   2. and provide endpoint protection.
   3. identifies advanced threats.
   4. offers network detection and response.
4. Respond: Fortinet also offers services to empower your team’s capabilities in detecting and responding to ransomware threats:
   1. supplements your team through analyst domain expertise using advanced capabilities, including machine learning and knowledge transfer to ensure information, network, and asset security.
   2. (MDR) guarantees round-the-clock threat monitoring and is designed for enterprises already using FortiEDR or platforms.
5. Recover: Fortinet conducts compromise assessments and offers incident response services once the threat has been identified.
   1. team discovers hidden gaps in security through assessments and data analysis in pre-, during-, and post-incident phases.
   2. Supplementary tools such as , , FortiXDR, and facilitate security logging, analytics, and orchestration.

This comprehensive strategy is in accordance with industry standards to ensure readiness, prevention, swift detection, expert response, and effective recovery against the ever-present ransomware threat.

Final Thoughts

In this rapidly evolving digital landscape, organizations need IT infrastructure to withstand ransomware attacks. Fortifying your defenses not only safeguards critical data and operations, but also bolsters your ability to adapt and thrive operationally.

Our experts at WEI possess a deep understanding of cybersecurity and ransomware’s evolving tactics. Contact us today to begin an assessment of your organization’s vulnerabilities, and we can tailor solutions to your specific needs. As a valued partner, we will make sure your IT landscape remains resilient against the ever-present threat of ransomware.

Next steps: Managing and securing data, applications, and systems has become more arduous and time consuming with the rise of cloud adoption and the expansion of the digital attack surface. To help remedy this, FortiAnalyzer offers a powerful log management, analytics, and reporting platform that features a single console to manage, orchestrate, and respond. Download our free tech brief below to read. 

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The quantity and severity of ransomware attacks are expected to rise once again in 2023, and businesses need to take steps to protect themselves from these costly and disruptive incidents. According to , “Ransomware will cost its victims around $265 billion (USD) annually by 2031.” These attacks have a devastating impact on enterprises, causing critical data loss and downtime. In addition, businesses may also be liable for the cost of the ransomware attack itself.

Because organizations generate a large amount of data every day and have increasingly large workloads moving between hybrid and multi-cloud environments, unified storage has become important for ransomware protection. In this post, we cover what unified storage is and how it addresses ransomware.

What Is Unified Storage?

Unified storage is a single platform that manages data from multiple sources, whether they be on-premises or in the cloud. This makes it an ideal solution for businesses looking to move to hybrid or multi-cloud environments, as it eliminates the need to manage data across multiple platforms.

, director of product marketing for storage services at Nutanix writes, “Supporting data access where it’s created and consumed is critical, and a unified approach to storage delivery is foundational. Unified storage provides a software-based, consolidated storage solution on top of many flexible shared-nothing nodes. Pooling resources and putting the intelligence in the software layer creates flexibility of scale, allowing for deployments of any size that can fit any deployment location.”

This can be helpful because it makes it easier for your IT team to find and use your data. Unified storage also provides ransomware protection and data loss prevention, making it an essential tool for companies of all sizes.

Benefits Of NCP Unified Storage

Unified storage is designed to help businesses by providing a single view of all enterprise data, regardless of where it is stored. This enables IT teams to make judgments about how much capacity remains in the storage pool in the event of a ransomware attack.

, a global leader in cloud software, has created helpful data storage solutions with their cloud platform. The Nutanix Cloud Platform (NCP) is a unified storage platform that delivers ransomware protection, data storage solutions, and simplified operations. It helps eliminate storage silos and provides a common platform for file, object, and block storage along with virtualized workloads.

Nutanix file storage led to:

• 60% more efficient IT storage management
• 82% less time needed to deploy new files storage
• 56% more efficient IT security teams
• 75% less time needed to deploy new objects storage

These benefits make Nutanix a leading choice for unified storage, ransomware protection, and data storage solutions.

Ransomware Protection With Nutanix Unified Storage

Nutanix unified storage solutions also offer strong ransomware protection and data recovery capabilities. Nutanix provides a unified storage solution that is secure from the ground up. Their security baseline documents are based on U.S. DoD STIGs and cover the entire infrastructure stack. This ensures that your data is safe when deployed in the field.

Nutanix offers unified storage solutions with robust security features, including self-encrypting drives and software-only encryption capabilities. This provides peace of mind that your data is safe at rest. To ensure data in transit protocols, Nutanix features secure in-flight encryption for SMB, NFS, and S3 and WORM support for both files and objects.

Data Lens

Nutanix provides customers with the highest levels of data security available, offering visibility and control with Data Lens. Data Lens is an advanced software-as-a-service solution that provides analytics and ransomware defense for Nutanix unified storage. With Data Lens, users can benefit from ransomware protection, audit trails, anomaly detection, and data age analytics.

Ransomware protection includes file blocking with automatic signature updates and ransomware file access pattern detection. When ransomware events are found, you can choose to block the client and user or set the entire file server to read-only. Further, a snapshot is automatically taken at the time of the attack to provide a recovery point. Recovery workflows flag all files which may have been impacted and recommend which snapshot to restore. In the words of WEI’s Senior Architect and Virtualization Ambassador, , “If you’re looking to develop a business continuity plan as well as a disaster recovery plan, there’s a lot of cool things you can do with just those core capabilities they have of doing snapshots.”

Conclusion

Businesses are particularly vulnerable to ransomware attacks as they have valuable data that is targeted. To protect your business from ransomware, it is important to have a reliable data storage solution in place that effectively addresses these threats.

A unified storage system provides ransomware protection by combining multiple layers of security features into one unified platform. This can help to ensure your data is safe from ransomware and that you can quickly and easily recover from any attacks that occur. Also, unified storage systems offer performance and scalability benefits that can be essential for businesses with large amounts of data.

If you are looking for a data storage solution to protect your business from ransomware, Nutanix offers a terrific option. With its combination of security features and performance benefits, Nutanix’s storage tool can help keep your data safe and your business running smoothly. Contact us today to learn more about how unified storage solutions can help you improve your cybersecurity and facilitate a smooth recovery.

Next Steps: Listen to Mark Gabryjelski’s advice in this to learn more about unified storage and how it addresses ransomware. Mark leads numerous Nutanix workshops annually, which are accessible to WEI customers.

The post How Unified Storage Addresses Ransomware Threats, Enables Recovery appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

says that 64% of IT leaders cite improved data security for their organization as their top objective over the next 12 months. And for good reason. As technology continues to evolve, it’s not a matter of if an enterprise will have a ransomware attack but when it will happen. With technological advances, it’s not just enterprises that benefit, cyber criminals do as well.

Because of this assumed risk, it is not enough to only have the right technology in place; your enterprise must have a tried and true disaster recovery (DR) strategy laid out ahead of time. complements industry best practices to provide your enterprise with the strategy and technology it needs to safeguard against ransomware attacks that are costly to your data and public reputation.

Five Ransomware Best Practices

When putting together your enterprise’s disaster recovery strategy, here are the five best practices to protect against ransomware.

1. Identify: Determine what environments exist, the risks associated with those environments, and how they impact your enterprise.
2. Protect: Understand what you’re protecting your enterprise against so you can develop appropriate safeguards and contain the impact of potential ransomware attacks.
3. Detect: Accurately and efficiently identifying ransomware will help ensure your team creates an effective and timely action plan.
4. Respond: Develop and implement actions to take in a detected cybersecurity incident. The faster and more effectively you respond to a threat, the faster you can stop it in its tracks, mitigate its damage, and reduce any potential financial impact.
5. Recover: In the event of an attack, timely recovery to normal operations reduces the impact on the enterprise. Make sure you maintain plans for resilience and restore any impaired capabilities or services due to a

Your Enterprise Disaster Recovery Strategy

Your enterprise’s disaster recovery strategies must be thoroughly documented and tested to ensure their effectiveness. This is something Veeam Disaster Recovery Orchestrator does automatically. With this tool, your mission-critical workloads with near-zero recovery point objectives (RPOs) to applications that have been neglected due to a lack of resources can be included in an automated disaster recovery process.

By deploying DR Orchestrator as part of your enterprise disaster recovery plan, your cybersecurity team will have the improved ability to:

• Reduce Risk. DR Orchestrator is a simple, powerful tool that has proven its ability to manage a disaster recovery plan through testing and documenting risks.
• Save Time. Free your IT teams to focus on other mission-critical areas in your enterprise. DR Orchestrator can automate the most time-intensive aspects of disaster recovery planning, such as creating and updating documentation and testing.
• Restore Confidently. From a single app to an entire site, with DR Orchestrator, you can meet RPO and recovery time objective requirements with one-click failover, failback, and restores.

Veeam’s DR Orchestrator Capabilities

DR Orchestrator’s robust feature set reduces risk, saves downtime, and restores data with:

1. Automatic documentation. Generate and create dynamic disaster recovery documentation to prove readiness and compliance.
2. Automated testing. With zero-impact disaster recovery tests, scheduled or on demand, you ensure required recovery time objectives and RPOs can be met.
3. Application verification. After a recovery event, common enterprise applications are examined to verify they are running as expected.
4. Role-based access control. You control the level of access app owners and operations teams have.
5. Instant test lab. With the instant test lab, you can utilize disaster recovery resources for patch testing or anything else without impacting production.
6. Wizard-driven planning. Quickly build comprehensive disaster recovery strategy plans for apps and sites that are automatically updated and verified.
7. One-click recovery. With just one click, you can recover single apps or an entire site from anywhere.

Put Veeam DR Orchestrator To Work For Your Enterprise

With comprehensive support for enterprise applications and infrastructure, Veeam DR Orchestrator can take your disaster recovery strategy to the next level with its robust suite of features. WEI will help you through the process and create a customized solution to protect your enterprise against ransomware. Contact WEI today to get started.

Next Steps: Download our NEW tech brief titled It further explains the 5 mentioned steps for a proactive and secure backup strategy.

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A few weeks into January, there is still time to put on our fortune teller hat to make IT predictions for 2022. This is an opportunity to predict the trends, technologies, and challenges that enterprises will experience over the next 11 months. While we don’t claim to have any clairvoyant powers, we do have a good pulse on how the coming year will play out due to our involved client partnerships and our commitment to identifying and embracing new technology solutions that add value to our clients.

1. Ransomware Expected to Get Worse

A basic IT prediction for 2022 is that ransomware will be a threat that accelerates on frequency and severity. Is that a stretch? No, probably not. A major reason why we see this increasingly complex war getting worse is the utilization of Initial Access Brokers (IABs). These IABs are financially motivated employees who turn over RDP or VPN login credentials as well as expose firsthand information about a targeted organization’s infrastructure and its cybersecurity procedures. In return, these employees are promised a financial reward. One such ransomware ring, Black Matter, was offering IABs up to $100,000 if their supplied information and efforts resulted in a successful attack. With the size of the involved ransoms being so high today, threat actors can pay these insider fees as a cost to doing business. Ransomware gangs are constantly evolving their attack methodologies to make these events easier to execute and more effective.

The thing we must remember is that the psychology of these ransomware attackers is centered around a business-first approach. Such attacks are not usually politically motivated, nor is it economic warfare. Up until now, that is one of the reasons why political and regulatory efforts have been so lacking, and why ransomware still flourishes unabated. Thankfully, this is starting to change as our pollical leaders are recognizing the economic disruption that ransomware criminals create with each attack. Of course, depending entirely on political institutions and reactionary cybersecurity solutions is not enough for your enterprise. Business and IT executives must take greater proactive steps to combat this threat. Next week, the WEI blog will be featuring a blueprint strategy that outlines the proactive strategies and technology-based solutions to do just that.

2. It’s an “as a service” World

Fact is, we are steadily moving toward an “as a service” world where there are a gamut of acronyms for a multitude of “as a service” types including IaaS, PaaS, SaaS, NaaS and PCaaS. Even ransomware is available as a service, which has become a key driver of cloud service implementations as companies realize that on-premise datacenters are too vulnerable to threat actors. The pace of business is constantly accelerating, as is the pace of technology implementation. Users want things available instantly and only the cloud can deliver on demand provisioning at the required scale.

Many of the systems that we depend on today are now serviced by the cloud including Office 365, Salesforce, and virtual desktop technologies. We are seeing hardware vendors such as Dell and HPE with GreenLake package their portfolios into some type of offering. The key to packaging services this way is the ease to which they can be consumed. We see this getting easier in the coming year with more and more types of “as a service” offerings as we see users increasingly utilize them. At the same time, enterprises will make greater use of cloud management services and cloud-based monitoring tools to secure their networks.

3. Will Companies Embrace Windows 11?

Many companies took their sweet time upgrading their computers from a Windows 7 operating system to Windows 10. The question is whether companies will take the same elongated approach in We believe there are challenges impacting Windows 11 from being implemented at any sizable scale and some of this has to do with the benefits of Windows 11 not being articulated well enough for companies to consider it. Many don’t understand what the roadmap is for Windows 11 or why they should transition. As a result, it is a safe IT prediction for 2022 to not see a lot of conversation about Windows 11 for the first half of 2022.

We see Windows 11 making its way into enterprise fleets mainly through the purchase of new machines. However, the current supply chain issues concerning the manufacturing and delivery of client PCs and laptops is delaying this process. We do anticipate that by the end of 2022 enterprises will begin realizing the real benefits of Windows 11. Many of the embedded services within Windows 11 make it easy to interact with Microsoft Azure and that cloud fusion will add even greater value over Windows 10.

4. The Impact of 5G Mobility

No, we aren’t here to make predictions about 5G itself. Rather, this IT prediction for 2022 is about how 5G will impact cybersecurity and device management. Users are only as mobile as their level of internet access allows. In 2022, portable computing devices are going to be embedded with 5G. As a result, users are no longer dependent on at-home Wi-Fi or personal hotspots. Many consumers will be happy to know they will no longer need to stop at the nearest coffee house to get some last-minute tasks done for corporate.

The proliferation of 5G will greatly expand the need to secure those users so that they can authenticate from anywhere because the bad guys are quickly learning how to get around traditional multifactor authentication systems that use SMS texting. The challenge will be finding the balance between adding additional layers of protection while not prohibiting users from being productive. Regarding device management, companies such as Dell are offering the ability to manage, troubleshoot and remediate PCs regardless of location and that is going to become more and more valued by companies in the years ahead. The move to 5G will also cause a shakeup in that companies will migrate to vendors that offer best-of-breed 5G solutions.

5. The Transition of Internal IT

Let’s talk about the very nature of the IT Department. It is growing more apparent by the day that IT can no longer be located on an island while driving the bus, too. Their role is to support the business, and to do so, IT must make itself even more valuable by aligning itself to business needs. IT needs to be both adaptable and responsive as many companies have learned this lesson after witnessing shadow IT permeating throughout their organization. IT needs to be in lockstep with the business units they serve, and this means creating tighter liaisons with them. In the same way that a business knows its customer, Internal IT must know its users, and who its customers are.

Companies are expected to grow less reliant on administrators that specialize in a specific facet such as storage or networking. Instead, they will transition to operational staffs that know how to run their entire environments whether those resources reside on-premise or in the cloud. In some ways, we see the IT department operating similarly to a company’s facilities department. Why? Because technology is needed in the same way that electricity is. For example, as a user expects the lights to come on at the flick of a switch, they also take wireless connectivity for granted upon entering the building. IT is now the ultimate enabler for technology-driven users, and this requires somewhat of a cultural shift for many IT departments.

6. Concluding IT Prediction for 2022

We have a lot more to say about the coming future, but a sixth prediction is certain: The pace of innovation isn’t going to slow down. In fact, it will only accelerate in 2022 and even more so in the years ahead. IT professionals must be ready to keep pace. If you would like to hear more about the coming challenges we foresee, as well as the solutions we believe in overcoming these challenges, we urge you to contact us to help you create a roadmap to navigating 2022.

Next Steps: Flipping the calendar to 2022 means discovering and deploying new and innovative technologies that can help your enterprise reach new heights. More so than ever, CIOs around the world will be working around the clock to ensure that their enterprise is up to the highest cybersecurity standards possible. If you are an IT leader, we encourage you to read our eBook titled,

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Unfortunately, as technology evolves, it’s not just the enterprise that benefits from the latest and greatest tools – so do the criminals who use them to attack businesses. With enterprises pushing forward with digital-first initiatives, it’s a matter of when, not if, they will be faced with a cybersecurity threat. Because of this assumed risk, it is no longer enough to just have the right technology in place; it’s imperative for your enterprise to have a cybersecurity strategy to prevent, detect, and overcome a ransomware attack.

The truth is, you can have an entire arsenal of the finest cybersecurity tools at your disposal and still fall victim to ransomware. The right defensive tools are critical, but they’re only one piece of the puzzle. Beating ransomware requires a well-conceived, multi-layer approach based on an established framework which we outline in this article.

4 Steps To Creating A Cybersecurity Strategy

In order to successfully build and implement an enterprise cybersecurity strategy to prevent, detect, and overcome ransomware here are four steps you need to take.

1. Build a grounded framework. The first step is to create a clear and consistent foundation for your cybersecurity strategy. At the center of this framework lies the core functions that include how you identify, protect, detect, respond, and recover from threats. During this step, you will establish the activities and desired outcomes for each function, which will then be communicated across all levels of your organization. WEI recommends using a to aid you in this process for its simplicity and ability to bridge the gap between departments within your enterprise.
2. Determine which tier you’re at. After you have a well-defined framework, the next step is to determine which tier your current cybersecurity strategy for ransomware attacks fall into. There are four tiers:

• Tier One – Reactionary. Little to no formal cybersecurity strategy in place. Risks are dealt with as they happen.
• Tier Two – Awareness. There is an awareness for the need to have an organizational cybersecurity strategy; however, communication is informal and there is a lack of established policies.
• Tier Three – Defined Policies. This tier is characterized by repeatable processes with defined, enterprise-wide policies that are regularly reviewed and updated to address the changing threat and technology landscapes.
• Tier Four – Proactive. At this tier you have the ability to rapidly adapt to new and evolving threats. There is also a fused relationship with all business leaders regarding cybersecurity risk and organizational objectives.

Determining where you are starting from will help you understand the growth you need to achieve.

3. Create a layered approach. There are numerous avenues attackers can use to access your network, especially when teams work remotely. To create a layered approach, it’s important you consider each of those avenues and build different levels of protection from user education to the best firewall placement within the enterprise.
   

   One way to help with a layered approach is by using strategically placed firewalls within your enterprise to segment, analyze, and scrub traffic crossing over VLANs or traveling between sites.

   
   

   A key component of layering your cybersecurity strategy is making sure they all work together cohesively. By working in unison, they provide a safety net that prevents an occurrence from happening multiple times, thereby reducing overall risk.

   
   
4. Maximize your resources. Don’t forget to use the resources you already have at your disposal when creating a cybersecurity strategy. You have a treasure trove of information contained within the internal logs of your devices. Enabling all the features and functionality you already have will maximize the effectiveness of additional technologies you put into place.

Let WEI Aid You In The Fight Against Ransomware

Getting to where you need to be is an evolving process; using a cybersecurity strategy to transition from a tier-one enterprise to a tier-three or four doesn’t happen overnight without assistance. WEI will help you through the process and create a customized blueprint to help you win the war against ransomware. Contact WEI today to get started.

Next Steps: Download the WEI tech brief,

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What is your enterprise’s cybersecurity process when it comes to ransomware preparedness? As a heavily relied upon technology leader, this is a critical question to ask yourself. Remember, there are two types of companies – those that have been hit with ransomware and those that eventually will be. According to numbers recently published by a ransomware attack occurs every 11 seconds. On average, each incident costs an astounding $700,000 in damages.

Ransomware criminals are constantly deploying attacks on company data that resides in backup storage. That’s why it is prudent to always solidify your enterprise’s ransomware backup protection strategy. A ransomware cyberattack can be even more devastating if the backup storage is eliminated prior to the main attack. Of course, even if your backup system can withstand the early assault, the process of restoring entire data repositories and virtual server farms is time consuming and expensive. It’s easy to see why ransomware is such a major disruptor to the operations of any organization.

The key to ransomware preparedness doesn’t mean purchasing and deploying an array of best-of-breed cybersecurity tools. But these tools alone won’t protect your enterprise – you need to establish a proactive ransomware defense strategy to prevent an intrusion. Transitioning to that posture requires an organizational framework that outlines the best practices and standards to manage ransomware preparedness. This framework is applicable to all levels of an enterprise as well as all points in its supply chain.

Combat Your Risks with Ransomware Preparedness Framework

Every company has unique risks, and they must contend with a diverse number of threats and vulnerabilities. But to defend against ransomware, all companies must start with identifying their risks. Where do those risks currently exist? What are the attack avenues that those enterprise cybersecurity threats will most likely use to infiltrate your organization? Many of these risks are contingent upon the company’s business drivers and security considerations specific to its use of technology. The end goal is not to eliminate all levels of risk to the organization, but to mitigate it. Just as no two organizations face the same levels of risk, the process to mitigate those risks will also vary from company to company. There is no secret recipe, no magic pill – and that’s where the ransomware preparedness framework comes in. One of the more popular options is NIST Cybersecurity Framework. This framework by the was designed to assist organizations through a five-step process:

1. Describe their current cybersecurity posture.
2. Describe their target state for cybersecurity.
3. Identify and prioritize opportunities for improvement within the context of a continuous and repeatable process.
4. Assess progress toward the target state.
5. Communicate among internal and external stakeholders about cybersecurity risk.

Creating the Necessary Cybersecurity Posture for Ransomware Preparedness

Sadly, most organizations operate with passive security posture. Risk is managed in an ad-hoc manner and there is limited awareness of cybersecurity risk across the enterprise. Security initiatives take place on a case-by-case basis and cybersecurity information is seldom shared within the organization. Meanwhile, ransomware attackers often execute a strategy defined by being proactive against such passive organizations. Often, they infiltrate the network of a target organization weeks or months in advance to perform reconnaissance to strengthen their attack plan. That’s why you need a proactive security posture to combat their efforts. A proactive ransomware defense strategy involves taking the following steps:

• Gain Full Visibility of Your IT Estate: The more you can see, the faster you can react to the incidents that are occurring. With the proliferation of you can no longer rely on signature-based protection. Your enterprise requires next-generation firewalls that can conduct deep scanning across all seven layers of your incoming packets to identify anomalies that vary outside of established baseline trends.
• Take Full Advantage of the Extensive Logging Information: This step is often underutilized by many organizations. Logs can be integrated with intelligence-based analyzers that can initiate alerts and reports on anomalies that exist outside of your established baseline trends.
• Educate Users: This starts at the leadership level. Users must possess the knowledge and skillsets to accurately monitor their environments for cybersecurity risks. Routine trainings for executives and managers can be a positive first step in helping transition to a security-first culture.
• Establish a Recovery Plan: Having a plan in place to instruct the members of a defined team what to do in the case of a cybersecurity incident is critical. This includes tasks such as contacting your cyber insurance company and notifying customers.
• Adapt: Make cybersecurity a repeatable process in which procedures are periodically reviewed, scrutinized, and modified, if necessary.

Accepting a Zero-Trust Environment

Risk is everywhere. The approach where a fortified perimeter separated the trusted inner network from the untrusted external world is now obsolete. Cyber criminals sneak their way into the network through email phishing attacks, USB sticks and remote access solutions, just to name a few. That’s why you can no longer trust any tentacle of your network. As a result, enterprises must now bring their firewalls and security appliances within the internal network to filter and analyze traffic within the network itself.

A zero-trust strategy helps manage risks within the network because it provides the necessary visibility, controls, and processes in a zero-trust world. WEI specializes in ransomware preparedness to protect, detect, and respond. How well your organization carries out those core functions will determine its degree of success against any of the pending threats out there. Let WEI help provide you the knowledge and the tools you need to protect your business. From our team of experienced subject matter experts to our proven array of security solutions, we can help you create a customized ransomware defense strategy and toolset that addresses the unique risks of your organization.

Next Steps: If you want to discover more proven tips and strategies to securing your backup solutions, we have published a fresh whitepaper titled, “The Mandatory Components of an Effective Ransomware Strategy.”

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There used to be a single test to determine the effectiveness of your data backup strategy. It centered around successfully restoring your data from a backup, and you would rest easy knowing that you would, in theory, recover from a data loss event. It was really that simple. Still, there were some security concerns as you did not want just anyone accessing the backups who might accidently (or inadvertently) delete them. There was also the threat of confiscating a backup tape containing sensitive or valuable data by an imposter. For the most part, the data backup system was out of sight and out of mind for everyone other than the backup administrator.

Ransomware Backup Protection Systems are Now Actively Targeted

Ransomware attacks involve the loss of data, thus giving data backup systems a critical role in the battle against increasingly rampant malware. As you can imagine, the evolving nature of ransomware eventually changed the practice referenced at the start of this article. While some organizations lacked a working backup, those that had implemented and operationalized a proven system were able to elude the extortion payment.

Despite a commitment to implementing adequate backup strategies, many company leaders still consider paying the ransom. The decision to do so involves more than simply regaining access to a company’s data. Often, it is looked at as a business decision in which the opportunity cost of spending days or even weeks rebuilding virtual data stores and recovering data directories can exceed the ransom itself. While government authorities continue to discourage paying the ransom, the opportunity to recover quickly often makes practical business sense.

As you can imagine, it didn’t take long for ransomware gangs to learn that a data backup can often be the one thing holding them back from a handsome payday. That’s why backup systems have a prominent bullseye on them now. Take out the backups, and the odds are in favor of the attackers. But if your cyber security team holds the line of attack against your backups, the odds are suddenly back in your favor. That’s also where your ransomware backup protection strategy plays such a pivotal role.

While there are still plenty of threats out there involving less sophisticated attackers who look for easy prey and quick payouts using Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) applications, the large-scale ransomware attacks we read about in the headlines every week are carried about by highly experienced hackers using well-coordinated attack strategies. It is these high-caliber ransomware organizations that you must prepare for.

Ransomware Attacks are Performed in Stages

Infiltrating your network is only the first step of a multipronged ransomware attack. Attackers now spend weeks or even months silently observing your systems to not only find where your data resides, but to also discover how it is protected. Unnerving, isn’t it? It is during this undetected period of observation that the attackers decide how to best eliminate your data backup system.

You may be surprised to know that these ransomware groups are more familiar with the popular backup systems on the market than the customers that use them. It’s in the best interest of the attacker to understand how to eliminate your backups, whether that means deleting, corrupting, or adjusting them. Once your backups are eliminated, the next target is your virtual infrastructure, which they intend to destroy as well. After they shut down your servers, they begin the process of encrypting your data stores. For VMware environments, the objective is then to destroy the vCenter and encrypt the VMware data stores. They use similar strategies to take down Hyper-V or Nutanix architectures as well.

Follow Recommended Cybersecurity Practices for Enhanced Ransomware Backup Protection

Properly securing your backups starts with implementing the best security standards. While air gapping is often discussed, do you know what that strategy entails? As a backup/recovery expert, I serve as WEI’s solutions architect. I regularly conduct workshops throughout the year, and recently discussed the many challenges at hand and how to prepare for them. I also identified prominent mistakes that we continue to find in real world environments.

Here are some of the top mistakes that internal cybersecurity professionals make all too often. While my discussion exclusively involved Veeam solutions, these mistakes also apply to other backup platforms:

1. Remoting into the server that hosts your backup solution: Never RDP into your backup server as these sessions can easily be compromised. Instead, use the backup system’s remote console software so that you are not logging onto the actual server.
2. Joining your backup system to Microsoft Active Directory: Besides targeting your backup system, hackers are diligently working to crack your AD. Once compromised, they can get access to privileged accounts with administrator rights to your backups.
3. Installing your backup software on a virtual server: One of the primary purposes of Veeam is to back up your VMs. If the hackers take out your virtual infrastructure, your backup system is gone, too. Consider using a physical server to host your backup solution whenever possible.
4. Only relying on passwords to protect log-on processes: Many organizations use multifactor authentication to secure their O365 logons, yet solely rely on password authentication to protect their backup logons. Sometimes this is due to the outdated attitude of “it’s only the backup server.” In this new era of ransomware, the backup server is one of the most important systems in your security arsenal. It is no longer “just the backup server.”
5. Leaving the local firewall disabled because they are unsure of what ports the hosted backup solution requires: They disable the firewall to install the new backup solution with the intention of properly configuring it at a later point. This leaves a wide-open opportunity for attack avenues that hackers easily take advantage of. Take care of your firewall configurations immediately!

Win Each Malware Battle with Robust Ransomware Backup Protection

Ransomware is a war, but it is a winnable war if you have the correct enterprise cybersecurity strategies in place. Within this war, there are battles you don’t have to fight alone as WEI’s team of backup and cybersecurity specialists can help outline a ransomware backup protection plan that fits your particular risk environment and budget. You may contact our experts at your convenience.

Next Steps: If you want to discover more proven tips and strategies to securing your backup solutions, we have published a fresh whitepaper titled, ““

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Over the last decade, the topic of cybersecurity has shifted from being a technical subject to a mainstream topic impacting every facet of the organization. As cyberattacks become increasingly more sophisticated, frequent and disruptive executive leaders now face a new complex blend of issues, including economics, business processes, and psychology.

During a recent event, presented in partnership with , we featured Michael Daniel, an industry thought leader and expert in cybersecurity. Serving as former Cybersecurity Advisor to the White House and current president and . Michael shared his outlook on the global security landscape and applicable steps to help you avoid becoming the next breaking cybersecurity story.

In the article below, we’ll share the top three strategies to level up your cyber game.

1. Change Your Cybersecurity Mindset

When it comes to cybersecurity, it’s often treated as a problem that you just purchase a solution for. The reality is cybersecurity is constantly evolving and requires a new mindset to protect the organization from emerging threats.

Here are two reasons why cybersecurity isn’t just a technical problem.

1. Cybersecurity is an economic problem. Enterprises need to develop incentives for their employees by addressing cybersecurity as a shared risk and promoting that through collaboration across organizational boundaries.
2. Cybersecurity is a psychological problem. Cybercriminals have been manipulating people for years and enterprises still struggle to apply the correct solutions because they are solving the problem only through technology.

By shifting your mindset about cybersecurity from a problem to be solved to a long-term strategy focused around a blended approach encompassing economics, business processes and human psychology, enterprises are better equip to manage risk and protect the enterprise from emerging threats.

2. Redefine Success For Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity lives inside cyberspace, which doesn’t operate like the physical world does. It’s difficult to understand cyberspace because none of the features of cyberspace work in the real world.

According to Michael, “Everybody will always say that cyberspace is borderless and that’s not true.”

It’s actually the complete opposite – borders are everywhere in cyberspace. There are routers, firewalls, and switches that create the borders. It’s just a difficult concept because the borders aren’t the same arbitrary political boundaries we’ve made in the physical world. Border security doesn’t work in cyberspace, and since our mental models can’t translate a borderless network, enterprises struggle with protecting themselves from cybersecurity threats.

Michael explained four ways cybersecurity threats are consistently evolving.

1. Cybersecurity threats have become more diverse. The number and type of devices to attack is getting larger by every passing year. The volume and the diversity of connected devices increases the complexity of cybersecurity threats making it difficult to defend.
2. The volume of malicious activity is increasing as the barriers to entry are low and the returns are high. Cybercriminals can make a lot of money or gain information with the low probability of being arrested and prosecuted.
3. Cybersecurity threats are increasingly more sophisticated. In the last couple of years cybersecurity threats have increased exponentially. The criminal ecosystem is now diversified and highly specialized making cybercrime is far more organized than you think. They have access to key resources making them better prepared and knowledgeable. Cybercrime runs like a business and the “big ticket items” are enterprises. That’s why there has been an increase in ransomware.
4. Cybercriminals are designing cyberthreats that are increasingly more disruptive. The impact of cyber incidents has increased because enterprises and individuals are more digitally dependent than ever. Having a comprehensive cybersecurity strategy involves acknowledging how cybersecurity threats are evolving in order to properly protect ourselves.

Cybersecurity is often seen as something you can simply fix, but rather a part of doing business in the modern world. You want to treat cybersecurity like a core operational risk that will occur throughout the life of your business. If not, one cyber incident could be catastrophic.

3. Recognize That Cybersecurity Is Still “New”

Cybersecurity is still very “new.” Many enterprises will say cybersecurity has been around for a long time. However, they haven’t been able to develop customs, habits, policies, or laws that consistently work well in cyberspace. We understand cyberspace as this highly connected and interactive environment – the internet. People are connected to the network all the time, more so every single year. Only in the last 20- 25 years has the network really evolved. In regard to customs, policies, and laws this is a very short amount of time.

How Cisco SecureX Aligns With Your Cybersecurity Strategy

Cisco offers a simplified security experience that allows enterprises to continue using the three strategies to successfully protect themselves from cybersecurity threats. , built-in platform that connects their secure portfolio and an enterprise’s infrastructure seamlessly for a consistent experience. SecureX unifies visibility, enables automation, and strengthens security across your network. It does this without replacing your current security infrastructure or layering on another technology. confidently secure every business aspect, lets you build your own customizable security, collaborates across shared workflows and teams, and turns security from a blocker into an enabler. It aligns with Michael Daniels’ three strategies and will keep you updated on any approaching cybersecurity threats.

NEXT STEPS: Lack of visibility across your entire IT estate is often the biggest challenge when it comes to effectively securing your company from intrusion. Cisco can help you spot those vulnerabilities faster with a proactive security strategy. It really comes down to having the right tools AND frequent cybersecurity training for your employees, but let’s start at square one and take a look at what’s possible when you have full visibility!

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Days after the attack on the Colonial Pipeline, MIT Sloan School of Management professor, Stuart Madnick, said , “I often say the worst is yet to come.” While this is not a time for pessimism, the trend certainly appears to be headed in the wrong direction. 2021 has brought significant, far-reaching cyber catastrophes: ransomware has taken down one of the largest oil pipelines in the country, the largest meat processing company in the world and the police department of our nation’s capital. Even a ferry operator in Martha’s Vineyard found itself attacked.

Meanwhile the perpetrators behind these assaults grow rich off their malicious deeds. One example is the notorious Russian ransomware gang that is applicably named, Evil Corp. The group is headed by named Maksim Yakubets, whose license plate spells out THIEF. Yakubets started out his criminal career extorting cafes in Moscow. Now he heads an international operation that employs dozens of people whose mission it is to extort money from organizations within 43 countries across the world. The enemy is highly organized and experienced.

Ransomware 2.0

One of the contributing reasons for ransomware’s success is that its creators ensure that it keeps evolving in order to improve upon itself. In what is now commonly referred to as Ransomware 2.0, hackers now exfiltrate the data prior to encrypting it. They then threaten to publicly release sensitive information or sell it on the dark web if the victimized organization balks at paying for the decryption key. That PR nightmare that may ensure could cause irrevocable damage to the brand. Of course, the real threat has always been having your data inaccessible forever. The worst instance involved an attack on the in which the hospital could no longer treat some chemotherapy patients because the attack wiped out their records. The price of ransomware is far greater than just a monetary cost.

We Need a New Way to Combat Ransomware

It is increasingly obvious that ransomware is not going away and that criminal gangs like Evil Corp are growing more brazen with each big payoff. While the FBI and other governmental agencies highly discourage organizations from paying ransoms that is easier said than done. Often times, organizations are between a rock and hard place: Cave to the extorsion demands of the attackers or stay offline for days or even weeks as internal IT furiously rebuilds the network. It is growing more apparent each month that our nation and society needs a better template in how to cope with ransomware.

Even more important however, it’s time for organizations to take a “man on the moon” approach to combatting ransomware. Too often, IT uses a best of breed mentality in which a newly discovered attack demands a new attack solution. Cybersecurity vendors are all too willing to release new shiny objects to combat new threats. While these tools may indeed be effective at combatting specific cyberthreats, this practice requires internal IT to constantly toggle between an array of cybersecurity tools. According to ESG Research, 31 percent of organizations use more than 50 different security products, while 60 percent use more than 25. Now couple this statistic with a defined correlation outlined in the that shows how the amount of downtime attributed to a cybersecurity incident increased in lock step with the number of security vendors a company used.

The Need for a Platform Approach

It has become apparent that a single magic tool approach is not going to save us from ransomware. It is time we realized that we are in a war, a cyber war, and that we need an encompassing platform approach to deal with it. We need a system of tools that reside at all of the various layers of a multi-level cybersecurity plan. We need to eliminate the cybersecurity silos that exist across our IT estates in which security tools work in isolation of one another. What we need is an organized system in which security tools work in tandem with another in a single unified front in which intelligence is shared between them. In turn, internal IT needs to be able to monitor and manage everything from a single pane of glass. By taking a platform approach, security and attention gaps are eliminated.

Four Best Practices for Combatting Ransomware

There isn’t a magic pill to defeat ransomware. It must be done through a collaborative effort across multiple fronts using this best practice arsenal.

1. Prevent the initial infiltration

Stopping ransomware from infiltrating your network is three-fourths of the battle. There are two primary attack avenues that ransomware utilizes. Those are email and internet downloads. You must be able to root out malicious email attachments and embedded links that coerce users to click on them. It’s also essential to incorporate internet security filtering that strips your web traffic of malicious code before it can take hold on a device. Cisco Cloud Email Security with Advanced Malware Protection uses analytics to identify malicious links and attachments and obliterate them before users can see them. Cisco Umbrella with DNS and IP layer enforcement stops ransomware and other malicious code from making its way from the internet over all ports and protocols. What’s more, these two tools operate in in cohesion with one another to eradicate invading ransomware at its initial stage.

2. Fortifying the Perimeter

Perimeter security solutions such as Cisco Firepower Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW) are required today in order to deliver comprehensive, unified policy management of firewall functions, application control, threat prevention, and advanced malware protection from the network to the endpoint.

3. Endpoint ProtectionYou must arm your endpoints in this battle. That means more than relying on the signature-based antivirus solutions of yesteryear. You need intelligence-based systems supported by analytics that continually draw data from millions of endpoints across the globe as reconnaissance. Cisco Advanced Malware Protection for Endpoints can stop ransomware files at the point of entry for every client device and server on your network.
4. Complete Visibility

You can’t fight an enemy you can’t see and you can’t protect things that aren’t visible. Cisco SecureX provides a single pane of glass interface that gives your IT team complete visibility of the battlefield at hand. is built into the Cisco Security solutions you already have so there is no need for rip-and-replace components. SecureX simplifies and unifies your security infrastructure in such a way that 95 percent of customers report that the solution helps them quickly take action and remediate threats.

Partner with WEI & Cisco to Combat Ransomware

And finally, you need a comprehensive backup solution that incorporates both on-premises storage as well as cloud-based. Yes, it’s a multi-front approach, but it’s a multi-front war out there and in order to win, you need to be allied with a vendor that has a comprehensive strategy to win. The Cisco security platform is more than a tool set. It’s an across-the-board solution set that provides blanket style security across your entire IT estate. Yes, there is hope in defeating ransomware. In this case, hope is spelled C-I-S-C-O.

Next steps: See how Cisco SecureX is bring unparalleled visibility to the enterprise in this quick demo video.

The post 4 Best Practices for Defeating Ransomware appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Today’s cybercriminals are better equipped and are utilizing technology that’s more advanced by the day. With the value and importance of data only growing, protecting that data has never been more essential and enterprises need all the help they can get. With this in mind, we recently held a cybersecurity event to share information on key topics including:

• The best strategies enterprises can use to keep data safe.
• The anatomy of a hacker.
• The tools hackers utilize to gain entry to your systems.
• Cybersecurity predictions for the upcoming year and beyond.

This virtual event, presented in partnership with , featured Theresa Payton, a legendary figure within the cybersecurity and IT world. Her resume was already impressive, with executive level roles in banking technology, but she made history as the first woman to serve as the CIO of the White House. She currently leads as CEO.

In the article below, we’ll share the top three takeaways from the event that you need to know to effectively combat cybersecurity threats.

1. Web Browsing Is A Minefield

Hacking isn’t as it appears in the movies. Instead of brute forcing your firewalls or other cybersecurity solutions, cybercriminals will exploit any simple way into your digital environment. Many of these opportunities can be as simple as a user clicking on a theoretically safe link.

As shared by Theresa, things like clickbait, fake ads, and chat bots are often utilized by cybercriminals to lead your employees astray. While they may not contain malware or other nefarious programs, the demographic data that’s exposed and tracked once clicked on can be all hackers need to get started.

The ad itself or the advertising company running the ads may be genuine, but bad actors that gain access to that data can take the information gathered, such as operating system, IP address and username, and use it to build social engineering campaigns, fraud campaigns, and other carefully constructed personas to further trick your employees into opening the doors to hackers.

2. Bad Actors Are Using AI To Impersonate Key Players

As previously mentioned, today’s hackers have access to technology far beyond what their predecessors could even dream of. One of the most insidious tools being utilized is AI technology that leverages internet photos and audio to create deepfake profiles.

Deepfakes are synthetic media built using artificial intelligence (AI) to alter the appearance or sound of a piece of media, such as a video or audio recording. In the wrong hands, this technology is being used to create fake user profiles, impersonate employees, and using an executive’s ‘likeness’ to authorize fraudulent bank transfers.

As shared by Theresa during the cybersecurity event: “An international company with international lines of business needed to do a wire transfer to a vendor. The vendor sends a typical message to the CFO, who receives it and waits for the multi-factor authentication. In their case, the authentication is a phone call and voice authorization. CFO receives it [from the CEO] and makes the transfer.”

Unfortunately for this company, it was not the CEO on the phone and the transfer was fraudulent. By utilizing deepfake technology, hackers are creating a world where enterprises cannot trust what they see and hear and must rely on additional security layers, like codewords and separate lines of communication, to keep these incidents from happening.

3. We Have To Work Together To Stand Against Cybercriminals

As more enterprises fall victim to ransomware and large scale incidents wreak havoc ( being a perfect example), the cybersecurity community must come together to catch these bad actors.

Many enterprises seek to hide evidence of breaches to save face, but in doing so, they’re making it easier for bad actors to continue on with their actions. Instead, when attacks happen, information regarding it should be shared with the community in general, not just internally or only with law enforcement.

“We need international cooperation. Cybercrime has to be dealt with and we need to have an international accord that says an attack against a private sector company is an attack against all of us and it will not stand,” Theresa said.

Ensure Comprehensive Cybersecurity With WEI & Cisco

Having a trusted technology partner like WEI can help you build the right security foundation with secure tools, such as those found in We can walk you through a cyber-savvy strategy to identify vulnerabilities and take a proactive approach to risk mitigation. Contact WEI today to start a cybersecurity conversation that will deliver the security outcomes your business requires.

NEXT STEPS: Lack of visibility across your entire IT estate is often the biggest challenge when it comes to effectively securing your company from intrusion. Cisco can help you spot those vulnerabilities faster with a proactive security strategy. It really comes down to having the right tools AND frequent cybersecurity training for your employees, but let’s start at square one and take a look at what’s possible when you have full visibility!

Meet Cisco SecureX in two ways.
Watch the Demo and Read the Solution Brief.

The post 3 Key Takeaways From Cybersecurity Expert, Theresa Payton appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Even as enterprises put the chaos of 2020 behind them, cybersecurity holdovers from the past year continue to haunt IT security teams. In addition, new security threats rear their ugly heads every day, keeping IT on their toes.

For many enterprises, it’s not a question of “if” a security breach will happen, it’s “when.” This mindset helps enterprise security teams stay proactive about cybersecurity efforts, but when the threat landscape is as wide as is today, it’s hard to know what to focus on and what poses the highest threat.

To help you stay ahead of the game, we’ve put together a list of three top security trends, as reported by Fortinet in their Global Threat Landscape Report.

1. Securing The Branch And Home Offices

While many employees have returned to the office (or have plans to do so soon), there’s a significant portion of the workforce that will be continuing to work from home. As a result, enterprise security must adapt to ensure these remote employees aren’t creating undue security risks.

In 2020, the home office became an appealing target for cybercriminals looking to take advantage of the chaos. even as IT teams scrambled just to keep the lights on. While a majority of enterprises have moved passed the initial hurdles to provide remote employees what they need to be productive, security remains an issue.

As reported by Fortinet, the proliferation of remote employees could contribute to what they refer to as the “final nail in the coffin of trust-based security.”

When it comes to security, it pays to be cautious. Or even paranoid. Strategies like zero trust access, where devices are given the fewest possible access privileges and all devices require authentication, are becoming a popular solution to the remote working conundrum.

2. Threats Targeting The Digital Supply Chain

While last year’s breach is the most well-known of recent attacks, threats to the digital supply chain have been steadily increasing as cybercriminals become more advanced.

In the case of the SolarWinds breach, which appears to have originated from nation-state attackers, U.S. government agencies and several prominent tech companies were included among the victims, raising the stakes even higher and putting the security risks supply chains pose into perspective for many.

In their report, Fortinet described that attackers went to “extraordinary lengths to maintain operational secrecy around the initial compromise of SolarWinds, the distribution of the malware, the deployment of the second-stage payload, and in C2 communications.”

The type of attack used by the SolarWinds perpetrators is referred to as an advanced persistent threat (APT), which can often go unspotted by anti-malware and endpoint detection tools.

Today, when cyber threats are at their most advanced and can have the highest impact, enterprises must stay one step ahead of attackers, who are only getting more advanced and creative by the day.

3. Ransomware Continues To Be A Persistent Threat

Ransomware took center stage in 2020 and that trend is continuing into 2021. Like attacks focusing on the home office, many ransomware attackers used the chaos of the pandemic to their advantage, especially against organizations in the healthcare sector. The frequency of attacks rapidly grew in the latter half of 2020 and the threat of ransomware continues to loom for organizations worldwide.

As shared by Fortinet, effectively dealing with ransomware threats requires a significantly different toolset and strategy than other cybersecurity risks. Some of the suggested strategies to prevent or minimize the impact of a ransomware attack include utilizing aforementioned zero trust access, cloud-based security solutions like , and advanced endpoint security. Having an effective backup and disaster recovery strategy in place is also key, and remove the attackers leverage of holding data hostage.

The recent attack on , which has had an impact on many outside of the tech industry, should serve as an effective motivator for organizations that have yet to prioritize preparing for ransomware threats.

A Cybersecurity Partner, Not Just a Solutions Provider

Fortinet offers comprehensive and holistic security solutions for the largest enterprise, service provider, and government organizations in the world. From firewalls to cloud security, Fortinet ensures security without compromising performance. If youo have questions about how Fortinet can support your business and your security goals, contact WEI today. Our experience as a top Fortinet partner can prove valuable to your security strategy, and we are here to help!

NEXT STEPS: Do you have the right mix of enterprise security tools in your arsenal? See what top IT leaders agree to be the right mix of security solutions for the digital world in our eBook below!

The post Top 3 Enterprise Security Trends To Act On Today appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Ransomware is a profitable criminal endeavor (a 2016 survey estimated $1 billion each year, but current numbers are surely much higher) by individuals who don’t hesitate to damage public institutions and private enterprises, and they’re not going anywhere.

What’s needed to fend off this Ransomware epidemic?

Best practices and tools to:

• Prevent or mitigate attacks
• Protect data and backup data
• Recover reliably

In this blog article we’ll take a look at how you can find and implement those practices with Veeam’s platform.

What is the business impact of a ransomware attack?

Data and systems unavailability triggers a domino effect of other technical and business consequences. Research by ESG found that 71 percent of surveyed organizations could not tolerate more than one hour of downtime for their high-priority applications, which are frequently the ones targeted by ransomware.

In addition, from a recovery point objective (RPO) perspective, 51 percent of organizations surveyed report that losing just 15 minutes of data from their high-priority applications is the maximum they can tolerate without significant business impact. This downtime and data loss can take months or years to recover from, and that’s before considering the loss of customer confidence and direct revenue.

Best practices and technologies for ransomware attacks

To fend off , there are recommended cybersecurity and backup and recovery best practices.

End-User Education, Intrusion Testing, and Mock Phishing

Conducted by a third-party cybersecurity partner, these steps are invaluable, especially with less experienced staff.

Email and Web Controls

Given the likelihood of infiltration coming from these areas, controls are crucial. To establish a first line of defense, use tools that can identify and block illegitimate phishing email, scan for known ransomware or malware in emails, and isolate attachments for analysis. This effort should encompass native cloud applications such as Office 365. Web controls can be used to analyze a website’s reputation and block known bad URLs, and they can scan for malicious downloads and browser exploits.

Endpoints

Endpoints are often the attack vector for introducing ransomware, representing a need for a set of robust countermeasures. controls that employ multiple detection technologies to prevent file-based and file-less ransomware, as well as other types of malware, are critical.

Network-based Controls

The effort begins with establishing protection across all ports and protocols, and monitoring all traffic on the physical or virtual network. It can be complemented by detection methods such as sandbox analysis for new and unknown ransomware.

Servers

Servers, especially database servers, have also become targets for ransomware attacks. They require the use of technologies to scan for ransomware and other forms of malware and controls to maintain system integrity. Being diligent about maintaining a patching discipline is a clear best practice, but it comes with an operational impact for many organizations and does not prevent zero-day attacks.

Backup and Recovery

Beyond employing cybersecurity best practices, backup and recovery is an important component to ensuring uptime. Best practices include:

• Training IT staff, especially the backup team, with regular training on security, networking, and best storage practices.
• Following the 3-2-1 rule, which requires three copies of company data be saved on two different media formats, one of which is kept offsite.
• Managing access controls and using different credentials for backup roles and permissions to access the backup application, data store/repository, and network.
• Looking for a solution with behavioral alerting capabilities that can notify an admin about a possible ransomware activity flag.

Veeam’s Hyper-Availability Platform To The Rescue

Veeam’s Hyper-Availability Platform offers data availability to enterprises no matter where the data lives – on-premises, in the core data center, in remote offices, or anywhere in the . It is perfectly suited for ransomware protection with a keen focus on both data centers and endpoints.

On the data center side, Veeam allows organizations to restore data infected by ransomware to a known-good state. End-users can also leverage the Veeam to perform quick and granular restore operations for databases, applications, files, and operating systems.

The suite provides one-click file-restore capabilities for storage snapshots, which can be useful for fast recoveries of critical files. Veeam has also integrated with many storage vendors to accelerate performance and recovery capabilities.

Ransomware is here to stay, be prepared!

Unfortunately, ransomware isn’t going anywhere. As hackers evolve their methods, ransomware will only continue to pose a growing threat to enterprises around the world. The business risk is potentially devastating and needs to be managed with a combination of best practices and the right tools. Contact WEI to begin strengthening your response and protecting your organization today.

NEXT STEPS: Protect your enterprise with network security tips in our tech brief, ‘Using network segmentation to manage malware and ransomware risks’ below!

The post Build Your Ransomware Strategy Before You Need It appeared first on IT Solutions Provider - IT Consulting - Technology Solutions.

Using Network Segmentation to Manage Threats

Peter Gasca from Entrepreneur recently highlighted this approach in his article,

Following a ransomware hack at his child’s elementary school, Gasca sought strategies and tactics companies can take to protect themselves from this increasingly common security threat. Here is our advice from his article:

“As an additional prevention, every enterprise [should] consider how to contain, rather than just prevent, a ransomware breach with network segmentation in addition to other strategies.”

In part, network segmentation limits the volume of resources that an attacker can access by logically grouping network assets, resources and applications together into compartmentalized areas called segments and allowing only approved types of communication in and out of the segment. Segments that are physically separated from other segments and have no established link to allow interaction are known as segregated.

For example, devices involved with financial transactions should be fully segregated both logically and physically from devices that can surf the web. The objective with security-minded network segmentation is to ensure that attackers have access to as few digital resources as possible. This technique will also help contain the potential damage from other types of cyberattacks.

“Since departments and teams have different access needs, an enterprise should divide a network into segments and then control each segment’s communication to the outside world. In addition, the enterprise should control communication between segments of the same network. With limited access between segments, an attacker’s movement to another segment is either stopped or slowed enough to allow monitoring tools to alert enterprise staff to the intrusion before massive harm is done.”

To read Peter Gasca’s full article on Entrepreneur,

There are some gray areas around network segmentation. We have seen that IT managers think parts of the network are isolated from each other, until a breach occurs and it becomes evident that true network segmentation was not in place. Ensuring those who are in charge of managing the networking strategy have a strong knowledgebase in network security strategies, tactics, and best practices. As you can see, containing and controlling the spread of a ransomware attack is just as important as preventing it in the first place. For advice on securing your network, assessing your current security landscape or protecting your company’s sensitive data, sign up for a Security and Threat Prevention Assessment today.

Next Steps: Get more information about you can use network segmentation to protect your business from emerging malware and ransomware threats, click below to read our FREE tech brief.

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