While there’s no silver bullet to preventing a ransomware incident, following security experts’ recommendations will greatly reduce your vulnerability. Thousands of Americans experienced the trickle-down effect of a ransomware breach in early May following the Colonial Pipeline attack, which shut down the oil supplier’s operations and left many scrambling to find gas and waiting in huge lines when they did. The attack originated from DarkSide, a Russian-linked criminal group, who threatened to leak the utility provider’s sensitive data unless the company paid a $4.4 million ransom.

How you respond to a security incident can determine whether the problem gets fanned into flame or extinguished. When companies plan their cybersecurity strategies, there’s often a lot of time spent talking about and testing various security solutions, backup and disaster recovery tools and security awareness training options. All these actions are vital components to building a strong security posture, but they’re not the first thing companies should be thinking about. One of the most important foundational activities organizations tend to put off until it’s too late (i.e., post-incident) is creating a plan that details how your company would handle a security incident. While it might sound a bit defeatist to create a plan that assumes the security tools and services you’re about to invest in to prevent a security incident are going to fail, it’s not the case. First, not every security incident is a worst-case scenario like the Colonial Pipeline attack that resulted in a $5 million ransom payment. Often, an incident is something much smaller, such as a failed attempt to breach your defenses. The second point is that a small security incident can become a serious threat if the incident response isn’t handled properly. More on this point below.

Earlier this month, Russian-linked cybercriminal organization, REvil, launched the single biggest global ransomware attack on record. The breach infected thousands of victims in more than 17 countries and demanded $70 million in cryptocurrency to unscramble all the infected machines. What made this breach especially noteworthy was the specific conduit the criminals used to gain access to the victims: Kaseya VSA (virtual systems/server administrator), a remote monitoring and management (RMM) solution. RMM solutions are commonly used by managed services providers (MSPs) and managed security services providers (MSSPs) alike. What makes them particularly attractive to cybercriminals is that each MSP/MSSP breach has an enormous trickle-down effect. For example, CBS News reported that Swedish grocery chain Coop had to close most of its 800 stores for multiple days because the attack crippled their cash register software supplier. Thus, not only do these “one-to-many” attacks lead to more victims in a shorter period, but they also lead to bigger payoffs for the attackers.

Sportsmanship and collaboration are the key to success – whether it’s a sports team, colleagues on a project, or winning the Pinewood Derby. Because people are at the center of the data, threats and attacks, and the protection against those, leading security solutions companys such as Proofpoint takes a people-centric approach to cybersecurity. Here at Presidio, our philosophy is also centered around our team of technical experts and  getting the RIGHT people in the RIGHT roles to deliver impactful business outcomes for you.

Security is like weight; it can be more effective if you put it in the right places. In a Pinewood Derby you can set a weight anywhere on your car, but it will affect your speed depending on where put the weight.  In your technology organization, by having visibility into Shadow IT, cloud risk assessment, and a true footprint of your applications, you can identify and put the right amount of security in the right places to secure and accelerate your business. Visibility in real-time is key when it comes to cloud security. With so many apps, services and other endpoints moving to the cloud, it can be challenging to have a 360 view of everything that is going on. To respond to threats as they come up, you need to ensure you have a bird’s eye view of your entire cloud ecosystem.

At the core of your Pinewood Derby car is obviously the wooden body. What might not be as obvious is what should be at the core of your Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA). The answer? Identity, or Identity Access Management (IAM) as the foundation in which to build the rest of your ZTNA. IAM is the core of ZTNA because it is the first step in granting entry. Much like showing your ID to enter a bar or board a plane, you are presenting verification that you are allowed to enter. Furthermore, It answers the question “Who has access to your most valuable asset – your data?” Most cyber-attacks take advantage of misused credentials in some fashion.

Taking the spirit of a popular classic childhood event and transforming it into a day of competition and fun + relating this to cybersecurity? Challenge accepted. The Pinewood Derby, a rite of passage for kids in the Boy Scouts of America, is a wood car racing event. Traditionally, each Cub Scout receives a block of pinewood, plastic wheels and metal axles to create a crewless, unpowered miniature car. Although simple in concept, the art and skill come in crafting a car that reduces friction, has an aerodynamic design. The competition also takes into account all-around sportsmanship and collaboration. These concepts can also be applied in many ways including your cybersecurity posture.

Despite efforts within the cyber security industry to oversimplify the concept, Zero Trust should be thought of as a strategy and framework, as opposed to a problem addressable simply by implementing technology. Technology plays an important role in providing technical security controls such as strong authentication, least privilege, and impeded lateral movement, etc. which contributes to achieving a Zero Trust model. The combination of a strategically curated eco-system of technical controls and processes requires executive buy-in and organizational support to succeed.