The Path to Ransomware
The Path to Ransomware
Best Practices in Training Cyber Practitioners
More and more organizations are engaging in Cloud Range’s cyber range training program and live-fire scenarios for teams as they realize that is the best way to prepare their SOC and CSIRT teams to be ready for real-world cyber attacks. And the most common request for an attack the teams want to conquer?
Ransomware.
It makes sense. Ransomware is a high-stakes concern due to its potential to wreak financial and operational havoc on organizations and their customers alike. And it is a popular attack style – there were approximately 500 million ransomware attacks last year, targeting both traditional IT systems as well as critical infrastructure.
However, diving straight into a ransomware attack scenario is not the best practice when starting a new cyber range program. Here's why.
The Cyber Range: A Virtual Training Battlefield
Much like how a novice swimmer doesn't start learning in the deep end of the pool, your cybersecurity team must first get comfortable with the cyber range environment, its tools, and simpler threat scenarios before attempting to tackle something as sophisticated and damaging as ransomware. As teams learn to respond to real-world threats on the live-fire cyber range, they improve their skills and gain expertise, which prepares them for tougher scenarios.
The Complexity of Ransomware: Why Basic Training Matters
Ransomware attacks are multifaceted in nature, which means cyber defenders need a comprehensive understanding of many aspects of cybersecurity. Ransomware can involve a blend of social engineering, network infiltration, encryption mechanisms, and the exploitation of zero-day vulnerabilities. That’s why your team needs a solid grounding in fundamental cybersecurity principles, multiple tactics, techniques and procedures (TTPs), and a thorough familiarity with a variety of industry-leading tools, SIEM solutions, firewalls, and any other tools your organization uses. The good news is all of that is encompassed in Cloud Range’s cybersecurity training program.
Before Ransomware: Foundational Cyber Threat Scenarios
Cloud Range works with security leaders to create a customized program that helps each team member grow and advance while meeting organizational objectives. Depending on the experience and needs of the team, we will design a path to prepare them for ransomware attack scenarios. Here are some examples of live-fire attack exercises that could come before a ransomware scenario in your training regimen:
Phishing attacks: These are often the entry point for ransomware. Practicing responses to phishing helps your team understand the attack vector that is most likely to lead to a ransomware infection.
Malware and spyware threats: Having the team handle such scenarios allows them to understand other types of software that may behave like ransomware, familiarizing them with indicators of compromise (IOCs) and mitigation techniques.
Network intrusion scenarios: These exercises provide an understanding of how attackers navigate a network after gaining initial access. This is fundamental knowledge before learning about how ransomware propagates within a network.
Denial of service (DoS) attacks: DoS attack scenarios are an excellent way to test your team's ability to maintain operations under stress, which is crucial during a ransomware attack when systems may be locked down.
Privilege escalation and lateral movement: These scenarios are pivotal in understanding how an attacker can gain control over a system and move within a network. Ransomware often involves such maneuvers, making these practices vital precursors.
Incident response exercises: These give teams the ability to coordinate and quickly mitigate an attack, which is crucial when dealing with ransomware attacks because of the potential network lockout, loss of data, and financial impact.
By starting with these scenarios, you're laying a strong foundation for your team. They get a comprehensive understanding of the cyber threat landscape and, crucially, how different threats interlink. The live-fire scenarios also allow them to dynamically test playbooks and become proficient with the tools and processes they will use during a real-life ransomware attack.
Furthering Ransomware Readiness: Learning Plans and Reporting
In addition to the series of multiple live-fire attack simulation exercises for teams to help teams prepare for a ransomware attack on our cyber range, Cloud Range provides learning plans tailored for each person that include various FlexLabs and take into account specific needs and objectives. Our library of 1,500+ FlexLabs accommodates all experience levels and different areas of cybersecurity.
Cloud Range’s simulations are aligned with industry-standard frameworks including MITRE ATT&CK and NIST’s NICE Cybersecurity Framework, and our Performance Portal allows for modification and alignment to custom frameworks. That ensures security leaders receive valuable metrics and reporting, enabling them to track the progress of their team members and know how to bridge any gaps.
The Ransomware Attack!
With all of this experience under your team’s proverbial belt, they are ready to take on a ransomware attack. We won’t give you any specifics on what that may look like – like an Escape Room, your team will have to figure out what to do – but be assured, they will enjoy it.
Plus, after the live-fire mission that is led by a Certified Attackmaster™, your team will have the opportunity to go back onto our OpenRange™ and replay the scenario. That allows them to continue to build their skills and confidence based on what they learned in the instructor-led session.
This systematic progression through diverse threat scenarios that gradually increase in complexity not only prepares your team for a live-fire ransomware attack scenario. It also gives your team a holistic view of the threat landscape, ensuring your team is more prepared for the next cyber attack.