How Zero Trust Improves Ransomware Response

There is an increased demand for cybersecurity analysts due to cybercriminal activity rising. Zero trust is the prime cybersecurity framework that analyzes and authenticates all users on a network. The same validation protocol runs regardless of whether you are inside or outside an organization.

Ransomware attacks could affect everyone — businesses and individuals alike — so anyone working with sensitive data must implement systems like zero trust for sufficient protection. How does this benefit responses to ransomware attacks?

1. Helps Mitigate Human Error

Human error accounts for over 95% of cybersecurity issues. With the remote work trend since the start of the pandemic, zero trust could assist in curbing the increased threat potential from a lack of unified network management. Monitoring employee activity on work machines is challenging as mobile workforces become the norm.

With these desktops and cloud services containing sensitive information connected to potentially insecure Wi-Fi connections, it doesn’t matter if they have a VPN or if the business has a remote desktop protocol. Cybercriminals have already developed specific strategies to tackle VPNs and RDPs.

Zero trust architecture provides a more comprehensive safety blanket. It can protect machines no matter their location, minimizing the chance of human error causing ransomware attacks.

2. Limits Attacker Access

Zero trust forces applications to connect to users with application control instead of users linking to applications — the programs potentially vulnerable to exploitation. With zero trust systems in place, it not only investigates every user but also only provides them with specific permissions to the applications.

Even if hackers steal an employee’s identity, that employee will already have assigned permissions — meaning the hacker is not sure to obtain every piece of information they need. It could even tell if a worker is attempting to access resources outside their regular working hours, creating red flags for security infrastructure to take action.

If hackers only have access to limited resources, to begin with, then walls will be harder to tear down. In the meantime, other security measures could start to fight the threat.

3. Adapts to Custom Threats

Cybercriminals adapt faster than many can comprehend. Because zero trust requires hackers to obtain access, technologies can quarantine files before they have a chance to execute.

The infrastructure for zero trust matures over time, eventually until it can deploy advanced protections based on continual observation of the digital landscape and user patterns. Zero trust buys analysts time to get a broader scope of unique threats, allowing the defense to adapt as quickly as the offense.

4. Decreases Exfiltration

Even if the hackers make their way into the network, zero trust helps prevent data from leaving. This mitigates the increase in double extortion ransomware attacks, where attacks attempt to take out data while encrypting it to provide extra leverage when asking for payment. The individuals have to pay for the decryption key and the data.

Informing employees how to back up their data securely is essential to minimizing compromised information during a ransomware attack — especially if companies continue regular cybersecurity training. This way, exfiltration is less of a concern, and workers can use their energy to address the security issue.

5. Saves Money

This may not seem directly related to the ransomware response, however, freeing up funds would help any company have the opportunity to invest more in their cybersecurity. Organizations with zero trust infrastructure pay around $1.76 million less for a data breach than if they didn’t have it in place. Without zero trust, more resources and labor go into combatting the threat.

Even if a business chooses to pay a ransom, it’s never sure it will obtain lost data. Instead of wasting company funds paying ransoms on a gamble, invest that money in trained analysts and proper hardware and software to maintain security for all staff.

This directly affects ransomware response as zero trust not only diversifies protection methods on top of firewalls. For example, it saves money on mental exertion from emergency response protocols and inadequately trained staff. 

Zero Trust Helps Ransomware Response

Though zero trust does not provide a foolproof method to stop all types of ransomware attacks, it’s an essential tool to implement for stable security infrastructure. With its adaptability and individualized attention to users, it is the safety blanket to best supplement any ransomware prevention plan.