Defending Against Ransomware: Key Insights and Actionable Recommendations

Observation Summary

• Attackers are increasingly using double-extortion during ransomware attacks, meaning they not only encrypt systems but also steal data and threaten to leak it.
• Healthcare and manufacturing are hit often because they rely heavily on continuous operations and hold sensitive information. Financial and logistics organizations were also affected, experiencing notable disruptions to their services.
• ProArch provides continuous monitoring and proactive threat detection to identify early indicators of ransomware and extortion activity. Upon detection, ProArch initiates rapid containment measures to limit spread and reduce operational impact, while delivering timely, clear communications to stakeholders. Post-incident, ProArch supports root-cause analysis and provides prioritized remediation recommendations to help organizations strengthen resilience and reduce the risk of future ransomware incidents.

What Is Double-Extortion Ransomware?

• In this approach, attackers first gain unauthorized access to the victim’s environment, often through compromised credentials, unpatched systems, or phishing.
• Once inside, they exfiltrate sensitive data before deploying ransomware to encrypt critical systems.

This two-step method gives attackers additional leverage: even if the organization can recover from backups, the threat of public data exposure keeps pressure high.

Why Certain Industries Are Targeted More Often

• Healthcare and manufacturing remain top targets because these sectors depend on continuous, time-sensitive operations and store high-value data, making them more likely to respond quickly to restore services.
• Meanwhile, financial institutions and logistics companies are also experiencing significant impact, with attacks causing delays in transactions, supply chain bottlenecks, and service interruptions.
• Overall, the trend reflects a strategic shift by attackers toward sectors where disruption has immediate operational and economic consequences, increasing their leverage during extortion.

Why Ransomware Defense Matters More Than Ever

• Ransomware and extortion attacks pose a direct risk to business continuity, data confidentiality, and organizational reputation. The increasing use of double-extortion techniques means that even organizations with strong backup strategies may still face regulatory exposure, financial loss, and loss of customer trust due to data theft.
• As ransomware operations become more accessible through Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS), attacks are increasing in frequency and sophistication, reducing the time available to detect and respond. Without early detection and coordinated response, organizations risk prolonged outages, operational disruption, and increased recovery costs. Proactive monitoring and rapid incident response are therefore critical to minimizing impact and maintaining operational resilience.

Actionable Recommendations to Defend Against Ransomware

• Strengthen Access Controls: Enable MFA for all users, especially admins, but recognize that MFA alone is no longer enough due to rising AiTM (Adversary-in-the-Middle)
• Transition to phish-resistant authentication such as:
• Passkeys
• FIDO2 security keys
• Certificate-based authentication (CBA)

to prevent unauthorized access. Regularly review and remove unnecessary privileged accounts and closely monitor for any unusual login activity that could indicate compromise.

• Patch and Harden Systems: Quickly apply updates to critical systems like VPNs, firewalls, domain controllers, and any internet-facing applications. Turn off unused services and follow secure baseline configurations to reduce exploitable weaknesses.
• Protect Backups: Keep backups offline or immutable so attackers can’t tamper with them. Test backup restoration regularly, and make sure backup systems are isolated from the main network to ensure reliable recovery during an incident.
• Limit Lateral Movement: Segment the network so attackers can’t easily move between systems, and use strong EDR protection across all endpoints and servers to quickly detect and block suspicious activity.
• Educate Users: Train employees to recognize phishing and social engineering attempts, and encourage them to report any suspicious emails or unusual system activity immediately

How ProArch Helps Organizations Stay Resilient

ProArch’s cybersecurity services combine continuous monitoring, advanced threat detection, and rapid incident response to help organizations detect ransomware early, contain threats quickly, and recover confidently.