12/17/2023 0 Comments Samsam ransomwhere![]() And far too often, these are often vulnerabilities for which a patch has been available for weeks, months, or even years. Most ransomware breaches begin by exploiting unpatched vulnerabilities. The best response to ransomware such as SamSam is to prepare.Īggressively Patch and Update Devices, Software, and Applications However, there is never any guarantee that paying a ransom will provide the keys necessary to unlock systems, nor that compromised systems don't remain compromised so that the criminals can repeat such an attack. Since many organizations measure downtime in the tens or hundreds of thousands of dollars, the need to restore operations often leads an organization to pay exorbitant ransoms to unlock devices and networks. Ransomware is notoriously effective at disrupting an organization, often forcing fully digital businesses, including financial institutions and healthcare facilities, to resort to managing complex transactions using pencil and paper. Most concerning is that not only are valuable files targeted (documents, data, etc.) but configuration files like those in Microsoft Office were also attacked to create total disruption.ĭefending Your Organization from SamSam and other Ransomware And since the attackers install the SamSam ransomware manually, that process also doesn’t usually trigger any unwanted attention by system or network administrators, or many AV and IPS defenses. This technique is especially effective since it does not usually trigger any alarms since security devices generally recognize such traffic as being legitimate commands coming from someone within the organization. The SamSam attackers use a combination of known tools, such as the pen testing and post-exploitation tool Mimikatz to harvest credentials, and PSexec to move laterally across the organization where the SamSam malware is then manually installed. At that point, SamSam would attack all identified systems at once, making it more challenging to isolate compromised devices. The attackers would then conduct reconnaissance, infiltrate targeted devices, and lie dormant until they deemed environmental variables to be ideal for an attack. ![]() To evade detection, these attacks usually took place at a calculated time, often after business hours. ![]() ![]() The SamSam targeted campaigns locked machines using a focused strategy of exploiting vulnerabilities and then methodically engaging in lateral movement across the network to identify targets. Sophos has estimated that, to date, the group responsible for SamSam has extorted nearly six million dollars from its victims. Since then, however, it has aggressively expanded, targeting a wide range of organizations, from healthcare and educational institutions to local governments. The SamSam ransomware first appeared in late 2015 as a reasonably low-profile risk. In conjunction with the Cyber Threat Alliance, Sophos today released a detailed analysis of a highly sophisticated ransomware threat group that has been dubbed “ SamSam.” As part of Fortinet’s membership with the Cyber Threat Alliance (CTA), FortiGuard Labs received all related indicators of compromise (IoCs) ahead of publication to ensure that FortiGuard customers are protected from this latest disclosure. ![]()
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |