Improve Ransomware Detection Software Capabilities

Leverage Advanced SIEM Tools to Implement Security Best Practices and Improve Ransomware Detection

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Protect privileged accounts

Threat intelligence feeds

End-to-end log visibility

Security for your privileged accounts

Compliance Reporting Tool - IT Compliance MonitoringThreat Intelligence Feeds - Identify Cybersecurity

It’s important for security teams to realize that once a threat actor gains access to privileged or
admin accounts, it can be difficult to restrict the damage. Proper privilege-access management is crucial to counter not only ransomware but also other kinds of cyberattacks. SolarWinds^® Security Event Manager (SEM) helps you monitor suspicious log activity, including monitoring user
activity on the registry and detecting any changes in the extension of files, their locations, and authorizations.

With SEM, you can set predefined or manually create threshold-based alerts for suspicious activity, such as triggering whenever someone repeatedly fails authentication or for daily logins beyond a certain limit and from multiple locations that occur within a few minutes of each other. You can also define group policies for Windows to restrict access to folder locations where ransomware is most commonly installed.

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Leverage threat intelligence feeds to strengthen security

Ransomware detection software needs to stay ahead of the sophisticated methods threat actors use to target
organizations. SEM includes a community-sourced, continuously updated intelligence feed of known malicious hosts/IPs and
attack vectors. By collecting, consolidating, and analyzing all your log data alongside threat intelligence feeds, SEM is built to
automatically detect, alert, and respond to ransomware attacks with increased agility.

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Get end-to-end log visibility for network and users

SEM helps you monitor the health of your environment to help improve your ransomware detection process by collecting and
correlating a wide range of log types, including log files from network devices, servers, applications, and more. SolarWinds SEM
is designed to support deep-dive log data
analysis with customizable log search and visualization features.

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Get More on Ransomware Detection

Do you find yourself asking…

What is a ransomware attack?
How does ransomware work?
How to detect a ransomware attack
How does ransomware detection work in SolarWinds Security Event Manager?
Related Features and Tools

A ransomware attack is when an unauthorized user, usually a hacker or another malicious actor, accesses enterprise networking devices and data. The ransomware bad actor then holds this information hostage through encryption or other blocking methods, demanding a ransom from the affected business if they hope to regain access.

Lack of enterprise access is the primary issue associated with ransomware—when a ransomware attack occurs, the compromised data becomes inaccessible to users, applications, and other devices. While some ransomware hackers threaten to expose sensitive or private enterprise data, most ransomware attacks aim to disrupt business operations to the point where there is no choice but to pay the ransom.

While paying a ransom might seem like the easiest way to deal with ransomware, many government agencies—including the FBI and the No More Ransom Project—advise against this. Paying ransom only encourages the ransomware cycle, and half of the ransomware victims who pay will suffer from a repeat attack due to the prior attack’s success.

The most efficient way to detect a ransomware attack is by using detection software. These technologies are designed to spot malware by scanning incoming emails, websites, applications, and flash drives for suspicious data or activity. Anti-ransomware tools can prevent employees from opening dangerous links, attachments, and other vehicles ransomware uses to enter your network.

Ransomware attacks are notoriously difficult to spot, and it’s tricky to detect ransomware fast enough to stop bad actors from accessing proprietary data. Cybercriminals use many engineering methods to effectively install ransomware onto the targeted network, including military-grade encryption algorithms built to scramble network data. Anti-ransomware tools can enable you to see through these tricks and catch ransomware attackers in their tracks.

Ransomware detection software is designed to notice common indicators of ransomware, then block these attempts through data encryption. Signs of ransomware activity include:

Unexpected file system activity: Any file activity that drastically differs from the norm could indicate a ransomware attack. For example, a large amount of failed file modifications could be due to ransomware attempting to access or change these files.
Heightened CPU and disk activity: Although CPU and disk activity are bound to fluctuate, a steep and sudden increase in this data could be the result of ransomware searching for data, re-encrypting data files, and removing these files from your system.
Inability to access files: If you’re suddenly unable to open a certain file or access permissions, ransomware could be at the heart of this issue. Ransomware can encrypt, delete, rename, and relocate files, affecting user access permissions.
Strange network communications: Suspicious or unexplained network communications could stem from ransomware interacting with their attacker’s command and control server.

Ransomware detection software is built to monitor these common indicators, plus more network metrics and activity, to spot potential ransomware attacks in your network. Most anti-ransomware software is designed to consistently gather ransomware indicators in the background, allowing normal network functions and operations to run normally.

A ransomware attack is when an unauthorized user, usually a hacker or another malicious actor, accesses enterprise networking devices and data. The ransomware bad actor then holds this information hostage through encryption or other blocking methods, demanding a ransom from the affected business if they hope to regain access.
Lack of enterprise access is the primary issue associated with ransomware—when a ransomware attack occurs, the compromised data becomes inaccessible to users, applications, and other devices. While some ransomware hackers threaten to expose sensitive or private enterprise data, most ransomware attacks aim to disrupt business operations to the point where there is no choice but to pay the ransom.
While paying a ransom might seem like the easiest way to deal with ransomware, many government agencies—including the FBI and the No More Ransom Project—advise against this. Paying ransom only encourages the ransomware cycle, and half of the ransomware victims who pay will suffer from a repeat attack due to the prior attack’s success.
Ransomware works by traveling through malicious URLs, weaponized attachments in emails, or other seemingly innocent links. As soon as a user clicks on one of these malicious vehicles, the ransomware seeks out any possible attack vendors—points of vulnerability in your network—and promptly exploits them.
These fraudulent links and attachments are how ransomware makes its way into your network. Once the ransomware is inside your network, the corresponding bad actor or actors can search your network freely, then discover and encrypt sensitive enterprise data.
Some common kinds of ransomware methods include:
Spam and phishing emails: Ransomware bad actors often trick you into thinking they’re legitimate sources, causing you to click, download, or save ransomware links.
Weaponized websites: Some ransomware websites prompt you to unknowingly hand over private information, usually through direct user interaction. This could include clicking on fake advertisements or links, and directly entering sensitive data into fake login or authentication fields.
Infected removable drives: USB flash drives could also contain ransomware, which automatically installs once you plug the drive into your computer or another device.
Applications and plug-ins: Ransomware attackers tend to bundle their viruses with software supported by third-party websites.
There are ways you can protect against these efforts, like carefully ensuring all sources are legitimate (and don’t just “seem” legitimate), disabling autorun or automatic download features, and limiting user access to prevent accidental downloads or installations of malware. As ransomware attackers become smarter and their methods increase in complexity, these efforts become less and less effective.
The most efficient way to detect a ransomware attack is by using detection software. These technologies are designed to spot malware by scanning incoming emails, websites, applications, and flash drives for suspicious data or activity. Anti-ransomware tools can prevent employees from opening dangerous links, attachments, and other vehicles ransomware uses to enter your network.
Ransomware attacks are notoriously difficult to spot, and it’s tricky to detect ransomware fast enough to stop bad actors from accessing proprietary data. Cybercriminals use many engineering methods to effectively install ransomware onto the targeted network, including military-grade encryption algorithms built to scramble network data. Anti-ransomware tools can enable you to see through these tricks and catch ransomware attackers in their tracks.
Ransomware detection software is designed to notice common indicators of ransomware, then block these attempts through data encryption. Signs of ransomware activity include:
Unexpected file system activity: Any file activity that drastically differs from the norm could indicate a ransomware attack. For example, a large amount of failed file modifications could be due to ransomware attempting to access or change these files.
Heightened CPU and disk activity: Although CPU and disk activity are bound to fluctuate, a steep and sudden increase in this data could be the result of ransomware searching for data, re-encrypting data files, and removing these files from your system.
Inability to access files: If you’re suddenly unable to open a certain file or access permissions, ransomware could be at the heart of this issue. Ransomware can encrypt, delete, rename, and relocate files, affecting user access permissions.
Strange network communications: Suspicious or unexplained network communications could stem from ransomware interacting with their attacker’s command and control server.
Ransomware detection software is built to monitor these common indicators, plus more network metrics and activity, to spot potential ransomware attacks in your network. Most anti-ransomware software is designed to consistently gather ransomware indicators in the background, allowing normal network functions and operations to run normally.
See other SolarWinds Tools to Help Detect Security Threats:
SolarWinds Access Rights Manager
SolarWinds Patch Manager
SolarWinds Identity Monitor
SolarWinds Server Configuration Monitor
Related Features:
Threat Detection
Detect SQL Injection Attacks
Identify Spear Phishing Attacks
Security Incident Management
Stop a DDoS Attack
Cross Site Scripting Prevention
Intrusion Detection