Don’t Be Fooled by the Calm After the WannaCry Chaos: Continuously Toughen Your Security

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Some consider WannaCry to be the first-ever, self-propagating ransomware attack to wreak havoc across the globe. The chaos that followed is yet another harsh wake-up for many, in a situation far too familiar.  Only this time, the victims are new, the infection spreads more rapidly, the effects are far-reaching and the headlines are bigger.  I am sure you may be feeling overwhelmed with the ongoing news coverage of the EternalBlue exploit, WannaCry ransomware and Adylkuzz malware this past week.   Let us recap a few important observations to help us avoid a replay of history.

The WannaCry crisis was unlike any previous zero-day vulnerabilities and exploits that caused massive cyber-attacks in previous years. The major difference in this event is that there were early warning signs portending this sort of cyber-attacks through a series of leaks by the Shadow Broker, an unidentified hacking entity responsible for putting stolen U.S. National Security Agency (NSA) hacking secrets in the hands of nefarious actors, both foreign and domestic, looking to do us harm. Since the forthcoming threat was public knowledge and organization had ample time to mitigate the risk, why was WannaCry still able to achieve the level of success that it did? The reasons are quite simple and common with most organizations today.

1. Take care of the basics

Winston Churchill once remarked, “We live in the most thoughtless of ages. Every day headlines and short views.” Although the wisdom in these words was uttered many years ago, it seems as though we have yet to change our ways with respect to repeating poor cyber hygiene patterns. There are data security experts who have suggested that poor cyber-hygiene has caused as much as 80% of security incidents. Whether this figure is accurate or not, it is certain that the WannaCry and Adylkuzz attacks are the latest examples to support this statistic. Because of unpatched Microsoft’s Windows systems, victim organizations have allowed a broadly publicized and easily preventable exploit and ransomware to move into their environments simply because some of the most basic security measures were either not established or followed.

To avoid repeating this sort of mistake, organizations must understand that taking care of the basics means standing between being likely breached and likely avoiding one. Therefore, instituting a zero-tolerance policy to patch every system and device in the environment must never be an option. Putting in place auditable workflows and technology that can programmatically check and perform security updates without the need for manual intervention will help organizations move towards a more proactive defense posture.

2. Security staffing an unsolved problem

What we are seeing right now is a serious talent shortage in the security employment industry. Hiring good, affordable security professionals is a huge concern for many organizations across all industries. When organizations do not have adequate security staff or are unable to fill positions, they do not have the capacity necessary to proactively identify and remediate risk areas at the speed needed to avoid a security event like WannaCry. This common, unsolved problem manifests itself with most organizations, especially during major cyber events.

Many of the most significant issues organizations have in common today include the lack of understanding and visibility of:

  • What and where are the at-risk assets
  • Who and where are the at-risk users
  • What and where are the at-risk systems and devices
  • What are the risks and threats to focus on
  • What a proper security response plan looks like are

3. Lack the right tools in place

We have a situation today where exploit kits and ransomware are leveraging SSL/TLS encrypted traffic predominately for evading detection. A recent Ponemon Institute study reported that 62% of respondents say their organizations do not currently decrypt and inspect web traffic. However, the real concern is the fact that half of those respondents, who disclosed they were victims of a cyberattack in the preceding 12 months, claimed attacks leveraged SSL traffic to evade detection. So why is that?

The reasons provided in the same Ponemon study revealed that for those organizations that are not inspecting encrypted traffic:

  • 47% of the respondents said lack of enabling security tools was the top reason
  • 45% divulged that they do not have sufficient resources
  • 45% said they have overwhelming concerns about performance degradation.

Encrypted attacks threatening mobile devices, endpoint systems and data center resources and applications are on the rise. As we move towards an all-encrypted internet, organizations no longer have a choice whether to establish a security model that can decrypt and inspect encrypted traffic to stop hidden threats.

To learn more, here are two relevant informational pieces written by my colleagues on the WannaCry ransomware event that I highly recommend you to read. They offer additional perspectives and insights that can help you solve these security issues and be readily prepared for the next wave of cyber-attacks.

  1. WannaCry Ransomware Attack – It’s a Tragedy: What’s Next for Your Network? by Rob Krug, Solution Architect, Security
  2. SonicWall Protects Customers from the Latest Massive WannaCry Ransomware Attack by Brook Chelmo, Sr. Product Marketing Manager

When the chaos over WannaCry calms, the big question becomes, will you move on from this historic event with the lessons we’ve learned? Your answer is crucial since it will determine if the next major incident yields a more readied response from your organization.

Footnote: Ponemon Study,  Uncovering Hidden Threats within Encrypted Traffic, 2016

SonicWall Staff