{"id":6230,"date":"2025-12-16T07:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-12-16T07:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/?p=6230"},"modified":"2025-12-16T07:00:00","modified_gmt":"2025-12-16T07:00:00","slug":"how-to-create-a-ransomware-playbook-that-works","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/?p=6230","title":{"rendered":"How to create a ransomware playbook that works"},"content":{"rendered":"
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Ransomware<\/a> attacks continue to plague organizations, and they\u2019re getting ever more sophisticated via tactics such as double- and\u00a0multi-extortion<\/a> and the use of\u00a0artificial intelligence to create more refined attacks, and the growth of the ransomware-as-a-service model.<\/p>\n

CISOs and CSOs need to make it a priority to create a playbook for their organizations to better defend against such attacks.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s clear that ransomware remains a big cybersecurity threat<\/a>. Security firm CrowdStrike, in its new State of Ransomware Survey, notes that ransomware readiness is lagging as cyber criminals \u201cuse AI across the attack chain to accelerate intrusion, encryption, and extortion.\u201d<\/p>\n

The report, based on a global survey of 1,100 IT and cybersecurity decision-makers, shows that 76% of organizations are struggling to match the speed and sophistication of AI-assisted attacks. About half of the respondents cite AI-enabled attack chains as today\u2019s greatest ransomware threat<\/a>, and 85% say traditional detection is becoming obsolete against AI-enhanced attacks.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen it comes to ransomware, most companies are still treating it like a distant threat until it hits. Then it\u2019s chaos,\u201d says Trevor Horwitz<\/a>, CISO at security company TrustNet. \u201cA good ransomware playbook isn\u2019t just documentation. It\u2019s muscle memory. You have to train like you fight.\u201d<\/p>\n

Here are some key elements to consider for an effective ransomware approach.<\/p>\n

Planning and tabletops: Preparedness begins with practice<\/h2>\n

Any organization that doesn\u2019t have a cohesive plan in place for how to handle ransomware threats is asking for trouble. Planning an overall strategy \u2014 encompassing tools, processes, and people \u2014 is vital for maintaining business continuity and minimizing financial losses.<\/p>\n

Without a plan in place, enterprises risk launching a disorganized and ineffective response to attacks, which can result in lost data, significant systems downtime, compliance issues, and damaged brand or reputation.<\/p>\n

A key component of the planning process is to conduct cybersecurity tabletop exercises<\/a> to simulate how teams would conduct themselves during an actual ransomware attack<\/a>. This enables organizations to test and improve their incident response plan<\/a> in a no-risk environment, with a focus on decision-making, communication, and establishing clear-cut roles.<\/p>\n

\u201cTabletop exercises are where everything starts,\u201d Horwitz says. \u201cIf your executive team hasn\u2019t sat in a room and worked through a simulated ransomware attack, start there. You don\u2019t want to be figuring out who has the authority to pay a ransom or issue a public statement in the middle of an actual breach. You want to know how fast legal, IT, and [communications] can work together. The pressure is intense, and the decisions come fast. So the playbook should guide those decisions, not just sit on a shelf.\u201d<\/p>\n

These exercises<\/a> enable enterprises to \u201ccreate and maintain a ransomware-specific incident response playbook that defines roles, containment processes, forensic collection procedures, and communications templates,\u201d says John Otte<\/a>, senior security consultant at technology consulting firm Resultant.<\/p>\n

\u201cPerform realistic tabletop exercises with legal, communications, IT, and executive stakeholders, at a minimum annually, to test decision-making,\u201d Otte says.<\/p>\n

Tabletop exercises<\/a> need to simulate real business disruption scenarios, not just technical failures, says George Gerchow<\/a>, CSO at security firm Bedrock Data and faculty member at IANS Research, a research and advisory firm. \u201cEffective ransomware preparedness begins with practice, not panic,\u201d he says. \u201cThe most valuable sessions include leaders from operations, legal, finance, HR, and communications, because these teams face the toughest decisions under pressure.\u201d<\/p>\n

Staffing, skills, and training<\/h2>\n

Many organizations continue to find that cybersecurity experts are in short supply, so staffing up teams is a challenge. That can be problematic for a ransomware strategy. Companies need to have a variety of skills in place, including expertise in incident detection and prevention, incident response, firewall configuration, and other areas.<\/p>\n

They also need to be equipped to train all employees<\/a> in how to help prevent ransomware attacks. This includes teaching them how to recognize, deal with, and report threats such as phishing emails, suspicious links, and questionable attachments.<\/p>\n

\u201cOn the staffing side, you need people who know what they\u2019re doing<\/a>,\u201d Horwitz says. \u201cNot just cybersecurity folks, but people across legal, PR, and leadership. And not just headcount. You need readiness. A named incident commander. Someone with forensic skills. Someone who understands business risk and knows when to escalate.\u201d<\/p>\n

Organizations often invest in tools before investing in people, and that\u2019s backwards, Gerchow says. \u201cResilience relies on cross-functional preparedness, where employees understand not just what to do but why it matters,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Enterprises need to hold role-appropriate security training for users, including business leaders, IT teams, finance, etc., on realistic threats such as social engineering and malicious attachments.<\/p>\n

Business leaders should encourage ongoing training that connects cybersecurity risk to business continuity and reputation, Gerchow says. \u201cIt\u2019s about building a culture where everyone, from the help desk to the boardroom, understands their role in maintaining operational integrity,\u201d he says. \u201cRegular awareness programs, role-specific response drills, and executive briefings help translate technical risks into business terms.\u201d<\/p>\n

Prevention steps<\/h2>\n

Enterprises can invest in a range of technology solutions for both protection against ransomware attacks and remediation following an incident. Ransomware prevention requires a layered approach that includes\u00a0regular software updates and patching, effective data and systems backups, and other cybersecurity tools such as firewalls, multi-factor authentication (MFA), and antivirus software.<\/p>\n

Patch management<\/a> and vulnerability remediation are vitally important elements of ransomware defense, because ransomware attackers oftentimes exploit security flaws \u2014 increasingly in security devices themselves<\/a>. By addressing both of these areas, companies can proactively defend against ransomware threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cMaintain a prioritized and trackable patching program that keeps exploitable exposure to a minimum,\u201d Otte says. \u201cCouple automated deployment of patches with human verification of high-risk systems, and regularly run scans to identify drift or skipped patches.\u201d<\/p>\n

Endpoint detection and response (EDR)<\/a>, antivirus (AV) software, email security and phishing defenses, and identity and access management\/MFA<\/a> are also important pieces of any ransomware strategy, Otte says. \u201cUse a modern EDR that contains behavior-based detection, rollback, and isolation capabilities rather than relying solely on signature AV,\u201d he advises.<\/p>\n

One of the main ways ransomware attackers carry out their missions is via email. \u201cFrom an IT security standpoint, the No. 1 attack vector is an email system,\u201d says Russ Ernst<\/a>, CTO at Blancco, a provider of data erasure and mobile lifecycle diagnostics products. \u201cEmail security best practices must be implemented across the entire organization.\u2019<\/p>\n

Email security can include advanced phishing filters to prevent common ransomware delivery mechanisms, Otte says. Sophisticated access management can help minimize threats.<\/p>\n

\u201cImplement MFA anywhere you can, particularly for privileged accounts and remote access, and implement least-privilege principles to restrict opportunities to move laterally by attackers,\u201d Otte says. \u201cKeep admin credentials secured within a centrally managed secrets store, regularly rotate them, and don\u2019t have shared local admin accounts. Insist on MFA before any privilege elevation. Track anomalous credential usage and apply detection against brute-force or lateral movement that employs privileged credentials.<\/p>\n

Recovery and remediation<\/h2>\n

If a company experiences a ransomware attack, it needs to go into recovery and remediation mode as quickly as possible to minimize the damage. This includes recovering systems and data as well as repairing any damage affecting employees, customers, and the corporate brand.<\/p>\n

\u201cCreate comprehensive recovery playbooks with system restore sequence prioritized and public communications strategies that target customers, regulators, and law enforcement,\u201d Otte says. \u201cEngage legal counsel, cyber insurance points of contact, and forensic responders in advance to make informed, timely, and notification requirement-appropriate determinations.\u201d<\/p>\n

When a ransomware attack happens, \u201cthe remediation needs to be fast but precise,\u201d Horwitz says. \u201cYou have to isolate systems immediately. Stop the spread. Kill off the malware\u2019s communication paths. Bring in forensics to figure out how they got in. Because if you don\u2019t understand the entry point, restoring from backup might just reintroduce the threat.\u201d<\/p>\n

Enterprises need to verify their backups before using them, Horwitz says. \u201cI\u2019ve seen companies restore clean-looking data only to discover the malware had been sitting dormant for weeks,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

They also need to ensure regular backup processes are in place, Ernst says. \u201cIt is important to regularly back up data and also to test these backups regularly,\u201d he says. \u201cData that is regularly backed up in an offline environment will not be affected by a direct ransomware attack.\u201d<\/p>\n

Access to this stored data should help minimize downtime, Ernst says. \u201cBackups also help you rebuild infrastructure if you choose to pay the ransom and get encryption keys \u2014 only to find your data has been corrupted and made unusable. If the organization understands how long it takes to rebuild from a backup, then it can infer the estimated downtime from a ransomware attack,\u201d he says.<\/p>\n

Organizations that might consider negotiating with ransomware gangs on ransom payments should also keep on top of the latest advice and tactics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

The recovery process is not just technical, Horwitz says, but also reputational. \u201cIf customer trust is shaken, you have to rebuild that fast,\u201d he says. \u201cThat means communicating clearly, owning what happened, and explaining what\u2019s being done. Law enforcement has to be notified. Regulators too. And the lessons from that attack<\/a> need to go right back into the playbook. What worked? What didn\u2019t? Where did the team freeze up? That feedback loop is what strengthens your program.\u201d<\/p>\n

Having an effective internal and external ransomware communications plan is vital. \u201cA ransomware attack communications strategy should be part of an organization\u2019s general company playbook related to security breaches,\u201d Ernst says. \u201cIt should spell out who must be informed \u2014 employees, customers, investors, other stakeholders \u2014 as well as how and when, what any communications will say, and who will do the communicating.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Ransomware attacks continue to plague organizations, and they\u2019re getting ever more sophisticated via tactics such as double- and\u00a0multi-extortion and the use of\u00a0artificial intelligence to create more refined attacks, and the growth of the ransomware-as-a-service model. CISOs and CSOs need to make it a priority to create a playbook for their organizations to better defend against […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":0,"featured_media":6218,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[3],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-6230","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-education"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6230"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=6230"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/6230\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/6218"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=6230"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=6230"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/cybersecurityinfocus.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=6230"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}