Anti-Ransomware Day 2024: It’s Time to Eat Your Broccoli

Too Much Ice Cream

May 12^th, 2017 – a day that lives in infamy for all cybersecurity professionals. It was on this day that the WannaCry ransomware attack was unleashed, devastating hundreds of thousands around the globe. In 2020, Interpol deemed May 12^th Anti-Ransomware Day as a way to spread awareness and help prevent another attack like WannaCry.

Despite many ransomware attacks being completely preventable, they still continue to happen at an alarming rate. While ransomware numbers were down last year, the number of attacks was still up 70% from pre-pandemic levels. And 2023 had its own infamous ransomware attacks with the likes of the GoAnywhere MFT zero-day and the MOVEit File Transfer Tool attacks – both carried out by the increasingly dangerous Cl0p ransomware gang.

Anti-Ransomware Day exists to encourage organizations to be proactive about ransomware attacks instead of being reactive when they happen. Spending the budget and time upfront on strong cybersecurity, even if it’s not at the top of your list of wants, will be very beneficial in the long term. Fortunately, there are some simple steps you can take to prevent a ransomware attack at your organization, or, at the very least, make the fallout from an attack much more manageable. It just requires... eating your broccoli.

Do I Have to Eat Actual Broccoli?

No, in fact – you don’t actually have to eat any vegetables at all, although I would recommend you do. This blog isn’t about your diet. Growing up, my mom would tell me I had to eat my broccoli before I could eat my dessert. I had to do something that I didn’t think was very fun or pleasant because it was good for me and my health. Much like a kid eating broccoli, all organizations need to be spending time and budget on good cyber hygiene before moving on to something they may think is more valuable or want to do more...for their own good.

Broccoli provides excellent nutritional value and even strengthens the immune system. Good cyber hygiene will do the same thing for your organization. So what steps can you take to strengthen your organization’s defenses against ransomware?

• Update: Whenever possible, enable automatic updates on applications and devices on your network — both for operating systems and for any other apps in your ecosystem.
• Upgrade: The older an operating system gets, the more malware and other threats are created to target them. Retire any software or hardware that is obsolete or no longer supported by the vendor.
• Duplicate: All important data should be backed up to a place inaccessible by attackers. Having adequate and up-to-date backups on hand significantly eases recovery in the event of a ransomware attack.
• Educate: A staggering 91% of all cyberattacks start with someone opening a phishing email. Teach employees to be wary any time they receive an email, particularly one with an attachment or link.
• Invest in MDR: SonicWall's Managed Detection and Response (MDR) provides round-the-clock protection against ransomware, blending advanced cybersecurity solutions with a dedicated Security Operations Center (SOC) that monitors alerts, investigates incidents, and mitigates threats, enhancing existing defenses.
• Safeguard: By taking the above steps, most attacks can be prevented, but not all. They’re called “best practices” and not “ironclad guarantees” for a reason: If any are allowed to lapse — or new methods are found to circumvent them — organizations will need a strong last line of defense. An advanced, multi-layer platform that includes endpoint security, next-gen firewall services, email security and secure mobile access can work to eliminate blind spots and eradicate both known and unknown threats.

If you are the victim of a ransomware attack, remember that it doesn’t pay to pay – when you pay threat actors after an attack, you can never guarantee that the threat actors will actually do as they promise. Once they have your data, it’s impossible to know what will or won’t be done with it, regardless of payments. The best way to handle a ransomware attack is to prepare for it before it happens. With the right security measures and a defensive-minded approach, you can make one of the scariest threats not so threatening to you and your organization. If you make the choice to eat your broccoli before you eat your ice cream, you'll be in a much better position to fend off and recover from a ransomware attack.  So to recognize the importance of Anti-Ransomware Day this year, remember to #EatYourCyberBroccoli

If you want to start strengthening your organization's cybersecurity posture, contact a SonicWall representative today.