Ransomware Groups Favor Repeatable Access Over Mass Vulnerability Exploits
Summary:
Travelers' latest Cyber Threat Report published on March 6, 2025 reveals a significant shift in ransomware tactics during 2024. Instead of relying on mass known vulnerability exploits, ransomware groups and initial access brokers (IABs) are increasingly focusing on "reliable and repeatable" methods, primarily targeting weak credentials on VPNs and gateways lacking multifactor authentication (MFA). This shift, highlighted by a leaked IAB training playbook from 2023, emphasizes the effectiveness of brute-forcing default usernames and common passwords over pursuing and discovering zero-day vulnerabilities.
2024 saw no major mass ransomware exploits linked to single vulnerabilities, a stark contrast to 2023's MOVEit and GoAnywhere exploits. The report also indicates a record high in ransomware activity in Q4 2024, with 1663 victims posted on leak sites, a 32% increase from the previous quarter. The year 2024 saw a 15% overall increase in ransomware victims compared to 2023, and a 67% surge in new ransomware groups, reflecting a more fragmented and agile threat landscape. RansomHub, Akira, and Play were the most active groups in Q4 2024. It has been noted that some of these newer groups are comprised of experienced operators, suggesting that as big ransomware groups are taken down, their members pivot to new ventures. 2024 has highlighted that the ransomware community is similar to the Greek myth of the Hydra, continuing to grow despite efforts from law enforcement.
Security Officer Comments:
The trends outlined in this report are indicative of the evolving cybercriminal ransomware ecosystem. The strategic pivot towards exploiting weak credentials, rather than solely focusing on complex vulnerability exploits, underscores a practical approach by ransomware actors. It's a testament to the persistent effectiveness of basic attack techniques, as mentioned by Jason Rebholz. The fact that readily available tools and common passwords can yield such significant results points to a fundamental failure in implementing basic security controls across many organizations. The proliferation of smaller, more agile ransomware groups like Lynx Ransomware, following the disruption of major RaaS operators, signals a more decentralized and potentially more resilient RaaS ecosystem. This fragmentation makes attribution and mitigation more challenging for researchers. The record-breaking ransomware activity recorded in Q4 2024 serves as a significant reminder of the escalating threat of ransomware. The emphasis on MFA as a critical defense is not new, but this report reinforces its effectiveness and importance. The threat intelligence community has observed the efficacy of decentralized financially-motivated groups when documenting previous Scattered Spider activity. Organizations should prioritize credential management, comprehensive security awareness training, and continuous monitoring to effectively counter these evolving threats. Additionally, law enforcement and international cooperation must adapt their efforts to address the rise of smaller, more decentralized ransomware actors. Human negligence and human error remain the top cybersecurity risk to organizations.
Suggested Corrections:
Travelers’ Recommendations:
To mitigate these risks, organizations should adopt a strong cyber prevention program, including our Cyber Risk Control recommendations detailing the top security investments with the greatest return on investment. These recommendations will help increase the bar required for ransomware actors to successfully carry out an attack on an organization. They include:
Backup your data, system images, and configurations, regularly test them, and keep the backups offline: Ensure that backups are regularly tested and that they are not connected to the business network, as many ransomware variants try to find and encrypt or delete accessible backups. Maintaining current backups offline is critical because if your network data is encrypted with ransomware, your organization can restore systems.
Update and patch systems promptly: This includes maintaining the security of operating systems, applications, and firmware in a timely manner. Consider using a centralized patch management system; use a risk-based assessment strategy to drive your patch management program.
Test your incident response plan: There's nothing that shows the gaps in plans more than testing them. Run through some core questions and use those to build an incident response plan: Are you able to sustain business operations without access to certain systems? For how long? Would you turn off your manufacturing operations if business systems such as billing were offline?
Check your security team's work: Use a 3rd party pen tester to test the security of your systems and your ability to defend against a sophisticated attack. Many ransomware criminals are aggressive and sophisticated and will find the equivalent of unlocked doors.
Segment your networks: There's been a recent shift in ransomware attacks – from stealing data to disrupting operations. It's critically important that your corporate business functions and manufacturing/production operations are separated and that you carefully filter and limit internet access to operational networks, identify links between these networks, and develop workarounds or manual controls to ensure ICS networks can be isolated and continue operating if your corporate network is compromised. Regularly test contingency plans such as manual controls so that safety-critical functions can be maintained during a cyber incident.
Train employees: Email remains the most vulnerable attack vector for organizations. Users should be trained on how to avoid and spot phishing emails. Multi-factor authentication can help prevent malicious access to sensitive services.
Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA): External-facing assets that leverage single-factor authentication (SFA) are highly susceptible to brute-forcing attacks, password spraying, or unauthorized remote access using valid (stolen) credentials. Implementing MFA enhances security and adds an extra layer of protection.
Link(s):
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-repeatable-access/
https://www.corvusinsurance.com/blog/q4-2024-travelers-cyber-threat-report
Travelers' latest Cyber Threat Report published on March 6, 2025 reveals a significant shift in ransomware tactics during 2024. Instead of relying on mass known vulnerability exploits, ransomware groups and initial access brokers (IABs) are increasingly focusing on "reliable and repeatable" methods, primarily targeting weak credentials on VPNs and gateways lacking multifactor authentication (MFA). This shift, highlighted by a leaked IAB training playbook from 2023, emphasizes the effectiveness of brute-forcing default usernames and common passwords over pursuing and discovering zero-day vulnerabilities.
2024 saw no major mass ransomware exploits linked to single vulnerabilities, a stark contrast to 2023's MOVEit and GoAnywhere exploits. The report also indicates a record high in ransomware activity in Q4 2024, with 1663 victims posted on leak sites, a 32% increase from the previous quarter. The year 2024 saw a 15% overall increase in ransomware victims compared to 2023, and a 67% surge in new ransomware groups, reflecting a more fragmented and agile threat landscape. RansomHub, Akira, and Play were the most active groups in Q4 2024. It has been noted that some of these newer groups are comprised of experienced operators, suggesting that as big ransomware groups are taken down, their members pivot to new ventures. 2024 has highlighted that the ransomware community is similar to the Greek myth of the Hydra, continuing to grow despite efforts from law enforcement.
Security Officer Comments:
The trends outlined in this report are indicative of the evolving cybercriminal ransomware ecosystem. The strategic pivot towards exploiting weak credentials, rather than solely focusing on complex vulnerability exploits, underscores a practical approach by ransomware actors. It's a testament to the persistent effectiveness of basic attack techniques, as mentioned by Jason Rebholz. The fact that readily available tools and common passwords can yield such significant results points to a fundamental failure in implementing basic security controls across many organizations. The proliferation of smaller, more agile ransomware groups like Lynx Ransomware, following the disruption of major RaaS operators, signals a more decentralized and potentially more resilient RaaS ecosystem. This fragmentation makes attribution and mitigation more challenging for researchers. The record-breaking ransomware activity recorded in Q4 2024 serves as a significant reminder of the escalating threat of ransomware. The emphasis on MFA as a critical defense is not new, but this report reinforces its effectiveness and importance. The threat intelligence community has observed the efficacy of decentralized financially-motivated groups when documenting previous Scattered Spider activity. Organizations should prioritize credential management, comprehensive security awareness training, and continuous monitoring to effectively counter these evolving threats. Additionally, law enforcement and international cooperation must adapt their efforts to address the rise of smaller, more decentralized ransomware actors. Human negligence and human error remain the top cybersecurity risk to organizations.
Suggested Corrections:
Travelers’ Recommendations:
To mitigate these risks, organizations should adopt a strong cyber prevention program, including our Cyber Risk Control recommendations detailing the top security investments with the greatest return on investment. These recommendations will help increase the bar required for ransomware actors to successfully carry out an attack on an organization. They include:
- Implement phishing-resistant MFA for all remote access and email.
- Run an effective vulnerability management program to quickly patch critical vulnerabilities in edge devices, such as VPNs.
- Ensure you have reliable backups and have a resilient disaster recovery and business continuity plan
- Run EDR solutions with 24x7 active monitoring
Backup your data, system images, and configurations, regularly test them, and keep the backups offline: Ensure that backups are regularly tested and that they are not connected to the business network, as many ransomware variants try to find and encrypt or delete accessible backups. Maintaining current backups offline is critical because if your network data is encrypted with ransomware, your organization can restore systems.
Update and patch systems promptly: This includes maintaining the security of operating systems, applications, and firmware in a timely manner. Consider using a centralized patch management system; use a risk-based assessment strategy to drive your patch management program.
Test your incident response plan: There's nothing that shows the gaps in plans more than testing them. Run through some core questions and use those to build an incident response plan: Are you able to sustain business operations without access to certain systems? For how long? Would you turn off your manufacturing operations if business systems such as billing were offline?
Check your security team's work: Use a 3rd party pen tester to test the security of your systems and your ability to defend against a sophisticated attack. Many ransomware criminals are aggressive and sophisticated and will find the equivalent of unlocked doors.
Segment your networks: There's been a recent shift in ransomware attacks – from stealing data to disrupting operations. It's critically important that your corporate business functions and manufacturing/production operations are separated and that you carefully filter and limit internet access to operational networks, identify links between these networks, and develop workarounds or manual controls to ensure ICS networks can be isolated and continue operating if your corporate network is compromised. Regularly test contingency plans such as manual controls so that safety-critical functions can be maintained during a cyber incident.
Train employees: Email remains the most vulnerable attack vector for organizations. Users should be trained on how to avoid and spot phishing emails. Multi-factor authentication can help prevent malicious access to sensitive services.
Implement multi-factor authentication (MFA): External-facing assets that leverage single-factor authentication (SFA) are highly susceptible to brute-forcing attacks, password spraying, or unauthorized remote access using valid (stolen) credentials. Implementing MFA enhances security and adds an extra layer of protection.
Link(s):
https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/ransomware-repeatable-access/
https://www.corvusinsurance.com/blog/q4-2024-travelers-cyber-threat-report