Ransomware – Seems like a history right?
Well, it is not.
Ransomware is evolving to crack cloud security with RansomCloud, an unusual Ransomware strain.
As we know that Ransomware is a traumatic form of malware that encrypts all your data and can even make your backups useless by encrypting them. But, at present computing is all about the cloud. You can store your files there and can even use the services provided by the cloud.
But what if I say that cloud storage is also vulnerable to Ransomware attacks?
Your cloud storage is prone to ransomware to a large extent by the fact that it is syncing with local data storage.
For example, share solutions like DropBox or OneDrive allow you to work on the files present on your local system.
Therefore, we need to understand RansomCloud attack that is affecting cloud security.
Here’s everything you need to know about the newly evolved ransomware attack on cloud.
What Do You Mean By RansomCloud?
As the name suggests, it is a ransomware attack built to breach the cloud emails. It was developed by a white hat hacker in 2018 who works on the cutting edge of hacking. The RansomCloud can infect online email accounts like Office 365 and Gmail by encrypting them in real-time.
Similar to other methods of ransomware attacks, Cybercriminals can trick the victims to install malicious software with phishing tactics loaded with harmful attachments or links. This attack is likely to work with any cloud email service that allows a third-party application control over the account via OAuth. Therefore, there is a need to take further precautions to protect the clients and to make the cloud secure.
How Does Cloud Ransomware Works?
This newly evolved ransomware, RansomCloud, uses smart social engineering tactics to trick the user to get access to their cloud email account. No deep technological tricks are required to put it into operation. It only depends on the users who can be fooled with so much ease.
In Mitnicks’s demonstration, the mail appears to have been sent by Microsoft providing an opportunity for the user to sign-up and use a new email spam filtering service called AntiSpamPro.
It was stated that Microsoft is working to improve its cloud security. All you need to do is to click on the hyperlink in the email to take advantage of the service. After clicking on the link, it will ask you to access your email account to authorize. By allowing, the attacker would get the full access of your email account via an OAuth token.
And because it is designed to infiltrate the cloud, it would not be your computer files only at risk. Your emails and any other sensitive files you have got stored online will be disorganized and encrypted in real-time. After that, you will be notified that your files have been encrypted and to gain access to the data back, you will need to pay.
By doing so, the attacker can misuse information of the victim, can send the malicious emails to all the user’s contact, theft the sensitive information from the user’s account.
The cloud ransomware attack method is extremely simple and can be used by Cybercriminals to gain access to sensitive information.
You may think that you would not be fooled by such an email but, it is not that easy. The demo email was a simple one but the Cybercriminals know exactly how to create convincing messages that will surely trick the user.
The techniques used by this malware is not only limited to Office 365 and G Suite. It can target any cloud platform where the user installs an application with email access.
How does Cloud-based Ransomware Differ From Traditional Ransomware?
RansomCloud uses approaches adapted from ‘traditional’ ransomware to exploit vulnerabilities that are specific to cloud services.
Traditional ransomware would use an infected attachment or a phishing hyperlink to gain access whereas Cloud Ransomware includes a more targeted spear-phishing approach to focus on a specific user.
RansomCloud is a ransomware that can encrypt your cloud email. It is specifically aimed at cloud- based applications. Normal ransomware is not effective enough to get the job done in case of cloud storage.
Cloud Ransomware Protection – Best Practices
When it comes to susceptibilities like RansomCloud, there is no single-step solution to maintain security. As we know, Ransomware is evolving at a constant rate and Cybercriminals are finding new ways to keep a step ahead and can attack even your cloud-hosted email accounts.
Here are some basic tips to protect your organization against such cloud-based ransomware attacks:
- Train Your Organization to Recognize Suspicious Emails
RansomCloud typically spreads through emails with infected attachments and links. If you are getting such suspicious messaged with the attachments don’t click on them. Instead of this, you can directly type the website’s address into a browser.
- Beware of Granting Permissions
Cybercriminals will always try their best to trick the user to grant access via social engineering tricks. Always beware about what permissions an application is asking for and rechecks before granting the access.
- Watch for Typos
Whenever you receive an email from a reputed organization always check the links for typos. If you find such errors in the link don’t click on that. Typically some mistakes will reflect the fact that the email is fake.
- Use Multi-Level Authentication
You should follow authentication based on multiple factors to ensure security. When you have at least two forms of verification, such as a password and a security question before you log in to any sensitive account. By this, you are better protected from the frauds.
- Use Web Filtering
Your organization will be more vulnerable to ransomware attacks if your network is not protected properly. You can use web filtering to shield against suspicious websites and accidental downloading malware from the internet.
- Always Keep Cloud Backup On Multiple Devices
Last but not least, make sure all of your cloud data must be saved locally on multiple systems. So, if you ever encounter such cloud-based attack, need not to worry as you already have a copy of your data at multiple locations. For this, it is preferred to use NetForChoice Cloud Backup Service for the same and prevent cloud data from RansomCloud.Most importantly, they can back up your information at different locations in case of emergencies like this.
Also Read – Understand Firewall Security In Computer Networking
Final Words
It is true we cannot stop hackers. But we can take proper preventive measures against them and safeguard our data. Cloud Ransomware or RansomCloud is a new type of harmful trend whose sole aim is to block access of data on cloud by encryption. And demands for money for releasing the data. So, it is suggested to use some practices and secure our cloud from such attacks.