Microsoft releases Fusion ransomware detection tool for Azure
Fusion Detection for Ransomware uses machine learning to spot malicious activity across a user's network
Microsoft has released a new ransomware detection feature for Azure that uses machine learning to spot potential attacks.
'Fusion Detection for Ransomware' will send an alert to customers when it observes actions that are "potentially associated with ransomware activities".
The alerts will inform users of what was detected, and on which device, with the system correlating data from other Azure services, such as Azure Defender, Microsoft Defender for Endpoint, Microsoft Defender for Identity, Microsoft Cloud App Security, and Azure Sentinel scheduled analytics rules.
Once ransomware activities are detected and correlated by the Fusion's machine learning model, a high severity incident with the label "Multiple alerts possibly related to Ransomware activity detected" will be triggered in the customer's Azure Sentinel workspace (shown in the image below).
After an alert has been sent, Microsoft recommends users check the device/host in question to see if its behaviour is "unexpected". If so, the user should treat the machine as "potentially compromised" and take immediate actions, such as isolating the machine from the network, running full anti-virus scans, and investigating the rest of the network for similar signs.
Ransomware has become a lucrative occupation, according to a recent report from Unit 42, with average payouts almost doubling over the past year. Since 2020, payouts for successful ransomware attacks have increased 82% to a record $570,000 in the first half of 2021. The increase followed the previous year's 171% jump to more than $312,000.
"Preventing such attacks in the first place would be the ideal solution but with the new trend of 'ransomware as a service' and human operated ransomware, the scope and the sophistication of attacks are increasing - attackers are using slow and stealth techniques to compromise network, which makes it harder to detect them in the first place," Microsoft security researcher Sylvie Liu wrote in a blog post.
-
Companies are still paying ransoms to cyber criminals despite official adviceNews A Proofpoint survey found evolving ransomware techniques and the use of AI is exacerbating the situation for victims
-
This one cyber crime group accounted for nearly a fifth of all ransomware attacks in JuneNews The Gentlemen, a ransomware a service operator, now accounts for 17% of published attacks
-
Working with the enemy: Ransomware negotiator-turned cyber criminal jailed after working with hackers to extort clientsNews Angelo Martino was supposed to be negotiating on behalf of victims, but was secretly working for ransomware operators
-
Hackers are posing as Interpol to target small businesses – here's what you need to knowNews Small businesses are warned to think twice before clicking on links
-
‘Every hour ransomware goes undetected drastically increases its potential blast radius’: Hackers are breaching networks and laying low for longer – and nearly half of firms don’t realize until data is stolenNews An ExtraHop survey found more intrusions are going undetected, leading to longer dwell times
-
Ransomware cartels are fragmenting into volatile splinter groups, warns Met Police cyber chiefNews Commoditized "cyber crime bazaars" and AI data mining are forcing law enforcement to rewrite its playbook
-
New ransomware threat group, The Gentlemen, has become one of the most active ransomware operators, accounting for 10% of all attacksNews NTT researchers warn that the RaaS group is leveraging SystemBC malware to establish covert tunnelling, evade detection, and support rapid lateral movement across enterprise environments
-
Instructure chose to a pay ransom following the Canvas cyber attack – research shows more than half of security leaders would follow suitAnalysis Opting to pay ransoms creates huge risks for enterprises – you’re relying on the word of criminals
