Fraud Management & Cybercrime , Ransomware , Video

Ransomware Playbook: How to Navigate the Threat Landscape

As organizations face the constant threat of ransomware attacks, it's essential to understand the nature of this pervasive threat and how organizations can respond effectively, said Angus Clarke, vice president, BSO, Mastercard.

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"The immediate and obvious answer," he said, is to "never encourage or endorse paying a ransom." However, paying the ransom is an option for businesses under specific circumstances, ideally facilitated through legal entities or brokers.

Ransomware is a dual concern, driven by both its prevalence and impact, Clarke said, emphasizing preparedness, proactive security measures, and the need for well-defined incident response plans. Organizations must adapt and prioritize cybersecurity to navigate the evolving ransomware landscape effectively.

"Threat actors are constantly changing their tactics, and there's also the human element as well," he said. "They always try and find the softest spot within an organization to attack, and that could be through spear-phishing attacks or phishing attacks or even zero-day attacks on organizations."

In this video interview with Information Security Media Group at the London Cybersecurity Summit 2023, Clarke also discussed:

• Why organizations are still falling prey to ransomware attacks;
• Strategies that security teams should add to their playbooks to improve their ability to preempt or respond to ransomware attacks;
• Advice on what to do next if you've been hit by ransomware.

Clarke is an experienced cybersecurity and technology risk senior executive with highly developed commercial, stakeholder and technical capabilities across multiple industries. Prior to Mastercard, he worked as head of security at Tari Labs.