Ransomware Resiliency
Ransomware Preparedness Assessment
Evaluate your defences against modern ransomware TTPs — from initial access to encryption and extortion.
What is Ransomware Resiliency?
Ransomware is the most financially damaging cyber threat facing organisations today — and modern ransomware groups are not opportunistic script kiddies. They are organised criminal enterprises running sophisticated, human-operated attack campaigns that spend days or weeks in a network before deploying encryption. Our Ransomware Resiliency service evaluates your defences at every stage of this kill chain.
We simulate the specific Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) used by the ransomware groups most likely to target your industry — testing your ability to detect initial access attempts, prevent lateral movement and privilege escalation, identify data exfiltration, and respond to and recover from a ransomware incident.
Unlike a generic VAPT, Ransomware Resiliency is outcome-focused: can an attacker successfully encrypt your environment? Can you recover within your RTO without paying the ransom? These are the questions this service answers.
Why it matters
- Average ransomware recovery cost exceeds $1.85 million — and that's before ransomware payment, regulatory fines, and reputational damage
- Human-operated ransomware groups spend an average of 11 days in a network before deploying — your defences must detect and evict them in that window
- Backup systems are the primary ransomware target — groups routinely destroy backups before deploying encryption
- Double extortion (encrypt + exfiltrate) means payment doesn't guarantee data safety — early exfiltration detection is critical
- Cyber insurance underwriters now require documented ransomware preparedness evidence and may deny claims without it
Our methodology
1. Threat Profile & TTP Mapping
Selection of the ransomware group TTPs most relevant to your industry and region — mapping initial access, persistence, privilege escalation, lateral movement, exfiltration, and encryption techniques to MITRE ATT&CK.
2. Technical Simulation
Hands-on simulation of the selected TTP chain: testing phishing delivery, credential theft, AD privilege escalation, lateral movement across the network, shadow copy deletion, and controlled encryption testing in an isolated network segment.
3. Backup & Recovery Testing
Assessment of backup systems for ransomware resilience: offline copy verification, immutable backup controls, recovery time objective (RTO) testing, and backup system access from a compromised user credential perspective.
4. Incident Response Tabletop
Facilitated tabletop exercise with your incident response, IT, and leadership teams — walking through a realistic ransomware scenario to identify gaps in your IR playbook, escalation procedures, and recovery plan.
Frequently asked questions
Do you actually deploy ransomware during the simulation?
No. We simulate the complete attack chain up to the encryption phase. For the encryption stage, we use a custom benign payload that demonstrates the encryption capability without risking live data. The payload encrypts only designated test files in an isolated segment, proving the capability without operational risk.
Which ransomware groups' TTPs do you simulate?
We tailor the TTP selection to your industry threat profile. For healthcare, we typically simulate LockBit, BlackCat/ALPHV, and Royal group TTPs. For financial services, we include Akira, Play, and Cl0p. We document the specific threat groups and ATT&CK techniques before the engagement begins.
We have Veeam/Commvault backups — is that sufficient?
Backup technology is necessary but not sufficient. We've found in assessments that backup access from a compromised account is possible, offline copies don't exist, or RTOs are far longer than the organisation believed. Our backup resilience testing validates that your backup solution is configured for ransomware scenarios, not just hardware failure.
Does this overlap with your Breach & Attack Simulation service?
There's overlap in the technical simulation element, but Ransomware Resiliency adds IR tabletop exercises, backup resilience testing, and a recovery-focused outcome assessment. BAS validates detection controls broadly; Ransomware Resiliency specifically evaluates end-to-end ransomware scenario preparedness.
Can we combine this with a VAPT to get a complete picture?
Yes, and this is common. A VAPT identifies the vulnerabilities an attacker would exploit for initial access. Ransomware Resiliency evaluates what happens after initial access. Together they give you both the prevention story and the resilience story.
Deliverables
Ransomware Readiness Report
Overall readiness score across prevention, detection, response, and recovery dimensions
TTP Simulation Results
Stage-by-stage results of the kill chain simulation with detection/prevention performance at each stage
Backup Resilience Assessment
Assessment of backup systems against ransomware targeting with gap findings and recommendations
IR Tabletop Report
Tabletop exercise findings including IR plan gaps, escalation issues, and communication failures
Remediation Roadmap
Prioritised 30/60/90 day action plan to improve ransomware resiliency
Industries served
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All engagements are led by certified operators with unlimited retests until every critical finding is resolved.