How Organizations Can Prevent, Contain, and Recover From Ransomware

Organizations can reduce malware and ransomware risk by securing exposed systems and access, maintaining tested offline backups, and rehearsing an incident-response plan. If an attack occurs, isolate affected systems, coordinate containment, and restore from clean backups only after addressing the intrusion. Ransomware is one form of malware: it can disrupt access to systems or data, while malware is the broader category of malicious software.

Build defenses around the systems that matter most

Start with an inventory of organizational assets. Identify which systems support safety, revenue, or critical services; those priorities should guide both security work and restoration decisions. The joint #StopRansomware Guide from CISA, MS-ISAC, the FBI, and the NSA recommends a layered approach rather than relying on a single control.

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Reduce exposure and secure access

• Patch operating systems, applications, VPNs, and internet-facing devices. Prioritize exposed systems and known exploited vulnerabilities; patching reduces risk but cannot guarantee prevention.
• Disable or restrict internet-exposed services that the organization does not need.
• Require multifactor authentication (MFA) for email, VPNs, critical systems, and remote or privileged access. CISA’s business guidance recommends prioritizing administrators and employees who handle sensitive data, and ensuring remote and privileged access requires MFA.

Monitor endpoints and alerts

Use centrally managed anti-malware or endpoint detection tools, and make sure alerts reach staff responsible for security. Application allowlisting may also help prevent unauthorized software from running where it is practical to implement. These controls are most useful when someone is assigned to review and act on their alerts.

Make backups recoverable, not merely available

CISA’s joint guide says: “Maintain offline, encrypted backups of critical data, and regularly test the availability and integrity of backups in a disaster recovery scenario.” A backup that exists but cannot be restored, or that ransomware can reach, may not help when needed.

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• Keep critical backups offline and encrypted, with access controls appropriate to the data.
• Test restoration regularly, including whether the recovered data is intact and usable.
• Prioritize backup and recovery plans according to the organization’s critical services and dependencies.

An external hard drive can be one component of an offline-backup approach, but it is not a complete backup strategy by itself. CISA warns that ransomware may reach an external drive left connected between backup sessions; disconnect it when it is not actively being used for backup. Capacity, encryption, storage, and restore testing need to fit the organization’s own setup. See CISA’s backup guidance and warning about connected backup drives.

Prepare the people and decisions needed during an incident

Maintain a written incident-response plan that covers ransomware and data-extortion incidents, and exercise it before an emergency. Include communications procedures so staff know how to coordinate if ordinary systems or channels are unavailable. Assign responsibility for incident decisions, technical containment, communications, and recovery.

Keep the plan aligned with the asset inventory: identify who can authorize isolating systems, which services take restoration priority, and how teams will coordinate. CISA’s guide recommends planning and practicing incident response and recovery rather than improvising during an attack.

What to do first when ransomware is suspected

Use the organization’s approved incident-response plan and involve qualified incident responders as appropriate. CISA’s checklist provides a sequence for containment and triage; it is guidance, not a substitute for incident-specific expertise.

1. Identify affected systems and isolate them promptly. Follow the plan to disconnect impacted hosts from the network. Avoid actions that could spread the incident or interfere with coordinated containment.
2. Escalate if multiple systems or subnets are affected. CISA’s checklist discusses taking the network offline at the switch level when several systems or network segments appear impacted. Coordinate this decision with the response team because it can disrupt organizational operations.
3. Consider evidence before powering down a host. If a system cannot be disconnected by other means, the checklist describes powering it down, while noting that doing so may affect evidence. Make the choice with incident responders and the organization’s plan in view.
4. Triage restoration priorities. Determine which systems are most important to safety, revenue, or critical services, and assess dependencies before bringing services back.
5. Review security tools and logs. Examine available records for signs of earlier compromise and to understand the scope of the incident.

Recover without reintroducing the compromise

Restore prioritized services using clean systems and backups, and take care not to reintroduce the infection during recovery. Do not restore systems simply because a backup is available: first consider whether the intrusion has been addressed and whether the restoration environment is safe. Document lessons learned after the incident and use them to improve controls, plans, and recovery procedures.

Consider external assessment support

Organizations that need help identifying exposed systems can review CISA’s current Cyber Hygiene Services information. CISA lists no-cost services, including vulnerability scanning to find externally accessible assets and services vulnerable to common attacks; eligibility and availability should be confirmed on its current page.

Scope and currency of this guidance

The joint guide is a U.S. government resource developed by CISA, MS-ISAC, the FBI, and the NSA. CISA’s publication page records its revision date as October 19, 2023; that is the guide’s publication date, not a measurement of current threat prevalence. Its recommendations provide a useful baseline, not an assessment of active campaigns in 2026. Consult the linked official guidance for updates.

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