How to Detect Ransomware Early

Ransomware rarely starts with encryption. Attackers usually spend time inside the network first, and that is your window to catch them.

Signals worth alerting on

• New accounts added to privileged groups.
• Remote management tools appearing on servers that never used them.
• Commands that delete shadow copies or disable backups.
• Large uploads to unfamiliar cloud storage.
• Security tools being stopped or uninstalled.

Where to collect the data

Windows Security and Sysmon logs, EDR telemetry, VPN and identity provider sign-in logs, and backup system audit logs. A SIEM such as Wazuh can correlate them and map alerts to MITRE ATT&CK.

Practise the response

Detection only helps if someone acts. Decide in advance who can isolate a host, how to reach them out of hours, and how to restore from offline backups.