In a chilling reminder of how quickly ransomware operators can escalate their attacks, a June 2025 DFIR investigation revealed how RansomHub breached an organization by exploiting a Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) server exposed to the internet Cyber Security News.
In November 2024, attackers:
Sprayed passwords across an exposed RDP endpoint, ultimately compromising six user accounts and escalating to administrative access.
Harvested credentials using tools like Mimikatz and Nirsoft, then mapped the network through Advanced IP Scanner and NetScan tools to locate valuable targets.
Established persistence by installing remote management tools—Atera and Splashtop—on backup servers and even changing user credentials to ensure long-term access.
Exfiltrated data by day three, moving over 2 GB of sensitive files using Rclone and custom SFTP scripts.
Finally, on day six, the attackers unleashed the RansomHub ransomware (amd64.exe), spreading it via SMB and remote tools, encrypting files, deleting backups, and erasing logs to thwart recovery.
It’s a textbook escalation: from weak remote access controls to full-scale encryption and extortion—all before defenders knew what hit them.
Traditional security strategies often focus on Detect and Respond—monitoring for intrusions, reacting to alerts, and cleaning up after the fact. But RansomHub’s methodical progression shows how inadequate that can be. By the time defenders detect the attack, the damage—and ransom—has often already been delivered.
That’s why it’s time to shift to a proactive model: Isolation and Containment. By isolating suspicious behavior before it escalates, you disrupt the attack chain early—preventing credential theft, lateral movement, and encryption, all of which RansomHub executed with precision.
Enter AppGuard—a proven endpoint protection platform with a 10-year track record of real-world success, now available for commercial use. Here’s how AppGuard shuts down attacks like RansomHub:
Micro-segmentation and isolation: AppGuard restricts apps and processes to the exact capabilities they need—nothing more. That defeats tools like Mimikatz, Rclone, PsExec, or lateral SMB movement from the moment they try to escalate or move laterally.
Containment-first architecture: Rather than waiting for anomalies to be flagged, AppGuard isolates suspect behavior in real time—stopping malware before it can delete backups or exfiltrate data.
Zero-trust default denial: Unknown or untrusted applications and scripts simply can’t run in critical zones of your system.
Proven results: Over the past decade, AppGuard has repeatedly thwarted advanced threats—even those using living-off-the-land tools, compromised RDP, or custom backdoors. Unlike “Detect and Respond,” AppGuard enforces strong prevention by default.
Stop playing the cat-and-mouse game where attackers always stay one step ahead. Avoid the futility of chasing alerts when the damage is done.
Come over to the AppGuard way.
Let’s move beyond outdated defensive postures and embrace a future where threats are contained before they can move. AppGuard’s isolation-based approach lets you disrupt ransomware like RansomHub at step one—not step six.
Are you a business owner or security leader frustrated with the endless loop of detection, response, and recovery? It's time for a better, proven way.
Talk with us at CHIPS about how AppGuard can safeguard your organization not after breach, but before it begins. Let’s shift from “Detect and Respond” to real prevention through “Isolation and Containment.”
Stop playing the crazy game. Choose AppGuard. Let’s secure your future, starting now.
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