How to recover from a ransomware attack

If you’re looking for how to recover from a ransomware attack, you’re not alone — ransomware remains one of the most feared threats for organizations today. In 2024, nearly 60% of businesses experienced some form of ransomware incident. The aftermath can lead to a ripple effect of operational downtime, lost revenue, and eroded customer trust which can ultimately take some organizations out of business altogether.

In this post, we’ll walk you through three critical phases of recovery — Contain, Secure, and Remediate — to help you act swiftly and emerge more resilient. Whether you’re dealing with an active attack or preparing a response plan, taking the right steps can mean the difference between a successful recovery and dire consequences.

What is a ransomware attack?

A ransomware attack is a type of cyberattack where malicious software encrypts a victim’s files, locking them up so the victim can no longer access their data until a ransom is paid. Using public/private key encryption — normally a legitimate security mechanism — attackers flip the script, locking out rightful users from their own data across endpoints, shared drives, and even cloud storage.

How ransomware works

Once the ransomware infiltrates a device or network, it quickly begins encrypting any accessible files. Common entry points include:

• Phishing emails
• Malicious links or downloads
• Compromised VPN credentials
• Weak or breached passwords
• Exploited remote desktop connections

Without the decryption key, which is usually provided only after ransom payment or law enforcement intervention, data recovery is nearly impossible unless clean backups are available.

Real-world example: Colonial Pipeline

In 2021, the Colonial Pipeline ransomware attack disrupted 5,500 miles of fuel infrastructure along the U.S. East Coast. The breach stemmed from compromised VPN credentials linked to a leaked password found on the dark web, highlighting how easily a ransomware attack can capitalize on vulnerabilities such as weak or breached passwords.

How have ransomware attacks evolved?

Ransomware attacks have come a long way, from targeting individuals with simple PC infections to orchestrating high-stakes, multi-million-dollar strikes on enterprises.

From opportunistic to business-oriented

Early ransomware strains were indiscriminate, typically impacting any available targets. Today, however, ransomware is a highly monetized industry. Sophisticated Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) models allow threat actors to lease powerful malware, lowering the barrier to entry and enabling widespread damage.

A prime example of modern evolution is Scattered Spider. This loose coalition of hackers operating primarily in the UK and US specializes in social engineering over brute force, using tactics like phishing and impersonating employees through helpdesk calls to gain entry.

In early 2025, British retailers Marks & Spencer, Co-op, and Harrods suffered devastating ransomware disruptions, with estimated losses between £270 million–£440 million ($360 million–$590 million). Investigations point to Scattered Spider as the likely orchestrator, with attackers entering via social engineering and deploying the DragonForce RaaS payload.

Double extortion

Alongside encrypting systems, attackers may now also exfiltrate sensitive data, then threaten public leaks unless ransoms are paid. This shift in tactics dramatically increases the stakes for targeted organizations. Even if you have complete, secure backups and can restore operations without paying, your business is still at risk of:

• Data breaches resulting in regulatory fines (e.g. under GDPR or HIPAA)
• Public relations fallout and brand damage
• Loss of customer trust due to leaked personal or financial information
• Legal exposure if confidential partner, employee, or customer data is disclosed

Double extortion has turned ransomware into a data breach as well as a business continuity issue. This evolution has made ransomware attacks more profitable, and more difficult to defend against.

How to recover from a ransomware attack

When it comes to ransomware, it’s no longer a matter of if, but when. The growing sophistication of ransomware groups means every organization must be prepared to act swiftly if an attack occurs.

Here are the three critical steps every organization should follow to recover from a ransomware attack effectively:

1. Contain the attack

The first step in ransomware recovery is to isolate the infection and prevent it from spreading further across the network — AKA contain it.

As soon as an attack is suspected, IT teams must:

• Immediately isolate infected systems (e.g. PCs, servers, file shares)
• Disconnect endpoints from the network
• Disable VPN tunnels or site-to-site connections
• Block suspicious traffic at the firewall

Time is everything in this situation; every minute counts. A real-world example comes from a Florida hospital, where IT staff quickly shut down all systems after detecting ransomware. Their swift action prevented the malware from spreading to critical systems and patient records.

By containing the incident early, organizations can drastically reduce downtime, data loss, service disruption, and financial impact.

2. Secure the environment

Once the attack is contained, the next step is to secure your systems and remove attacker access.

Many ransomware groups rely on compromised credentials or persistent access via backdoors. To block ongoing attacker access, organizations should:

• Force immediate password resets across all user accounts
• Revoke or disable privileged and administrative accounts
• Shut down any external-facing services, such as open RDP ports or exposed VPNs
• Audit and remove unauthorized scheduled tasks, scripts, or persistence mechanisms
• Temporarily disable email systems or internet access if needed to block further malware propagation

According to the Verizon Data Breach Investigations Report, compromised credentials remain the most common initial attack vector in breaches, so locking down accounts and forcing password resets is particularly vital. This can help to revoke access attackers may have gained via stolen credentials, making it more difficult to maintain access to the environment.

3. Remediate and prevent future attacks

Once containment and security hardening are in place, organizations must focus on remediation: identifying how the attack happened, closing vulnerabilities, and improving cyber resilience going forward to prevent further ransomware attacks.

This phase includes:

• Patching unpatched systems (especially externally facing servers)
• Strengthening remote access policies (e.g. disabling open RDP, enforcing multi-factor authentication)
• Reviewing firewall and VPN configurations
• Rebuilding compromised machines from clean images
• Conducting a post-mortem investigation to understand the attack chain
• Updating incident response plans and employee awareness training

Strengthen identity security with Breached Password Protection

As part of remediation, enforcing strong password hygiene is critical. Simply resetting passwords isn’t enough; you need to make sure new passwords aren’t already compromised in known data breaches.

Unfortunately, Microsoft Active Directory doesn’t natively support breached password checking. This is where a solution like Specops Password Policy with Breached Password Protection becomes essential.

With Specops Password Policy, organizations can:

• Block the use of known breached or weak passwords
• Enforce custom password rules (length, complexity, dictionary words)
• Continuously monitor for credentials found in breach databases
• Automatically prompt users to change compromised passwords

Proactive breached password protection helps eliminate one of the most common ransomware entry points — compromised credentials — before attackers can exploit them. By implementing tools like Specops Password Policy, businesses create a security-first environment that reduces risk and improves long-term ransomware resilience.

Interested to find out how Specops Password Policy could help secure your organization against the risk of attacks? Sign up for a free live demo today.