Ransomware remains one of the most persistent and financially damaging cyber threats facing organizations today. Among the emerging actors in this landscape is the Ghost ransomware group, also tracked as HsHarada or Rapture. While Coveware by Veeam has had limited direct engagements with this group, their tactics align closely with those of other well-known ransomware operators.
Despite their distinct branding, Ghost’s initial access techniques, rapid attack progression, and financial motivations follow the same patterns observed across the ransomware ecosystem. As such, understanding their Tactics, Techniques, and Procedures (TTPs) and reinforcing cybersecurity defenses accordingly will brace organizations for potential attacks and mitigate the risk of falling victim to this threat.
How Ghost Gains Access: Exploiting Known Vulnerabilities
Ghost, like many ransomware groups, focuses on exploiting publicly known vulnerabilities in internet-facing systems to gain initial access. Their targets often include widely exploited security gaps in enterprise technologies, such as vulnerabilities in Fortinet, Microsoft Exchange (ProxyShell), Adobe ColdFusion, and Microsoft SharePoint.
This reinforces a fundamental cybersecurity truth: Unpatched software remains one of the most significant risk factors for cyber intrusions, including ransomware attacks. Organizations that fail to implement timely security updates create openings that threat actors can easily exploit. It follows that the fundamental mitigation strategy is to implement a robust vulnerability management program that prioritizes patching critical software and securing remote access configurations, while regular penetration testing and proactive threat detection assists in identifying weaknesses before the attackers can exploit them.
Ghost Attacks are Fast and Aggressive
Once inside a network, Ghost moves at breakneck speed — often deploying ransomware within hours of initial access. Their tactics reflect post-compromise techniques used by many ransomware actors, including:
- Deploying web shells to maintain persistence
- Abusing PowerShell for command execution and lateral movement
- Using Cobalt Strike for post-exploitation activities and privilege escalation
- Changing credentials to lock out administrators and solidify control over compromised systems
Early-stage detection is critical to mitigate the risks presented by these tactics, since by the time ransomware is deployed, it’s often too late to prevent damage. As such, organizations should look to implement endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions, actively monitor for suspicious PowerShell activity, and leverage behavioral analytics to spot anomalies before ransomware can be executed.
Cyber Extortion and Financial Incentives
Like many ransomware groups, Ghost follows a standard extortion model: Encrypt critical files, demand a ransom, and pressure victims into paying. While they claim to exfiltrate sensitive data, it’s unclear whether they always steal significant amounts or simply use the threat of exposure as leverage. This psychological pressure forces victims into difficult decisions, weighing the risks of reputational damage, regulatory consequences, and operational disruption.
Unlike some ransomware groups that maintain dedicated leak sites, Ghost operates differently. Instead, they may publish stolen data on BreachForums or other underground platforms, making it harder for organizations to track exposure. In some cases, ransomware operators claim to have stolen data without providing evidence, preying on less-prepared organizations that may pay a ransom out of fear rather than actual risk.
While backups are essential for recovery, they become a secondary measure in cyber extortion cases where data exfiltration is involved. Traditional ransomware attacks primarily focused on encrypting files, making backups the best line of defense. However, modern ransomware groups, including Ghost, often steal data before deploying encryption, shifting the threat from simple operational disruption to data exposure and extortion.
Even with perfectly maintained, immutable backups, the real risk lies in what the attackers may have taken. If sensitive data — such as customer records, financials, intellectual property, or internal emails — has been stolen, backups won’t prevent ransom demands based on the threat of public exposure. In these scenarios, the attacker’s leverage isn’t about denying you access to your data but rather their ability to release, sell, or weaponize it against you.
This is why preventing unauthorized access is far more critical than relying solely on a recovery plan. Foremost, organizations should prioritize:
- Preventing intrusions through strong security controls, such as patching vulnerabilities and restricting remote access.
- Detecting exfiltration attempts early with data loss prevention (DLP) tools and continuous network monitoring.
- Encrypting sensitive data at rest and in transit to render it useless if stolen.
Strengthening Your Ransomware Defenses
Software vulnerabilities remain one of the greatest weaknesses for organizations and a primary attack vector for ransomware. Coveware’s data consistently shows that unpatched systems remain one of the most common root causes of ransomware incidents. Prioritizing vulnerability management and securing remote access can significantly reduce risk.
Threat actors follow similar playbooks. Ransomware group names may change, but their techniques remain largely the same. Defenses should focus on blocking known access methods (e.g., patching vulnerable software), detecting early-stage intrusion activity (e.g., unusual PowerShell execution, Cobalt Strike beacons), and ensuring rapid incident response readiness in case of compromise.
Sharing information is critical. Ransomware defense is not just an organizational effort — it requires collaboration across industries and governments too. Sharing Indicators of Compromise (IOCs), attack patterns, and forensic insights helps others strengthen their defenses against evolving threats. In this way, establishing strong private-public partnerships is especially beneficial when combating these ever-changing threats.
Proactive Security is the Best Defense
While Ghost’s branding may be unique, their tactics are not. Organizations that take a proactive security approach, stay informed on emerging threats, and share intelligence within their industry will be in the best position to defend against ransomware — whether from Ghost or any other group.
Proactive security tools like Veeam Recon Scanner represent a significant advancement in threat assessment technology. By collecting and analyzing data proactively, Recon Scanner can identify unexpected network connections, unusual user behavior, suspicious file activity, data exfiltration attempts, and potential brute force attacks. This empowers organizations to identify and respond to cyber threats and ransomware risk indicators before they escalate.
Click here to see Recon Scanner in action.
The post Ghost Ransomware Attacks: Understanding the Threat and Strengthening Defenses appeared first on Veeam Software Official Blog.
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