This CrowdStrike white paper traces the evolution of ransomware, from early scareware to today's advanced threats like Ransomware-as-a-Service (RaaS) and fileless attacks. It highlights “big game hunting” where cybercriminals target high-value enterprises, often using lateral movement and social engineering. Case studies, such as the RobbinHood attack on Baltimore, demonstrate costly impacts. The paper outlines key strains like Ryuk, Hermes, and WannaCry, and promotes defenses including secure backups, user training, MITRE ATT\&CK mapping, and CrowdStrike Falcon’s machine learning, IOA detection, and exploit blocking to stop threats before damage occurs.

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