Virtual Library

Our virtual library is an online repository of all of the reports, papers, and briefings that IST has produced, as well as works that have influenced our thinking.

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Fact Sheet

White House Releases Outbound Investment Executive Order

Strategic Balancing Initiative

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Reports

Strengthening Resilience in 21st Century Crisis Communications

Alexa Wehsener, Sylvia Mishra

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Fact Sheet

DoD Releases the National Defense Science and Technology Strategy

Strategic Balancing Initiative

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Reports

Mapping Threat Actor Behavior in the Ransomware Payment Ecosystem: A Mini-Pilot

Zoë Brammer

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Reports

May 2023 Progress Report: Ransomware Task Force: Gaining Ground

Ransomware Task Force

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Reports

Castles Built on Sand: Towards Securing the Open-Source Software Ecosystem

Zoë Brammer, Silas Cutler, Marc Rogers, Megan Stifel

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Reports

Cyber Incident Reporting Framework: Global Edition

Cyber Threat Alliance, Institute for Security and Technology

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We also welcome additional suggestions from readers, and will consider adding further resources as so much of our work has come through crowd-sourced collaboration already. If, for any chance you are an author whose work is listed here and you do not wish it to be listed in our repository, please, let us know.

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Blueprint for Ransomware Defense: An Action Plan for Ransomware Mitigation, Response, and Recovery for Small- and Medium-Sized Enterprises

Ransomware Task Force

SUMMARY

In response to Action 3.1.1 of the Ransomware Task Force (RTF) report, which calls for the cybersecurity community to “develop a clear, actionable framework for ransomware mitigation, response, and recovery,” the Blueprint for Ransomware Defense Working Group developed a Blueprint comprised of a curated subset of essential cyber hygiene Safeguards from the Center for Internet Security Critical Security Controls® (CIS Controls®) v8. These Safeguards represent a minimum standard of information security for all enterprises and are what should be applied to defend against the most common attacks. This Blueprint for Ransomware Defense represents a set of Foundational and Actionable Safeguards, aimed at small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). 

Consequently, this Blueprint for Ransomware Defense utilizes the CIS Controls, a prioritized and prescriptive set of actions developed by a global community of cybersecurity experts. The forty (40) recommended Safeguards included in the Blueprint have been carefully selected not only for their ease-of-implementation but their effectiveness in defending against ransomware attacks. This has been backed by analysis from the CIS Community Defense Model v2.0 (CIS CDM v2.0), where implementing the Safeguards in this Blueprint defends against over 70% of the attack techniques associated with ransomware. It is important to note that this Blueprint is not intended to serve as an implementation guide, but rather a recommendation of defensive actions that can be taken to protect against and respond to ransomware and other common cyber attacks.

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