Public Relations

Asgent Announces New Deception Technology from illusive networks to Stop Encryption by Ransomware

August 22, 2016
Asgent, Inc.
（JASDAQ: 4288）

Asgent, Inc. (JASDAQ: 4288, President & CEO: Takahiro Sugimoto, located in Chuo-ku, Tokyo), a pioneer in network security and operations management solutions, announces new functionality in "illusive 3.0" ("illusive") to detect and defend against ransomware.

Victims and damage from cyber-attacks are increasing year by year. Recently, in addition to attacks aimed at stealing information, attacks by ransomware which focus on receiving ransom payments are increasing in number as well. On April 13, the Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA) announced a warning that the number of inquiries regarding ransomware had increased almost nine times since January, with 11 in January, 17 in February and 96 in March (88% of inquiries directly related to actual attacks), and that the number of inquiries was continuing from April onwards.(*1). Ransomware is a type of malware, and limits access to infected systems through encryption etc., requiring a ransomware payment in return for decrypting the system.

The new functionality to prevent encryption by ransomware is entitled the "Advanced Ransomware Guard_™" (ARG). illusive’s DMS (Deception Management System) automatically deploys, diversifies and monitors the deceptions to ensure they are effective and leave no footprint. Advanced Ransomware Guard automatically blocks the ransomware operation on the source hosts, alerts defenders and diverts it to encrypt phony targets. By doing so, it is possible to buy time because no actual critical files are encrypted by the ransomware.

※1 IPA https://www.ipa.go.jp/security/topics/alert280413.html

illusive's Deceptions Everywhere® Technology

Features:

• Detection and Prevention of ransomware encryption (ARG)
  Detects when ransomware attempts to encrypt files and buys time by blocking the ransomware operation on the source hosts, alerting defenders and diverting it to encrypt phony targets.
• Prevents illegal access to critical information
  Deploys deceptions across the network, creating a labyrinth in the network making it difficult for the attacker to find critical information.
• Detection that doesn’t rely on threat information
  In comparison with existing solutions that use threat information (C&C servers etc.) to make judgements, “illusive” directly detects attackers’ lateral movements. This means that the product can detect both known and unknown attacks.
• Agentless
  Product can be easily deployed without significant impact on existing networks’ endpoints and servers.
• Operational transparency
  No burden on IT management or operations.