Why critical sectors are targeted
Attackers choose organisations that cannot afford downtime. When a hospital, energy plant, airport or production line stops, the pressure to pay is enormous. Many of these sites also run older systems that were never designed to be connected to the internet, which gives attackers more ways in.
How attacks usually spread
Most ransomware incidents follow the same pattern: an initial foothold through phishing, a stolen password or an unpatched internet-facing device, then quiet movement across a flat network until the attackers reach servers and backups. The longer they can move freely, the bigger the damage.
What the network can do
Segmentation is the single most effective network control. Separating office IT, operational technology, cameras, guest Wi-Fi and management networks into their own VLANs with strict rules between them stops ransomware from reaching everything at once. Managed switches with access control lists, 802.1X port authentication and a firewall between zones turn one infected laptop into a contained incident instead of a site-wide outage.
Practical checklist
Segment critical systems and keep backups on an isolated network. Enable multi-factor authentication for every remote access path. Patch firewalls, VPN gateways and switches on a fixed schedule. Monitor for unusual traffic between zones. Practise recovery so that restoring from backup is a known process, not an experiment during a crisis.
How Navijin helps
Navijin managed and industrial switches support VLANs, ACLs and 802.1X out of the box, so segmentation can be built into new projects from day one. Our partners can help design a segmented network for hospitals, oil and gas sites, hotels and banks.
