Multi-Layered Protection against Ransomware Attacks Using Moving Target Defense (MTD) Strategy

Abstract

The prevalence and sophistication of ransomware attacks have surged in recent years, presenting formidable threats to critical infrastructure sectors. This alarming evolution necessitates a robust, adaptive security approach. Traditional single-layer defenses are increasingly insufficient against advanced adversarial tactics, including polymorphic malware and zero-day exploits. To address this escalating threat, a multilayer defense architecture is imperative to strengthen protection across endpoints and networks. Rather than relying on static configurations, Moving Target Defense (MTD) enhances protection by introducing dynamic variability into the cyber environment, thereby interrupting attacker reconnaissance and exploitation. In this paper, a multi-layered defense strategy is developed against ransomware attacks leveraging MTD. The methodology integrates MTD within endpoint protection, firewall security, and execution control layers to create a robust and adaptive security posture. The proposed approach continuously mutates access policies, rotates network addresses, and shuffles execution policies to reduce attack surface and thwart reconnaissance efforts. This layered defense framework ensures that ransomware attempts can be interrupted at multiple layers, thereby substantially lowering the probability of a successful breach. The result proved the effectiveness of the proposed approach in protecting the system against ransomware attacks in terms of IP rotation, execution token shuffling, policy mutation variability, probability of compromise, and attack risk.