Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Remote Help from a Senior Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware requires time to steal its way across a network. Because of this, ransomware attacks are commonly unleashed on weekends and late at night, when support staff may be slower to recognize a penetration and are less able to organize a quick and forceful defense. The more lateral movement ransomware is able to make inside a target's system, the longer it takes to recover basic operations and scrambled files and the more data can be stolen and posted to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is designed to assist you to take the time-critical first phase in mitigating a ransomware assault by containing the malware. Progent's online ransomware engineers can assist businesses in the Addison metro area to identify and quarantine breached devices and guard clean resources from being compromised.
If your system has been penetrated by any strain of ransomware, act fast. Get help quickly by calling Progent's Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.
Progent's Ransomware Response Services Offered in Addison
Modern strains of crypto-ransomware such as Ryuk, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, and Egregor encrypt online files and attack any accessible backups. Data synched to the cloud can also be impacted. For a poorly defended network, this can make automated restoration nearly impossible and effectively sets the datacenter back to the beginning. So-called Threat Actors (TAs), the cybercriminals behind a ransomware assault, insist on a ransom payment for the decryptors needed to unlock encrypted files. Ransomware attacks also try to steal (or "exfiltrate") information and hackers demand an additional payment for not posting this information or selling it. Even if you can restore your system to a tolerable date in time, exfiltration can be a big issue depending on the nature of the downloaded data.
The restoration work after a ransomware penetration involves several distinct stages, the majority of which can be performed concurrently if the response workgroup has a sufficient number of members with the required skill sets.
- Quarantine: This urgent initial response involves arresting the sideways progress of ransomware within your IT system. The longer a ransomware assault is permitted to go unrestricted, the more complex and more expensive the recovery effort. Because of this, Progent maintains a round-the-clock Ransomware Hotline staffed by veteran ransomware recovery experts. Quarantine activities consist of isolating affected endpoint devices from the rest of network to minimize the contagion, documenting the IT system, and securing entry points.
- Operational continuity: This involves restoring the network to a minimal acceptable level of functionality with the least delay. This process is typically at the highest level of urgency for the targets of the ransomware attack, who often perceive it to be a life-or-death issue for their business. This project also demands the broadest array of technical abilities that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual servers, PCs, laptops and mobile phones, databases, productivity and line-of-business applications, network architecture, and protected remote access management. Progent's ransomware recovery experts use state-of-the-art workgroup platforms to coordinate the complicated restoration effort. Progent appreciates the importance of working rapidly, continuously, and in unison with a customer's management and IT staff to prioritize tasks and to put essential resources back online as fast as possible.
- Data restoration: The work required to restore files impacted by a ransomware attack varies according to the condition of the systems, the number of files that are affected, and which recovery methods are needed. Ransomware assaults can take down critical databases which, if not gracefully closed, might have to be rebuilt from scratch. This can include DNS and Active Directory (AD) databases. Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server depend on AD, and many financial and other mission-critical applications are powered by Microsoft SQL Server. Often some detective work may be needed to find undamaged data. For instance, undamaged Outlook Email Offline Folder Files may have survived on staff PCs and notebooks that were not connected during the ransomware attack. Progent's ProSight Data Protection Services offer Altaro VM Backup technology to defend against ransomware attacks via Immutable Cloud Storage. This creates tamper-proof backup data that cannot be modified by anyone including root users.
- Deploying advanced AV/ransomware defense: ProSight ASM incorporates SentinelOne's machine learning technology to give small and mid-sized companies the benefits of the identical anti-virus technology implemented by many of the world's largest corporations including Netflix, Visa, and Salesforce. By delivering in-line malware filtering, identification, containment, repair and forensics in a single integrated platform, Progent's Active Security Monitoring cuts total cost of ownership, streamlines management, and expedites operational continuity. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection engine built into in Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring was listed by Gartner Group as the "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. Read about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring endpoint protection and ransomware defense with SentinelOne technology.
- Negotiation with the threat actor (TA): Progent is experienced in negotiating settlements with hackers. This calls for close co-operation with the ransomware victim and the cyber insurance provider, if there is one. Activities include establishing the kind of ransomware used in the attack; identifying and establishing communications the hacker persona; testing decryption tool; deciding on a settlement with the victim and the insurance carrier; establishing a settlement and schedule with the hacker; confirming adherence to anti-money laundering sanctions; overseeing the crypto-currency transfer to the hacker; receiving, reviewing, and using the decryption utility; troubleshooting decryption problems; creating a clean environment; remapping and connecting datastores to match precisely their pre-encryption state; and recovering computers and software services.
- Forensics: This process involves uncovering the ransomware assault's storyline throughout the targeted network from beginning to end. This history of the way a ransomware attack progressed within the network helps your IT staff to evaluate the damage and highlights gaps in rules or work habits that should be corrected to prevent later breaches. Forensics involves the review of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object, Active Directory (AD), DNS servers, routers, firewalls, schedulers, and core Windows systems to check for anomalies. Forensics is typically assigned a top priority by the insurance carrier. Because forensics can take time, it is vital that other key activities such as operational continuity are executed concurrently. Progent maintains an extensive roster of IT and security professionals with the knowledge and experience required to perform activities for containment, operational continuity, and data recovery without disrupting forensic analysis.
Progent's Background
Progent has delivered remote and onsite IT services across the United States for over 20 years and has earned Microsoft's Gold Partner designation in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity practice areas. Progent's roster of SMEs includes consultants who have been awarded advanced certifications in core technology platforms including Cisco networking, VMware, and popular distributions of Linux. Progent's data security experts have earned prestigious certifications such as CISM, CISSP-ISSAP, CRISC, and CMMC 2.0. (Refer to certifications earned by Progent consultants). Progent also offers top-tier support in financial and Enterprise Resource Planning applications. This scope of expertise gives Progent the ability to identify and consolidate the undamaged parts of your information system following a ransomware intrusion and rebuild them rapidly into a functioning system. Progent has worked with leading cyber insurance providers like Chubb to assist businesses recover from ransomware attacks.
Contact Progent for Ransomware Cleanup Expertise in Addison
For ransomware cleanup consulting services in the Addison metro area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.