Akron Ransomware Prevention and Recovery Expertise

Ransomware has been weaponized by cyber extortionists and rogue states, posing a potentially existential threat to businesses that are successfully attacked. The latest strains of ransomware target everything, including online backup, making even partial recovery a challenging and costly process. New versions of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Mailto (aka Netwalker), DopplePaymer, LockBit and Nephilim have emerged, replacing WannaCry, Cerber, and Petya in notoriety, sophistication, and destructive impact.

90% of crypto-ransomware breaches are caused by innocent-looking emails with dangerous links or file attachments, and a high percentage are so-called "zero-day" attacks that can escape the defenses of traditional signature-based antivirus (AV) tools. Although user training and up-front detection are critical to protect against ransomware attacks, best practices demand that you expect that some malware will inevitably get through and that you put in place a solid backup mechanism that allows you to repair the damage quickly with minimal damage.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Preparedness Checkup is a low-cost service built around an online interview with a Progent security consultant experienced in ransomware protection and repair. During this assessment Progent will collaborate with your Akron IT management staff to gather critical data concerning your cybersecurity configuration and backup environment. Progent will utilize this information to produce a Basic Security and Best Practices Report documenting how to apply best practices for implementing and administering your cybersecurity and backup solution to block or recover from a crypto-ransomware assault.

Progent's Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment highlights key issues associated with crypto-ransomware defense and restoration recovery. The review addresses:

Cybersecurity

• Effective allocation and use of admin accounts
• Assigning NTFS and SMB authorizations
• Optimal firewall settings
• Secure Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) access
• Advice about AntiVirus (AV) tools identification and configuration

• Split permission model for backup integrity
• Protecting critical servers including AD
• Offsite backups including cloud backup to Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts or deletes a victim's files so they cannot be used or are publicized. Crypto-ransomware sometimes locks the target's computer. To avoid the carnage, the target is required to pay a certain ransom, usually in the form of a crypto currency such as Bitcoin, within a short period of time. It is never certain that paying the ransom will restore the damaged data or prevent its exposure to the public. Files can be altered or deleted across a network depending on the target's write permissions, and you cannot reverse engineer the military-grade encryption technologies used on the compromised files. A typical ransomware delivery package is tainted email, in which the user is lured into responding to by a social engineering exploit known as spear phishing. This causes the email to appear to come from a familiar source. Another common vulnerability is an improperly protected RDP port.

The ransomware variant CryptoLocker opened the modern era of crypto-ransomware in 2013, and the damage caused by the many versions of ransomware is estimated at billions of dollars annually, more than doubling every other year. Notorious examples include Locky, and NotPetya. Current headline threats like Ryuk, DoppelPaymer and Spora are more complex and have caused more damage than earlier versions. Even if your backup processes enable you to recover your encrypted files, you can still be hurt by exfiltration, where stolen documents are exposed to the public. Because new variants of ransomware are launched daily, there is no certainty that conventional signature-based anti-virus filters will block a new attack. If threat does appear in an email, it is important that your users have learned to be aware of phishing techniques. Your last line of protection is a sound scheme for scheduling and keeping offsite backups and the use of reliable restoration platforms.

Ask Progent About the ProSight Ransomware Susceptibility Report in Akron
For pricing information and to find out more about how Progent's ProSight Ransomware Readiness Checkup can enhance your protection against ransomware in Akron, phone Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.