Allen Ransomware Protection and Cleanup Expertise

Ransomware has been widely adopted by cyber extortionists and bad-actor states, posing a possibly existential risk to companies that are breached. Current versions of ransomware go after everything, including backup, making even partial restoration a long and costly process. New versions of ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Mailto (aka Netwalker), Phobos, LockBit and Nephilim have emerged, displacing Locky, TeslaCrypt, and Petya in notoriety, elaborateness, and destructiveness.

90% of crypto-ransomware breaches are caused by innocent-seeming emails with malicious links or file attachments, and a high percentage are "zero-day" variants that elude the defenses of traditional signature-matching antivirus (AV) filters. Although user education and frontline detection are important to protect your network against ransomware attacks, leading practices demand that you take for granted some malware will eventually succeed and that you put in place a solid backup solution that permits you to restore files and services rapidly with minimal losses.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Vulnerability Assessment is an ultra-affordable service built around a remote interview with a Progent cybersecurity expert skilled in ransomware defense and recovery. During this assessment Progent will cooperate directly with your Allen IT management staff to gather critical information about your security profile and backup environment. Progent will utilize this information to create a Basic Security and Best Practices Report documenting how to follow leading practices for configuring and managing your cybersecurity and backup solution to block or recover from a ransomware assault.

Progent's Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment focuses on key issues related to crypto-ransomware prevention and restoration recovery. The review covers:

Security

• Proper use of admin accounts
• Appropriate NTFS and SMB (Server Message Block) authorizations
• Proper firewall configuration
• Secure Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) access
• Guidance for AntiVirus filtering selection and configuration

• Split permission model for backup integrity
• Backing up critical servers including Active Directory
• Offsite backups with cloud backup to Microsoft Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts or steals a victim's files so they cannot be used or are publicized. Crypto-ransomware sometimes locks the victim's computer. To avoid the damage, the target is required to send a specified amount of money, usually via a crypto currency such as Bitcoin, within a short period of time. There is no guarantee that paying the extortion price will restore the lost data or prevent its exposure to the public. Files can be altered or deleted throughout a network based on the victim's write permissions, and you cannot break the strong encryption technologies used on the hostage files. A common ransomware delivery package is booby-trapped email, in which the victim is lured into responding to by means of a social engineering exploit called spear phishing. This makes the email message to appear to come from a familiar sender. Another popular vulnerability is a poorly protected Remote Desktop Protocol port.

CryptoLocker opened the new age of ransomware in 2013, and the monetary losses attributed to by the many versions of ransomware is estimated at billions of dollars annually, more than doubling every other year. Notorious attacks include WannaCry, and Petya. Current high-profile variants like Ryuk, DoppelPaymer and CryptoWall are more sophisticated and have caused more damage than earlier versions. Even if your backup/recovery procedures allow your business to recover your ransomed files, you can still be threatened by so-called exfiltration, where ransomed data are made public (known as "doxxing"). Because new versions of ransomware are launched daily, there is no guarantee that conventional signature-based anti-virus tools will block the latest malware. If an attack does appear in an email, it is critical that your end users have been taught to be aware of phishing tricks. Your last line of defense is a sound process for scheduling and retaining remote backups and the use of reliable recovery tools.

Ask Progent About the ProSight Ransomware Susceptibility Testing in Allen
For pricing information and to learn more about how Progent's ProSight Ransomware Preparedness Checkup can enhance your defense against ransomware in Allen, phone Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.