Alpharetta Ransomware Prevention and Remediation Consulting

Ransomware has been weaponized by cybercriminals and rogue governments, representing a potentially lethal risk to businesses that are successfully attacked. Modern variations of crypto-ransomware go after everything, including backup, making even partial recovery a long and expensive process. Novel versions of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, DopplePaymer, Conti and Nephilim have made the headlines, displacing WannaCry, Cerber, and CryptoWall in notoriety, sophistication, and destructiveness.

90% of crypto-ransomware infections are caused by innocent-looking emails that include malicious links or attachments, and many are so-called "zero-day" attacks that can escape detection by traditional signature-matching antivirus (AV) tools. Although user training and frontline identification are important to protect your network against ransomware, leading practices dictate that you take for granted some malware will eventually get through and that you prepare a strong backup solution that allows you to recover quickly with minimal damage.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Preparedness Assessment is a low-cost service centered around a remote discussion with a Progent cybersecurity consultant skilled in ransomware protection and repair. In the course of this assessment Progent will cooperate directly with your Alpharetta IT management staff to collect critical information about your cybersecurity posture and backup processes. Progent will utilize this data to create a Basic Security and Best Practices Report documenting how to follow leading practices for configuring and administering your security and backup systems to prevent or clean up after a crypto-ransomware assault.

Progent's Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment highlights key areas related to ransomware defense and restoration recovery. The report covers:

Cybersecurity

• Correct allocation and use of admin accounts
• Assigning NTFS (New Technology File System) and SMB (Server Message Block) permissions
• Proper firewall setup
• Secure RDP configuration
• Advice about AntiVirus tools identification and deployment

• Split permission model for backup protection
• Protecting required servers such as Active Directory
• Offsite backups with cloud backup to Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts or steals a victim's files so they cannot be used or are made publicly available. Ransomware often locks the victim's computer. To prevent the carnage, the target is required to send a specified amount of money (the ransom), usually via a crypto currency like Bitcoin, within a short time window. It is never certain that delivering the ransom will restore the damaged files or prevent its publication. Files can be encrypted or erased throughout a network based on the victim's write permissions, and you cannot solve the strong encryption technologies used on the hostage files. A typical ransomware delivery package is spoofed email, in which the target is lured into responding to by means of a social engineering technique called spear phishing. This makes the email to appear to come from a familiar sender. Another popular attack vector is an improperly protected RDP port.

The ransomware variant CryptoLocker opened the new age of crypto-ransomware in 2013, and the monetary losses attributed to by the many versions of ransomware is estimated at billions of dollars annually, roughly doubling every two years. Notorious attacks are Locky, and NotPetya. Current headline variants like Ryuk, Maze and CryptoWall are more complex and have wreaked more havoc than older strains. Even if your backup procedures enable your business to recover your ransomed files, you can still be hurt by exfiltration, where stolen documents are made public. Because new versions of ransomware are launched every day, there is no certainty that conventional signature-matching anti-virus filters will block the latest malware. If an attack does show up in an email, it is important that your users have been taught to be aware of phishing tricks. Your last line of defense is a solid scheme for performing and retaining offsite backups and the use of reliable recovery platforms.

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