Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Online Access to a Senior Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware needs time to steal its way across a network. For this reason, ransomware assaults are commonly unleashed on weekends and at night, when IT staff may be slower to become aware of a breach and are less able to mount a quick and forceful defense. The more lateral movement ransomware is able to make within a victim's system, the longer it will require to recover basic operations and scrambled files and the more information can be stolen and posted to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is designed to help you to complete the urgent first step in responding to a ransomware attack by stopping the bleeding. Progent's online ransomware experts can help businesses in the Alpharetta area to locate and quarantine breached devices and protect clean resources from being compromised.
If your network has been breached by any version of ransomware, don't panic. Get help quickly by calling Progent's Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.
Progent's Ransomware Response Expertise Available in Alpharetta
Modern variants of ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, Netwalker, and Egregor encrypt online files and attack any available system restores. Files synchronized to the cloud can also be impacted. For a vulnerable network, this can make automated recovery nearly impossible and basically throws the datacenter back to the beginning. Threat Actors (TAs), the cybercriminals responsible for ransomware attack, insist on a settlement fee for the decryption tools required to recover encrypted data. Ransomware assaults also try to exfiltrate information and hackers demand an extra settlement for not posting this information on the dark web. Even if you are able to rollback your network to an acceptable date in time, exfiltration can pose a major issue depending on the nature of the stolen data.
The recovery work subsequent to ransomware attack has a number of crucial phases, the majority of which can proceed concurrently if the recovery workgroup has a sufficient number of members with the required experience.
- Quarantine: This urgent first step requires blocking the sideways progress of ransomware within your network. The more time a ransomware assault is allowed to go unchecked, the more complex and more costly the restoration process. Recognizing this, Progent maintains a 24x7 Ransomware Hotline monitored by seasoned ransomware response engineers. Quarantine activities include isolating infected endpoints from the network to block the spread, documenting the IT system, and protecting entry points.
- Operational continuity: This involves bringing back the IT system to a basic useful level of capability with the least delay. This effort is usually the top priority for the targets of the ransomware assault, who often see it as a life-or-death issue for their company. This activity also demands the broadest array of IT skills that span domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual servers, desktops, laptops and smart phones, databases, productivity and line-of-business apps, network topology, and protected remote access. Progent's recovery experts use advanced workgroup tools to coordinate the multi-faceted restoration effort. Progent appreciates the urgency of working quickly, tirelessly, and in concert with a customer's management and network support staff to prioritize activity and to put essential services back online as quickly as possible.
- Data recovery: The work necessary to restore data damaged by a ransomware assault depends on the condition of the systems, how many files are encrypted, and which recovery techniques are required. Ransomware attacks can destroy key databases which, if not gracefully closed, may need to be rebuilt from the beginning. This can include DNS and Active Directory databases. Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server rely on AD, and many financial and other mission-critical platforms are powered by Microsoft SQL Server. Often some detective work could be required to locate undamaged data. For example, undamaged Outlook Email Offline Folder Files may exist on employees' desktop computers and notebooks that were off line at the time of the assault. Progent's Altaro VM Backup consultants can assist you to deploy immutable backup for cloud object storage, allowing tamper-proof data for a set duration so that backup data cannot be erased or modified by any user including administrators. This provides an extra level of security and restoration ability in the event of a successful ransomware attack.
- Implementing advanced antivirus/ransomware protection: Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring utilizes SentinelOne's machine learning technology to give small and medium-sized companies the advantages of the same anti-virus technology deployed by many of the world's biggest enterprises including Walmart, Citi, and Salesforce. By delivering real-time malware blocking, identification, containment, recovery and analysis in one integrated platform, Progent's ProSight ASM reduces total cost of ownership, streamlines administration, and promotes rapid resumption of operations. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection engine built into in Progent's ASM was ranked by Gartner Group as the "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. Read about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring endpoint protection and ransomware recovery with SentinelOne technology.
- Negotiating a settlement with the hacker Progent is experienced in negotiating ransom settlements with threat actors. This calls for working closely with the ransomware victim and the insurance provider, if there is one. Services consist of determining the kind of ransomware used in the assault; identifying and making contact with the hacker; testing decryption capabilities; budgeting a settlement amount with the ransomware victim and the cyber insurance provider; establishing a settlement amount and schedule with the TA; confirming adherence to anti-money laundering (AML) sanctions; carrying out the crypto-currency transfer to the hacker; acquiring, learning, and operating the decryption utility; troubleshooting decryption problems; creating a pristine environment; mapping and reconnecting drives to match exactly their pre-encryption condition; and reprovisioning physical and virtual devices and services.
- Forensic analysis: This activity is aimed at learning the ransomware assault's storyline throughout the targeted network from start to finish. This history of how a ransomware attack progressed through the network helps your IT staff to assess the damage and uncovers weaknesses in security policies or work habits that need to be rectified to prevent future breaches. Forensics involves the examination of all logs, registry, GPO, AD, DNS, routers, firewalls, schedulers, and core Windows systems to look for changes. Forensics is usually given a high priority by the cyber insurance carrier. Because forensics can take time, it is vital that other important recovery processes such as operational resumption are pursued in parallel. Progent maintains an extensive team of information technology and cybersecurity experts with the knowledge and experience required to carry out activities for containment, operational resumption, and data recovery without disrupting forensic analysis.
Progent's Background
Progent has delivered online and on-premises IT services across the United States for over 20 years and has been awarded Microsoft's Gold Partner certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity practice areas. Progent's roster of SMEs includes consultants who have earned advanced certifications in core technologies such as Cisco networking, VMware, and major Linux distros. Progent's data security experts have earned industry-recognized certifications including CISA, CISSP-ISSAP, and CRISC. (Refer to Progent's certifications). Progent also has guidance in financial and Enterprise Resource Planning software. This broad array of skills allows Progent to salvage and consolidate the surviving pieces of your IT environment after a ransomware intrusion and reconstruct them quickly into a viable system. Progent has worked with leading insurance providers like Chubb to assist organizations clean up after ransomware attacks.
Contact Progent for Ransomware System Restoration Services in Alpharetta
For ransomware system recovery services in the Alpharetta metro area, phone Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.