Appleton Ransomware Protection and Restoration Consulting

Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800

24x7 Online Access to a Top-tier Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware requires time to steal its way across a network. For this reason, ransomware assaults are commonly unleashed on weekends and late at night, when support personnel are likely to be slower to become aware of a breach and are less able to mount a quick and forceful response. The more lateral movement ransomware is able to manage inside a target's system, the longer it will require to recover core IT services and scrambled files and the more data can be exfiltrated to the dark web.

Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is designed to guide you to complete the urgent first phase in mitigating a ransomware assault by putting out the fire. Progent's online ransomware experts can help businesses in the Appleton metro area to identify and isolate breached servers and endpoints and guard clean assets from being penetrated.

If your network has been penetrated by any strain of ransomware, don't panic. Get immediate help by calling Progent's Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.

Progent's Ransomware Response Services Offered in Appleton
Current strains of crypto-ransomware such as Ryuk, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, and Egregor encrypt online data and invade any accessible backups. Files synchronized to the cloud can also be impacted. For a vulnerable network, this can make automated recovery nearly impossible and effectively throws the datacenter back to square one. So-called Threat Actors (TAs), the cybercriminals behind a ransomware attack, demand a ransom fee for the decryption tools needed to unlock encrypted files. Ransomware attacks also attempt to steal (or "exfiltrate") information and TAs require an additional settlement in exchange for not publishing this data or selling it. Even if you are able to restore your network to an acceptable date in time, exfiltration can pose a major problem according to the sensitivity of the downloaded data.

The recovery process subsequent to ransomware penetration involves several distinct stages, the majority of which can proceed in parallel if the recovery team has enough members with the required skill sets.

• Quarantine: This urgent first step involves blocking the lateral progress of ransomware across your network. The longer a ransomware attack is permitted to go unrestricted, the longer and more costly the recovery effort. Because of this, Progent maintains a 24x7 Ransomware Hotline staffed by seasoned ransomware response engineers. Quarantine activities include isolating affected endpoints from the rest of network to restrict the spread, documenting the environment, and protecting entry points.
• Operational continuity: This covers restoring the network to a minimal useful degree of functionality with the shortest possible delay. This effort is typically at the highest level of urgency for the victims of the ransomware attack, who often see it as a life-or-death issue for their company. This activity also requires the broadest range of IT skills that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual machines, PCs, laptops and mobile phones, databases, office and line-of-business apps, network topology, and secure endpoint access. Progent's ransomware recovery team uses advanced collaboration tools to organize the complicated recovery process. Progent understands the importance of working quickly, continuously, and in concert with a customer's managers and IT staff to prioritize activity and to put critical services back online as fast as feasible.
• Data recovery: The effort required to recover data impacted by a ransomware attack varies according to the state of the network, the number of files that are affected, and what recovery techniques are needed. Ransomware assaults can destroy key databases which, if not gracefully shut down, may need to be rebuilt from scratch. This can include DNS and Active Directory databases. Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server depend on Active Directory, and many financial and other business-critical applications depend on Microsoft SQL Server. Some detective work could be needed to locate undamaged data. For example, undamaged OST files may exist on staff PCs and laptops that were not connected during the attack. Progent's ProSight Data Protection Services offer Altaro VM Backup tools to defend against ransomware attacks via Immutable Cloud Storage. This produces tamper-proof data that cannot be erased or modified by any user including administrators or root users.
• Implementing modern AV/ransomware protection: Progent's Active Security Monitoring utilizes SentinelOne's machine learning technology to offer small and mid-sized companies the advantages of the same AV tools used by some of the world's biggest enterprises including Walmart, Visa, and Salesforce. By providing real-time malware blocking, classification, containment, repair and forensics in one integrated platform, Progent's Active Security Monitoring lowers total cost of ownership, streamlines administration, and promotes rapid recovery. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection engine incorporated in Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring was listed by Gartner Group as the "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. Find out about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring endpoint protection and ransomware recovery with SentinelOne technology.
• Negotiating a settlement with the threat actor (TA): Progent is experienced in negotiating ransom settlements with hackers. This calls for working closely with the victim and the cyber insurance carrier, if any. Activities consist of establishing the type of ransomware involved in the assault; identifying and making contact with the hacker persona; testing decryption capabilities; deciding on a settlement with the victim and the insurance provider; establishing a settlement and schedule with the TA; checking adherence to anti-money laundering (AML) regulations; overseeing the crypto-currency disbursement to the hacker; acquiring, reviewing, and using the decryption utility; debugging decryption problems; building a clean environment; remapping and reconnecting datastores to reflect precisely their pre-attack condition; and reprovisioning computers and services.
• Forensics: This activity is aimed at discovering the ransomware attack's progress throughout the targeted network from start to finish. This history of the way a ransomware assault travelled through the network helps your IT staff to evaluate the impact and uncovers weaknesses in policies or work habits that need to be corrected to prevent future break-ins. Forensics involves the examination of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object, Active Directory (AD), DNS servers, routers, firewalls, scheduled tasks, and core Windows systems to look for changes. Forensic analysis is usually assigned a high priority by the insurance carrier. Because forensics can be time consuming, it is vital that other important activities such as operational continuity are pursued in parallel. Progent has an extensive team of information technology and security professionals with the skills required to perform activities for containment, operational resumption, and data recovery without disrupting forensics.

Contact Progent for Ransomware Cleanup Expertise in Appleton
For ransomware system restoration consulting in the Appleton metro area, phone Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.