Atlanta Ransomware Prevention and Remediation Expertise

Ransomware has been weaponized by cyber extortionists and rogue states, posing a potentially existential threat to businesses that fall victim. Current versions of crypto-ransomware go after everything, including backup, making even partial restoration a challenging and expensive process. Novel strains of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Mailto (aka Netwalker), Phobos, Conti and Egregor have made the headlines, displacing Locky, Spora, and NotPetya in prominence, sophistication, and destructive impact.

Most crypto-ransomware penetrations are caused by innocent-looking emails that include malicious links or file attachments, and a high percentage are so-called "zero-day" variants that can escape the defenses of traditional signature-based antivirus filters. Although user education and up-front identification are critical to protect your network against ransomware attacks, leading practices dictate that you expect that some attacks will inevitably get through and that you prepare a solid backup solution that permits you to repair the damage quickly with minimal damage.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Vulnerability Assessment is an ultra-affordable service built around a remote discussion with a Progent cybersecurity consultant skilled in ransomware protection and recovery. During this interview Progent will work with your Atlanta IT managers to gather critical information concerning your cybersecurity posture 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 administering your cybersecurity and backup systems to prevent or clean up after a crypto-ransomware attack.

Progent's Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment highlights vital areas associated with ransomware prevention and restoration recovery. The review addresses:

Security

• Correct allocation and use of administration accounts
• Correct NTFS (New Technology File System) and SMB (Server Message Block) permissions
• Optimal firewall configuration
• Safe Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) access
• Recommend AntiVirus (AV) filtering identification and configuration

• Split permission model for backup protection
• Protecting critical servers including Active Directory
• Offsite backups with cloud backup to Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a variety of malware that encrypts or deletes files so they cannot be used or are made publicly available. Ransomware sometimes locks the victim's computer. To prevent the damage, the victim is asked to pay a specified amount of money (the ransom), usually via a crypto currency such as Bitcoin, within a brief period of time. It is never certain that delivering the ransom will recover the lost data or avoid its publication. Files can be encrypted or erased throughout a network based on the target's write permissions, and you cannot break the military-grade encryption technologies used on the hostage files. A common ransomware delivery package is booby-trapped email, whereby the target is lured into responding to by a social engineering exploit known as spear phishing. This makes the email message to look as though it came from a trusted source. Another popular vulnerability is an improperly protected Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) port.

CryptoLocker ushered in the new age of ransomware in 2013, and the damage caused by the many strains of ransomware is said to be billions of dollars per year, roughly doubling every two years. Notorious examples include Locky, and Petya. Recent headline threats like Ryuk, Maze and Cerber are more sophisticated and have caused more damage than earlier strains. Even if your backup processes allow you to recover your ransomed files, you can still be threatened by so-called exfiltration, where ransomed data are made public. Because additional versions of ransomware crop up daily, there is no guarantee that conventional signature-matching anti-virus filters will detect a new malware. If threat does show up in an email, it is critical that your users have learned to identify phishing techniques. Your ultimate defense is a solid scheme for performing and retaining offsite backups plus the deployment of reliable restoration tools.

Ask Progent About the ProSight Ransomware Susceptibility Testing in Atlanta
For pricing details and to find out more about how Progent's ProSight Ransomware Susceptibility Consultation can enhance your defense against ransomware in Atlanta, phone Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.