Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Online Help from a Senior Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware needs time to steal its way through a network. Because of this, ransomware assaults are commonly unleashed on weekends and late at night, when IT staff may take longer to become aware of a breach and are less able to mount a quick and forceful defense. The more lateral progress ransomware is able to make inside a victim's network, the longer it will require to restore core IT services and damaged files and the more data can be stolen and posted to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is intended to assist organizations to take the time-critical first phase in responding to a ransomware attack by putting out the fire. Progent's remote ransomware engineers can help businesses in the Augusta-Richmond County metro area to locate and quarantine infected devices 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 Augusta-Richmond County
Modern variants of ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, DopplePaymer, and Nephilim encrypt online files and invade any accessible system restores and backups. Data synchronized to the cloud can also be corrupted. For a poorly defended environment, this can make system recovery almost impossible and basically knocks the IT system back to the beginning. Threat Actors (TAs), the hackers behind a ransomware assault, demand a ransom payment for the decryption tools needed to recover scrambled data. Ransomware attacks also try to 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 system to an acceptable date in time, exfiltration can pose a major issue according to the nature of the stolen information.
The restoration process subsequent to ransomware penetration involves a number of crucial stages, most of which can proceed concurrently if the recovery team has a sufficient number of members with the required experience.
- Quarantine: This time-critical first step requires blocking the sideways spread of ransomware within your IT system. The longer a ransomware assault is permitted to go unrestricted, the longer and more expensive the recovery effort. Because of this, Progent maintains a 24x7 Ransomware Hotline staffed by seasoned ransomware recovery engineers. Containment activities include isolating affected endpoints from the rest of network to restrict the contagion, documenting the environment, and protecting entry points.
- System continuity: This covers restoring the network to a basic acceptable level of functionality with the shortest possible downtime. This process is typically at the highest level of urgency for the targets of the ransomware assault, who often see it as a life-or-death issue for their business. This activity also requires the broadest array of technical skills that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual machines, PCs, laptops and smart phones, databases, office and line-of-business applications, network architecture, and secure endpoint access. Progent's recovery experts use state-of-the-art workgroup tools to coordinate the complicated restoration process. Progent appreciates the urgency of working rapidly, tirelessly, and in concert with a client's managers and network support group to prioritize activity and to put critical services back online as quickly as possible.
- Data restoration: The work required to restore files impacted by a ransomware attack depends on the condition of the systems, the number of files that are affected, and what recovery methods are needed. Ransomware assaults can take down pivotal databases which, if not properly closed, may have to be reconstructed from scratch. This can apply to DNS and Active Directory databases. 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 Outlook Email Offline Folder Files may have survived on employees' desktop computers and laptops that were not connected during the attack. Progent's ProSight Data Protection Services utilize Altaro VM Backup tools to protect 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 advanced AV/ransomware protection: Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring uses SentinelOne's machine learning technology to offer small and mid-sized companies the advantages of the identical AV technology implemented by some of the world's biggest corporations such as Walmart, Citi, and NASDAQ. By providing in-line malware filtering, detection, containment, restoration and analysis in a single integrated platform, Progent's ProSight ASM reduces TCO, streamlines administration, and promotes rapid recovery. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection (NGEP) incorporated in Progent's Active Security Monitoring was ranked by Gartner Group as the "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Read 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 settlements with threat actors. This requires working closely with the ransomware victim and the insurance provider, if there is one. Services include establishing the kind of ransomware involved in the attack; identifying and establishing communications the hacker; verifying decryption tool; deciding on a settlement amount with the ransomware victim and the insurance provider; establishing a settlement amount and timeline with the TA; checking compliance with anti-money laundering regulations; carrying out the crypto-currency disbursement to the hacker; receiving, reviewing, and operating the decryption utility; debugging failed files; building a clean environment; mapping and connecting datastores to reflect exactly their pre-encryption state; and recovering machines and software services.
- Forensics: This activity is aimed at uncovering the ransomware assault's progress across the targeted network from beginning to end. This audit trail of how a ransomware assault progressed within the network assists you to assess the damage and highlights gaps in policies or work habits that need to be rectified to avoid later break-ins. Forensics entails the examination of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object, Active Directory, DNS servers, routers, firewalls, schedulers, and core Windows systems to detect anomalies. Forensics is usually given a top priority by the insurance provider. Since forensics can be time consuming, it is critical that other important activities like business resumption are pursued concurrently. Progent has a large team of information technology and security experts with the knowledge and experience needed to perform activities for containment, operational resumption, and data restoration without interfering with forensics.
Progent's Qualifications
Progent has provided remote and on-premises IT services across the United States for over 20 years and has been awarded Microsoft's Gold Partner designation in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity practice areas. Progent's roster of subject matter experts includes professionals who have been awarded advanced certifications in foundation technologies such as Cisco infrastructure, VMware virtualization, and major Linux distros. Progent's cybersecurity experts have earned internationally recognized certifications such as CISA, CISSP, CRISC, and CMMC 2.0. (See Progent's certifications). Progent also offers guidance in financial and Enterprise Resource Planning application software. This broad array of skills allows Progent to salvage and integrate the surviving pieces of your information system after a ransomware assault and reconstruct them rapidly into a viable system. Progent has worked with top insurance providers including Chubb to help businesses recover from ransomware attacks.
Contact Progent for Ransomware Recovery Services in Augusta-Richmond County
For ransomware recovery consulting services in the Augusta-Richmond County metro area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.