Augusta-Richmond County Ransomware Defense and Remediation Consulting

Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800

24x7 Remote Access to a Top-tier Ransomware Engineer
Ransomware requires time to work its way across a network. Because of this, ransomware assaults are commonly launched on weekends and late at night, when IT personnel are likely to be slower to recognize a breach and are less able to organize a rapid and coordinated defense. The more lateral progress ransomware is able to manage within a victim's system, the longer it will require to recover basic IT services and scrambled files and the more information can be stolen and posted to the dark web.

Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is intended to help organizations to complete the time-critical first step in responding to a ransomware attack by putting out the fire. Progent's remote ransomware experts can assist organizations in the Augusta-Richmond County area to locate and isolate breached servers and endpoints and guard clean assets from being penetrated.

If your network has been breached by any strain of ransomware, act fast. Get immediate help by calling Progent's Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.

Progent's Ransomware Recovery Services Available in Augusta-Richmond County
Current variants of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, DopplePaymer, and Egregor encrypt online files and infiltrate any available system restores and backups. Files synched to the cloud can also be impacted. For a poorly defended environment, this can make automated recovery almost impossible and effectively knocks the datacenter back to square one. So-called Threat Actors (TAs), the cybercriminals behind a ransomware attack, insist on a ransom fee in exchange for the decryptors needed to unlock encrypted data. Ransomware assaults also attempt to exfiltrate files and TAs demand an additional payment for not posting this data or selling it. Even if you can restore your network to a tolerable point in time, exfiltration can pose a big problem according to the nature of the downloaded data.

The restoration work subsequent to ransomware incursion has several crucial stages, the majority of which can be performed in parallel if the response workgroup has enough people with the required skill sets.

• Containment: This time-critical first response involves blocking the lateral spread of ransomware within your IT system. The more time a ransomware attack is permitted to run unrestricted, the more complex and more expensive the restoration effort. Recognizing this, Progent keeps a 24x7 Ransomware Hotline staffed by seasoned ransomware response engineers. Quarantine activities consist of cutting off infected endpoints from the rest of network to restrict the contagion, documenting the environment, and protecting entry points.
• System continuity: This covers bringing back the network to a minimal acceptable level of functionality with the shortest possible downtime. This effort is usually the highest priority for the targets of the ransomware assault, who often perceive it to be an existential issue for their company. This activity also demands the broadest array of technical skills that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual machines, desktops, notebooks and smart phones, databases, office and mission-critical applications, network topology, and secure endpoint access management. Progent's recovery experts use state-of-the-art workgroup tools to coordinate the complex recovery effort. Progent appreciates the urgency of working rapidly, tirelessly, and in concert with a client's managers and network support staff to prioritize tasks and to put vital resources back online as fast as possible.
• Data recovery: The work required to recover files damaged by a ransomware attack varies according to the condition of the systems, the number of files that are encrypted, and what restore techniques are needed. Ransomware attacks can destroy critical databases which, if not carefully closed, may need to be reconstructed from the beginning. This can include DNS and AD databases. Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server depend on AD, and many ERP and other mission-critical applications are powered by SQL Server. Often some detective work could be required to find undamaged data. For example, non-encrypted Outlook Email Offline Folder Files may have survived on staff desktop computers and laptops that were not connected at the time of the assault. Progent's ProSight Data Protection Services offer Altaro VM Backup tools to defend against ransomware by leveraging Immutable Cloud Storage. This creates tamper-proof backup data that cannot be erased or modified by anyone including root users.
• Implementing advanced antivirus/ransomware protection: Progent's Active Security Monitoring uses SentinelOne's machine learning technology to offer small and medium-sized companies the advantages of the same anti-virus technology implemented by some of the world's largest corporations including Walmart, Citi, and NASDAQ. By providing real-time malware filtering, classification, containment, restoration and forensics in a single integrated platform, ProSight Active Security Monitoring lowers total cost of ownership, simplifies administration, and expedites recovery. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection engine built into in Progent's Active Security Monitoring was ranked by Gartner Group as the industry's "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Read about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) next-generation endpoint protection and ransomware recovery with SentinelOne technology.
• Negotiation with the hacker Progent is experienced in negotiating ransom settlements with threat actors. This requires working closely with the ransomware victim and the cyber insurance provider, if any. Activities include establishing the type of ransomware involved in the assault; identifying and establishing communications the hacker; testing decryption tool; budgeting a settlement amount with the victim and the cyber insurance provider; establishing a settlement amount and timeline with the TA; confirming compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) regulations; overseeing the crypto-currency payment to the hacker; acquiring, learning, and using the decryption utility; troubleshooting decryption problems; creating a clean environment; mapping and connecting datastores to reflect exactly their pre-encryption state; and recovering physical and virtual devices and services.
• Forensic analysis: This activity is aimed at uncovering the ransomware attack's storyline across the network from beginning to end. This history of how a ransomware assault progressed through the network helps you to assess the damage and brings to light weaknesses in policies or processes that need to be rectified to prevent future breaches. Forensics involves the examination of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object, Active Directory, DNS servers, routers, firewalls, scheduled tasks, and basic Windows systems to check for changes. Forensics is usually assigned a high priority by the cyber insurance provider. Since forensics can take time, it is critical that other important activities such as business resumption are executed concurrently. Progent has an extensive team of information technology and cybersecurity professionals with the knowledge and experience required to perform activities for containment, operational resumption, and data restoration without interfering with forensic analysis.

Contact Progent for Ransomware Recovery Consulting Services in Augusta-Richmond County
For ransomware system restoration consulting in the Augusta-Richmond County area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or go to Contact Progent.