Augusta-Richmond County Ransomware Defense and Remediation Services

Ransomware has been widely adopted by the major cyber-crime organizations and bad-actor states, posing a possibly existential threat to companies that are breached. Current strains of crypto-ransomware go after all vulnerable resources, including online backup, making even partial restoration a long and expensive exercise. Novel versions of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, Phobos, Conti and Nephilim have made the headlines, displacing Locky, Spora, and Petya in prominence, sophistication, and destructive impact.

90% of ransomware breaches are caused by innocuous-looking emails that have malicious hyperlinks or attachments, and a high percentage are so-called "zero-day" variants that can escape the defenses of traditional signature-matching antivirus (AV) filters. Although user education and frontline identification are important to defend against ransomware attacks, best practices demand that you assume some attacks will eventually get through and that you prepare a solid backup solution that permits you to restore files and services quickly with little if any damage.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Vulnerability Checkup is a low-cost service centered around an online interview with a Progent cybersecurity expert experienced in ransomware defense and repair. During this assessment Progent will collaborate directly with your Augusta-Richmond County IT managers to collect pertinent information concerning your cybersecurity posture and backup processes. Progent will use this data to generate a Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment documenting how to apply leading practices for implementing and managing your cybersecurity and backup solution to prevent or clean up after a crypto-ransomware attack.

Progent's Basic Security and Best Practices Report highlights vital issues associated with crypto-ransomware defense and restoration recovery. The report addresses:

Security

• Correct use of admin accounts
• Appropriate NTFS (New Technology File System) and SMB (Server Message Block) authorizations
• Optimal firewall configuration
• Secure Remote Desktop Protocol connections
• Recommend AntiVirus tools identification and deployment

• Split permission model for backup protection
• Protecting required servers including Active Directory
• Geographically dispersed backups including cloud backup to Microsoft Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts or steals files so they cannot be used or are made publicly available. Crypto-ransomware sometimes locks the target's computer. To avoid the damage, the victim is required to pay a certain ransom, usually in the form of a crypto currency like Bitcoin, within a short time window. It is not guaranteed that paying the extortion price will recover the lost data or prevent its exposure to the public. Files can be encrypted or deleted throughout a network based on the victim's write permissions, and you cannot reverse engineer the military-grade encryption technologies used on the hostage files. A common ransomware attack vector is booby-trapped email, whereby the target is tricked into interacting with by means of a social engineering exploit called spear phishing. This causes the email to appear to come from a trusted source. Another common vulnerability is a poorly protected Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) port.

The ransomware variant CryptoLocker ushered in the new age of crypto-ransomware in 2013, and the monetary losses attributed to by the many versions of ransomware is estimated at billions of dollars annually, roughly doubling every other year. Famous examples are Locky, and NotPetya. Recent headline threats like Ryuk, DoppelPaymer and CryptoWall are more elaborate and have wreaked more havoc than earlier versions. Even if your backup/recovery processes permit your business to recover your ransomed data, you can still be threatened by exfiltration, where ransomed documents are made public (known as "doxxing"). Because new variants of ransomware crop up every day, there is no guarantee that conventional signature-matching anti-virus filters will detect the latest malware. If an attack does show up in an email, it is important that your users have learned to be aware of social engineering techniques. Your last line of protection is a solid scheme for scheduling and keeping remote backups plus the deployment of reliable recovery tools.

Ask Progent About the ProSight Ransomware Susceptibility Evaluation in Augusta-Richmond County
For pricing information and to find out more about how Progent's ProSight Ransomware Preparedness Checkup can enhance your protection against ransomware in Augusta-Richmond County, phone Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.