Baltimore Ransomware Prevention and Recovery Services

Ransomware has become the weapon of choice for cybercriminals and rogue states, posing a possibly lethal risk to companies that fall victim. Modern versions of crypto-ransomware go after all vulnerable resources, including backup, making even partial restoration a challenging and costly exercise. New strains of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Mailto (aka Netwalker), Phobos, Conti and Nephilim have emerged, displacing WannaCry, Spora, and Petya in prominence, elaborateness, and destructive impact.

Most crypto-ransomware breaches are caused by innocent-seeming emails that include dangerous links or attachments, and a high percentage are "zero-day" strains that elude the defenses of legacy signature-based antivirus tools. While user education and up-front identification are important to defend against ransomware attacks, best practices demand that you expect that some malware will eventually get through and that you put in place a strong backup mechanism that allows you to repair the damage quickly with little if any damage.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Preparedness Checkup is a low-cost service centered around an online discussion with a Progent cybersecurity consultant experienced in ransomware protection and repair. During this interview Progent will collaborate with your Baltimore network managers to collect pertinent data concerning your cybersecurity configuration and backup environment. Progent will utilize this data to produce a Basic Security and Best Practices Report documenting how to follow best practices for configuring 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 related to crypto-ransomware prevention and restoration recovery. The report addresses:

Cybersecurity

• Proper use of admin accounts
• Correct NTFS and SMB authorizations
• Optimal firewall settings
• Safe Remote Desktop Protocol configuration
• Recommend AntiVirus tools identification and configuration

• Split permission model for backup protection
• Backing up key servers including AD
• Geographically dispersed backups including cloud backup to Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts or steals files so they are unusable or are made publicly available. Ransomware sometimes locks the target's computer. To avoid the carnage, the victim is asked to pay a specified amount of money, usually via a crypto currency such as Bitcoin, within a short period of time. It is never certain that delivering the extortion price will recover the damaged data or avoid its exposure to the public. Files can be encrypted or erased throughout a network depending on the target's write permissions, and you cannot solve the strong encryption algorithms used on the hostage files. A typical ransomware attack vector is spoofed email, in which the user is lured into interacting with by a social engineering technique called spear phishing. This makes the email message to look as though it came from a familiar sender. Another popular vulnerability is a poorly secured Remote Desktop Protocol port.

CryptoLocker opened the new age of crypto-ransomware in 2013, and the monetary losses caused by different versions of ransomware is estimated at billions of dollars per year, roughly doubling every other year. Notorious examples include Locky, and Petya. Recent headline variants like Ryuk, DoppelPaymer and Cerber are more complex and have caused more havoc than earlier strains. Even if your backup procedures permit your business to restore your ransomed files, you can still be hurt by exfiltration, where stolen documents are made public (known as "doxxing"). Because additional versions of ransomware are launched every day, there is no guarantee that conventional signature-matching anti-virus filters will detect a new malware. If an attack does show up in an email, it is critical that your end users have been taught to be aware of social engineering techniques. Your last line of protection is a sound scheme for scheduling and keeping remote backups plus the deployment of reliable recovery platforms.

Ask Progent About the ProSight Ransomware Vulnerability Assessment in Baltimore
For pricing details and to learn more about how Progent's ProSight Crypto-Ransomware Susceptibility Assessment can bolster your defense against ransomware in Baltimore, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.