Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Online Help from a Top-tier Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware requires time to work its way across a network. Because of this, ransomware assaults are typically unleashed on weekends and at night, when support personnel may take longer to become aware of a break-in and are less able to mount a quick and forceful defense. The more lateral movement ransomware can manage inside a target's network, the more time it will require to restore basic operations and damaged files and the more information can be stolen and posted to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is designed to guide organizations to complete the urgent first phase in mitigating a ransomware assault by containing the malware. Progent's remote ransomware experts can assist businesses in the Birmingham metro area to locate and isolate breached servers and endpoints and protect undamaged resources from being compromised.
If your system has been breached by any strain of ransomware, act fast. Get help quickly by calling Progent's Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.
Progent's Ransomware Recovery Expertise Offered in Birmingham
Current strains of ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, Netwalker, and Nephilim encrypt online data and attack any accessible system restores and backups. Data synchronized to the cloud can also be impacted. For a poorly defended environment, this can make automated recovery almost impossible and basically knocks the datacenter back to square one. So-called Threat Actors (TAs), the hackers behind a ransomware assault, demand a ransom payment in exchange for the decryptors needed to unlock encrypted files. Ransomware attacks also try to steal (or "exfiltrate") files and TAs require an additional ransom for not publishing this information or selling it. Even if you can rollback your network to a tolerable date in time, exfiltration can pose a major problem depending on the sensitivity of the downloaded information.
The restoration work after a ransomware penetration has a number of crucial phases, the majority of which can proceed in parallel if the response workgroup has enough people with the necessary skill sets.
- Containment: This urgent first step requires arresting the sideways spread of the attack within your IT system. The more time a ransomware assault is permitted to go unrestricted, the more complex and more costly the recovery process. Recognizing this, Progent keeps a round-the-clock Ransomware Hotline monitored by seasoned ransomware recovery engineers. Quarantine activities consist of isolating infected endpoints from the rest of network to minimize the contagion, documenting the IT system, and securing entry points.
- System continuity: This involves restoring the IT system to a minimal useful level of functionality with the shortest possible delay. This process is typically the top priority for the targets of the ransomware assault, who often see it as an existential issue for their company. This activity also demands the widest range of technical skills that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual servers, desktops, laptops and mobile phones, databases, office and line-of-business applications, network topology, and secure endpoint access management. Progent's ransomware recovery team uses state-of-the-art collaboration platforms to coordinate the multi-faceted restoration effort. Progent appreciates the urgency of working rapidly, continuously, and in unison with a client's managers and network support group to prioritize activity and to put essential services back online as quickly as feasible.
- Data restoration: The work necessary to restore data impacted by a ransomware assault varies according to the state of the network, the number of files that are encrypted, and what restore methods are required. Ransomware assaults can destroy key databases which, if not gracefully shut down, may need to be rebuilt from scratch. This can include DNS and AD databases. Exchange and SQL Server depend on AD, and many manufacturing and other business-critical platforms are powered by SQL Server. Often some detective work could be needed to find undamaged data. For example, undamaged OST files may exist on staff PCs and notebooks that were not connected during the ransomware assault.
- Setting up advanced AV/ransomware defense: ProSight ASM utilizes SentinelOne's behavioral analysis technology to give small and mid-sized businesses the benefits of the same AV technology implemented by some of the world's largest corporations such as Netflix, Visa, and Salesforce. By providing in-line malware filtering, detection, containment, restoration and forensics in a single integrated platform, Progent's ASM lowers TCO, streamlines management, and expedites operational continuity. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection (NGEP) built into in Progent's Active Security Monitoring was ranked by Gartner Group as the "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner. Read about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) endpoint protection and ransomware defense with SentinelOne technology.
- Negotiating a settlement with the hacker Progent has experience negotiating settlements with threat actors. This calls for working closely with the ransomware victim and the cyber insurance carrier, if any. Services include establishing the kind of ransomware involved in the assault; identifying and making contact with the hacker; testing decryption tool; deciding on a settlement amount with the ransomware victim and the cyber insurance provider; negotiating a settlement and schedule with the hacker; checking compliance with anti-money laundering sanctions; overseeing the crypto-currency payment to the hacker; acquiring, learning, and using the decryptor tool; troubleshooting failed files; creating a clean environment; remapping and reconnecting datastores to reflect exactly their pre-encryption condition; and reprovisioning physical and virtual devices and software services.
- Forensics: This process is aimed at learning the ransomware attack's progress across the network from start to finish. This history of the way a ransomware assault travelled through the network helps you to assess the impact and highlights gaps in policies or work habits that need to be rectified to avoid future break-ins. Forensics involves the review of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object (GPO), AD, DNS, routers, firewalls, schedulers, and basic Windows systems to check for changes. Forensics is commonly given a high priority by the insurance provider. Because forensic analysis can take time, it is essential that other key recovery processes like business resumption are executed concurrently. Progent has a large roster of information technology and data security professionals with the skills required to perform activities for containment, business resumption, and data recovery without interfering with forensics.
Progent's Qualifications
Progent has provided remote and onsite network services across the United States for over 20 years and has earned Microsoft's Gold Partner certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity practice areas. Progent's roster of SMEs includes consultants who have been awarded high-level certifications in core technologies such as Cisco infrastructure, VMware, and major Linux distros. Progent's cybersecurity consultants have earned industry-recognized certifications including CISM, CISSP, and CRISC. (See Progent's certifications). Progent also offers top-tier support in financial and ERP application software. This broad array of skills gives Progent the ability to salvage and integrate the undamaged parts of your IT environment following a ransomware assault and rebuild them quickly into an operational system. Progent has collaborated with leading insurance providers like Chubb to assist organizations clean up after ransomware assaults.
Contact Progent for Ransomware Recovery Consulting Services in Birmingham
For ransomware system restoration consulting in the Birmingham area, phone Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.