Buffalo Ransomware Filtering and Removal Services

Ransomware has been weaponized by cyber extortionists and malicious states, representing a potentially existential risk to businesses that are breached. The latest versions of ransomware target everything, including online backup, making even partial restoration a complex and expensive exercise. Novel versions of crypto-ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, DopplePaymer, Conti and Nephilim have emerged, replacing Locky, Cerber, and CryptoWall in notoriety, elaborateness, and destructive impact.

90% of crypto-ransomware infections are the result of innocent-looking emails that include malicious links or attachments, and many are so-called "zero-day" strains that can escape detection by legacy signature-matching antivirus tools. Although user education and up-front identification are critical to defend against ransomware attacks, leading practices dictate that you assume some attacks will eventually succeed and that you prepare a strong backup mechanism that permits you to restore files and services rapidly with little if any losses.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Preparedness Report is a low-cost service built around a remote interview with a Progent cybersecurity consultant experienced in ransomware defense and repair. During this assessment Progent will work with your Buffalo IT managers to collect pertinent information about your cybersecurity profile and backup environment. Progent will use this information to generate a Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment detailing how to adhere to best practices for implementing and administering your security and backup systems to block or clean up after a crypto-ransomware assault.

Progent's Basic Security and Best Practices Report focuses on key areas associated with crypto-ransomware defense and restoration recovery. The report addresses:

Security

• Proper allocation and use of administration accounts
• Assigning NTFS (New Technology File System) and SMB permissions
• Optimal firewall configuration
• Safe Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) configuration
• Guidance for AntiVirus (AV) tools identification and configuration

• Split permission architecture for backup protection
• Backing up critical servers including AD
• Geographically dispersed backups including cloud backup to Microsoft Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts or deletes files so they are unusable or are made publicly available. Ransomware sometimes locks the target's computer. To prevent the carnage, the victim is required to pay a specified amount of money (the ransom), typically in the form of a crypto currency such as Bitcoin, within a short period of time. It is never certain that paying the ransom will recover the damaged files or prevent its exposure to the public. Files can be altered or erased across a network based on the target's write permissions, and you cannot reverse engineer the military-grade encryption technologies used on the compromised files. A common ransomware delivery package is tainted email, whereby the target is lured into interacting with by a social engineering technique known as spear phishing. This makes the email to look as though it came from a trusted source. Another common attack vector is a poorly secured Remote Desktop Protocol port.

CryptoLocker ushered in the modern era of crypto-ransomware in 2013, and the monetary losses attributed to by the many strains of ransomware is said to be 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 elaborate and have wreaked more damage than older versions. Even if your backup/recovery processes allow you to restore your encrypted data, you can still be hurt by so-called exfiltration, where stolen data are made public (known as "doxxing"). Because additional variants of ransomware crop up daily, there is no guarantee that conventional signature-based anti-virus tools will block a new malware. If an attack does show up in an email, it is critical that your end users have learned to be aware of social engineering techniques. Your ultimate protection is a sound process for performing and retaining remote backups and the use of dependable recovery platforms.

Ask Progent About the ProSight Crypto-Ransomware Preparedness Testing in Buffalo
For pricing information and to find out more about how Progent's ProSight Ransomware Vulnerability Review can bolster your protection against crypto-ransomware in Buffalo, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.