Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Remote Access to a Senior Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware requires time to work its way through a target network. For this reason, ransomware attacks are commonly launched 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 rapid and forceful defense. The more lateral progress ransomware is able to achieve within a target's system, the longer it will require to recover core IT services and damaged files and the more information can be stolen and posted to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is intended to guide organizations to carry out the urgent first phase in responding to a ransomware attack by containing the malware. Progent's online ransomware experts can help organizations in the Charlotte area to identify and isolate infected servers and endpoints and guard clean resources from being penetrated.
If your network has been breached by any version of ransomware, act fast. Get help quickly by calling Progent's Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.
Progent's Ransomware Response Services Offered in Charlotte
Current variants of ransomware such as Ryuk, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, and Egregor encrypt online files and infiltrate any available system restores and backups. Files synchronized to the cloud can also be impacted. For a poorly defended environment, this can make automated restoration almost impossible and effectively sets the datacenter back to square one. Threat Actors, the cybercriminals behind a ransomware attack, insist on a settlement payment for the decryption tools required to unlock scrambled files. Ransomware attacks also attempt to exfiltrate information and hackers demand an extra ransom for not publishing this information on the dark web. Even if you are able to restore your network to a tolerable date in time, exfiltration can pose a major problem according to the nature of the stolen data.
The recovery process after a ransomware attack involves several distinct stages, the majority of which can proceed concurrently if the response team has enough members with the required experience.
- Quarantine: This urgent initial step requires arresting the lateral progress of ransomware across your network. The longer a ransomware assault is permitted to go unchecked, the more complex and more costly the recovery effort. Because of this, Progent maintains a 24x7 Ransomware Hotline staffed by veteran ransomware recovery experts. Containment processes include isolating infected endpoints from the network to block the spread, documenting the IT system, and protecting entry points.
- Operational continuity: This involves restoring the IT system to a basic acceptable degree of functionality with the least downtime. This process is usually at the highest level of urgency for the targets of the ransomware attack, who often see it as an existential issue for their business. This project also demands the widest array of IT abilities that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual machines, PCs, notebooks and mobile phones, databases, office and mission-critical applications, network topology, and safe endpoint access. Progent's recovery experts use state-of-the-art workgroup platforms to coordinate the complex recovery process. Progent appreciates the importance of working quickly, continuously, and in unison with a customer's management and network support staff to prioritize activity and to get essential resources back online as fast as feasible.
- Data recovery: The work required to recover files impacted by a ransomware attack varies according to the condition of the network, the number of files that are affected, and what restore methods are needed. Ransomware attacks can destroy critical databases which, if not properly shut down, might have to be reconstructed from the beginning. This can include DNS and Active Directory databases. Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server depend on AD, and many financial and other mission-critical applications depend on SQL Server. Some detective work may be required to find clean data. For instance, non-encrypted Outlook Email Offline Folder Files may exist on staff desktop computers and notebooks that were off line during the attack.
- Deploying modern AV/ransomware defense: Progent's ProSight ASM utilizes SentinelOne's machine learning technology to offer small and mid-sized businesses the benefits of the same anti-virus technology deployed by many of the world's biggest corporations including Netflix, Visa, and Salesforce. By providing in-line malware filtering, identification, mitigation, recovery and forensics in a single integrated platform, ProSight ASM lowers TCO, simplifies administration, and expedites operational continuity. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection (NGEP) incorporated in ProSight ASM was listed by Gartner Group as the "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)." Progent is a certified SentinelOne Partner. Read about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring endpoint protection and ransomware defense with SentinelOne technology.
- Negotiating a settlement with the threat actor (TA): Progent is experienced in negotiating settlements with hackers. This requires close co-operation with the victim and the insurance carrier, if there is one. Services consist of determining the kind of ransomware involved in the attack; identifying and establishing communications the hacker; verifying decryption capabilities; budgeting a settlement with the victim and the insurance provider; negotiating a settlement and schedule with the TA; confirming adherence to anti-money laundering (AML) sanctions; carrying out the crypto-currency disbursement to the TA; acquiring, learning, and using the decryption tool; troubleshooting decryption problems; creating a clean environment; remapping and reconnecting drives to reflect exactly their pre-attack state; and restoring computers and software services.
- Forensic analysis: This activity involves uncovering the ransomware attack's storyline throughout the network from start to finish. This history of the way a ransomware attack progressed within the network assists your IT staff to evaluate the impact and uncovers shortcomings in policies or work habits that should be rectified to prevent later break-ins. Forensics entails the examination of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object (GPO), Active Directory (AD), DNS, routers, firewalls, schedulers, and basic Windows systems to check for anomalies. Forensics is usually given a top priority by the cyber insurance provider. Because forensics can take time, it is critical that other key activities such as operational continuity are pursued concurrently. Progent maintains a large team of information technology and data security professionals with the knowledge and experience needed to carry out the work of containment, operational continuity, and data restoration without disrupting forensics.
Progent's Qualifications
Progent has delivered remote and on-premises IT services across the U.S. for over two decades and has been awarded Microsoft's Gold Partner designation in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's roster of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes consultants who have earned advanced certifications in core technology platforms including Cisco networking, VMware virtualization, and popular Linux distros. Progent's data security experts have earned prestigious certifications including CISM, CISSP, and CRISC. (See certifications earned by Progent consultants). Progent also has guidance in financial and ERP software. This breadth of skills gives Progent the ability to identify and consolidate the surviving pieces of your information system after a ransomware intrusion and rebuild them quickly into an operational network. Progent has worked with leading cyber insurance carriers like Chubb to help businesses recover from ransomware attacks.
Contact Progent for Ransomware System Recovery Consulting Services in Charlotte
For ransomware recovery expertise in the Charlotte metro area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.