Ransomware has been weaponized by the major cyber-crime organizations and rogue governments, representing a possibly existential threat to companies that are victimized. Modern strains of crypto-ransomware go after all vulnerable resources, including online backup, making even partial restoration a challenging and expensive exercise. Novel versions of ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, Phobos, Conti and Nephilim have emerged, displacing WannaCry, TeslaCrypt, and NotPetya in prominence, sophistication, and destructive impact.
Most ransomware infections are the result of innocent-seeming emails that have dangerous links or file attachments, and many are "zero-day" attacks that can escape the defenses of legacy signature-matching antivirus (AV) tools. While user training and up-front detection are important to protect against ransomware, leading practices dictate that you expect that some malware will eventually succeed and that you deploy a strong backup solution that permits you to repair the damage rapidly with little if any damage.
Progent's ProSight Ransomware Vulnerability Checkup is a low-cost service centered around a remote interview with a Progent security expert experienced in ransomware defense and recovery. During this assessment Progent will work directly with your Chatsworth IT management staff to gather pertinent data about your security configuration and backup environment. Progent will utilize this data to generate a Basic Security and Best Practices Report documenting how to apply best practices for implementing and managing your cybersecurity and backup solution to prevent or recover from a crypto-ransomware assault.
Progent's Basic Security and Best Practices Report focuses on vital areas associated with crypto-ransomware defense and restoration recovery. The review addresses:
Security
About Ransomware
Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts or steals files so they are unusable or are publicized. Ransomware sometimes locks the victim's computer. To avoid the damage, the victim is required to send a certain ransom, typically via a crypto currency like Bitcoin, within a brief time window. There is no guarantee that paying the extortion price will restore the damaged files or prevent its publication. Files can be altered or erased throughout a network depending on the victim's write permissions, and you cannot reverse engineer the military-grade encryption algorithms used on the hostage files. A common ransomware attack vector is booby-trapped email, whereby the target is tricked into responding to by a social engineering technique called spear phishing. This makes the email to look as though it came from a familiar sender. Another popular vulnerability is an improperly protected Remote Desktop Protocol port.
The ransomware variant CryptoLocker opened the modern era of crypto-ransomware in 2013, and the damage caused by different strains of ransomware is said to be billions of dollars per year, more than doubling every two years. Notorious examples include Locky, and NotPetya. Current high-profile threats like Ryuk, Maze and Spora are more sophisticated and have caused more damage than older versions. Even if your backup/recovery procedures permit you to restore your encrypted data, you can still be hurt by exfiltration, where ransomed data are made public. Because new variants of ransomware are launched every day, there is no certainty that conventional signature-matching anti-virus tools will detect the latest malware. If an attack does show up in an email, it is critical that your end users have learned to be aware of phishing tricks. Your ultimate defense is a sound process for performing and retaining remote backups plus the use of dependable recovery tools.
Contact Progent About the ProSight Crypto-Ransomware Readiness Assessment in Chatsworth
For pricing information and to learn more about how Progent's ProSight Ransomware Readiness Assessment can enhance your defense against crypto-ransomware in Chatsworth, phone Progent at