Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Remote Access to a Senior Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware requires time to steal its way across a target network. For this reason, ransomware attacks are commonly unleashed on weekends and late at night, when IT staff are likely to be slower to become aware of a penetration and are less able to mount a quick and forceful defense. The more lateral progress ransomware can make within a victim's network, the more time it will require to restore basic IT services 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 you to complete the time-critical first step in mitigating a ransomware attack by putting out the fire. Progent's remote ransomware experts can help organizations in the Sherman Oaks metro area to locate and quarantine breached servers and endpoints and guard clean resources from being compromised.
If your system has been penetrated by any version of ransomware, act fast. Get immediate help by calling Progent's Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.
Progent's Ransomware Recovery Expertise Available in Sherman Oaks
Modern variants of ransomware like Ryuk, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, and Nephilim encrypt online files and infiltrate any available backups. Files synchronized to the cloud can also be impacted. For a vulnerable network, this can make system recovery almost impossible and effectively knocks the IT system back to the beginning. Threat Actors, the cybercriminals behind a ransomware attack, demand a settlement payment in exchange for the decryptors needed to recover encrypted files. Ransomware attacks also attempt to steal (or "exfiltrate") files and hackers demand an additional ransom in exchange for not posting this data on the dark web. Even if you can rollback your system to a tolerable point in time, exfiltration can pose a big issue depending on the sensitivity of the downloaded data.
The recovery process subsequent to ransomware penetration has a number of crucial phases, the majority of which can proceed in parallel if the response workgroup has a sufficient number of people with the necessary skill sets.
- Containment: This time-critical initial response requires arresting the sideways spread of the attack across your network. The longer a ransomware assault is allowed to run unchecked, the longer and more costly the restoration effort. Because of this, Progent maintains a 24x7 Ransomware Hotline staffed by veteran ransomware response experts. Containment activities consist of isolating affected endpoints from the rest of network to block the contagion, documenting the environment, and protecting entry points.
- Operational continuity: This involves bringing back the IT system to a basic acceptable level of capability with the shortest possible downtime. This process is typically the top priority for the victims of the ransomware assault, who often perceive it to be an existential issue for their business. This activity also demands the widest array of technical abilities that span domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual machines, desktops, laptops and smart phones, databases, office and line-of-business applications, network topology, and secure endpoint access management. Progent's recovery experts use state-of-the-art workgroup tools to coordinate the complex restoration effort. Progent appreciates the importance of working quickly, continuously, and in unison with a client's management and IT staff to prioritize tasks and to get vital services on line again as fast as feasible.
- Data recovery: The work required to restore files damaged by a ransomware assault depends on the condition of the network, the number of files that are encrypted, and which restore techniques are needed. Ransomware attacks can destroy pivotal databases which, if not gracefully shut down, might need to be rebuilt from scratch. This can apply to DNS and Active Directory (AD) databases. Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server depend on AD, and many financial and other mission-critical applications are powered by SQL Server. Often some detective work may be needed to find clean data. For instance, non-encrypted OST files may exist on staff PCs and laptops that were off line at the time of the attack.
- Setting up advanced antivirus/ransomware defense: ProSight ASM incorporates SentinelOne's behavioral analysis technology to offer small and medium-sized companies the advantages of the identical anti-virus tools implemented by many of the world's largest enterprises such as Walmart, Citi, and Salesforce. By delivering in-line malware blocking, classification, mitigation, recovery and analysis in one integrated platform, ProSight Active Security Monitoring lowers TCO, simplifies management, and expedites operational continuity. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection (NGEP) built into in Progent's ProSight ASM was ranked by Gartner Group as the industry's "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Learn about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) endpoint protection and ransomware defense with SentinelOne technology.
- Negotiation with the threat actor (TA): Progent is experienced in negotiating settlements with hackers. This calls for close co-operation with the victim and the insurance provider, if there is one. Activities include establishing the kind of ransomware involved in the attack; identifying and establishing communications the hacker persona; testing decryption capabilities; deciding on a settlement with the ransomware victim and the insurance carrier; establishing a settlement amount and timeline with the TA; checking adherence to anti-money laundering (AML) sanctions; overseeing the crypto-currency disbursement to the TA; acquiring, learning, and using the decryption utility; troubleshooting failed files; creating a clean environment; remapping and reconnecting datastores to match exactly their pre-attack condition; and recovering machines and services.
- Forensics: This process is aimed at uncovering the ransomware assault's progress throughout the targeted network from start to finish. This audit trail of how a ransomware assault progressed within the network helps your IT staff to evaluate the impact and highlights weaknesses in security policies or processes that need to be rectified to avoid later breaches. Forensics involves the review of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object, Active Directory (AD), DNS, routers, firewalls, schedulers, and basic Windows systems to look for changes. Forensic analysis is typically given a top priority by the cyber insurance carrier. Because forensic analysis can take time, it is critical that other key recovery processes like business continuity are executed concurrently. Progent has a large roster of information technology and cybersecurity experts with the knowledge and experience required to perform the work of containment, business resumption, and data recovery without interfering with forensics.
Progent's Background
Progent has provided online and on-premises IT services across the United States for over 20 years and has earned Microsoft's Gold Partner designation in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's roster of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes professionals who have earned advanced certifications in foundation technologies including Cisco infrastructure, VMware virtualization, and major Linux distros. Progent's data security consultants have earned prestigious certifications such as CISM, CISSP-ISSAP, and GIAC. (See certifications earned by Progent consultants). Progent also offers top-tier support in financial management and Enterprise Resource Planning software. This broad array of expertise allows Progent to salvage and consolidate the surviving pieces of your network after a ransomware attack and rebuild them quickly into a functioning network. Progent has collaborated with top insurance carriers including Chubb to help businesses recover from ransomware attacks.
Contact Progent for Ransomware Recovery Expertise in Sherman Oaks
For ransomware recovery consulting in the Sherman Oaks metro area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.