Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Online Help from a Top-tier Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware requires time to steal its way through a target network. For this reason, ransomware assaults are typically launched on weekends and late at night, when IT personnel are likely to be slower to recognize a break-in and are less able to organize a rapid and coordinated defense. The more lateral movement ransomware can manage within a target's system, the longer it will require to restore core operations and damaged files and the more data can be exfiltrated to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is intended to assist organizations to take the time-critical first step in responding to a ransomware attack by stopping the bleeding. Progent's online ransomware experts can assist businesses in the Southlake area to identify and quarantine infected servers and endpoints and protect undamaged assets from being compromised.
If your network has been penetrated by any strain of ransomware, don't panic. Get help quickly by calling Progent's Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.
Progent's Ransomware Response Services Offered in Southlake
Modern strains of crypto-ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, Netwalker, and Egregor encrypt online files and invade any available system restores and backups. Data synched to the cloud can also be corrupted. For a poorly defended network, this can make system restoration almost impossible and basically throws the IT system back to square one. So-called Threat Actors (TAs), the hackers behind a ransomware attack, demand a settlement payment for the decryptors needed to recover scrambled data. Ransomware attacks also attempt to steal (or "exfiltrate") files and TAs require an additional settlement for not posting this data on the dark web. Even if you can restore your network to an acceptable point in time, exfiltration can pose a big problem depending on the sensitivity of the stolen information.
The recovery process subsequent to ransomware attack involves a number of crucial stages, the majority of which can be performed concurrently if the response team has a sufficient number of people with the necessary experience.
- Quarantine: This time-critical initial step requires blocking the sideways spread of the attack within your network. The longer a ransomware attack is allowed to go unrestricted, the longer and more expensive the restoration process. Recognizing this, Progent maintains a round-the-clock Ransomware Hotline staffed by seasoned ransomware response experts. Containment processes include cutting off affected endpoints from the network to minimize the contagion, documenting the IT system, and securing entry points.
- System continuity: This involves restoring the IT system to a basic useful level of functionality with the least delay. This process is typically the top priority for the victims of the ransomware assault, who often perceive it to be a life-or-death issue for their business. This project also demands the widest range of technical skills that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual machines, PCs, laptops and smart phones, databases, productivity and mission-critical applications, network architecture, and safe endpoint access management. Progent's recovery experts use state-of-the-art collaboration platforms to coordinate the complicated restoration effort. Progent appreciates the urgency of working quickly, continuously, and in unison with a client's managers and IT group to prioritize tasks and to put essential services back online as quickly as feasible.
- Data restoration: The work necessary to recover files impacted by a ransomware assault depends on the state of the systems, the number of files that are affected, and which recovery techniques are required. Ransomware attacks can destroy key databases which, if not properly closed, may need to be rebuilt from scratch. This can apply to DNS and Active Directory databases. Exchange and SQL Server depend on Active Directory, and many financial and other business-critical applications are powered by Microsoft SQL Server. Often some detective work may be required to locate undamaged data. For example, undamaged OST files may exist on employees' PCs and notebooks that were off line at the time of the assault. Progent's Altaro VM Backup experts can help you to deploy immutability for cloud storage, enabling tamper-proof data while under the defined policy so that backup data cannot be erased or modified by anyone including administrators or root users. This adds another level of security and restoration ability in the event of a ransomware breach.
- Implementing modern AV/ransomware protection: Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring incorporates SentinelOne's behavioral analysis technology to give small and medium-sized companies the advantages of the same anti-virus tools implemented by some of the world's largest corporations including Netflix, Citi, and Salesforce. By delivering real-time malware blocking, detection, mitigation, repair and analysis in one integrated platform, ProSight ASM lowers total cost of ownership, simplifies administration, and promotes rapid operational continuity. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection (NGEP) built into in Progent's ProSight ASM was listed by Gartner Group as the industry's "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. Find out about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring next-generation endpoint protection and ransomware recovery with SentinelOne technology.
- Negotiating a settlement with the threat actor (TA): Progent has experience negotiating ransom settlements with threat actors. This calls for working closely with the ransomware victim and the cyber insurance provider, if there is one. Activities consist of determining the kind of ransomware involved in the assault; identifying and making contact with the hacker persona; verifying decryption tool; deciding on a settlement amount with the victim and the insurance carrier; establishing a settlement and schedule with the hacker; checking adherence to anti-money laundering sanctions; carrying out the crypto-currency payment to the TA; acquiring, reviewing, and using the decryptor tool; troubleshooting failed files; building a clean environment; mapping and connecting drives to reflect precisely their pre-attack state; and restoring machines and services.
- Forensics: This process is aimed at uncovering the ransomware assault's storyline across the network from beginning to end. This history of how a ransomware assault travelled within the network helps you to evaluate the impact and uncovers vulnerabilities in policies or processes that should be corrected to prevent later break-ins. Forensics involves the examination of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object, Active Directory (AD), DNS, routers, firewalls, scheduled tasks, and core Windows systems to detect variations. Forensic analysis is commonly assigned a high priority by the insurance provider. Since forensics can take time, it is vital that other important activities such as business continuity are executed in parallel. Progent maintains a large team of IT and data security experts with the knowledge and experience needed to carry out the work of containment, business resumption, and data recovery without disrupting forensics.
Progent's Qualifications
Progent has delivered remote and on-premises IT services throughout the U.S. for more than 20 years and has been awarded Microsoft's Gold Partner certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's roster of subject matter experts includes professionals who have been awarded advanced certifications in foundation technologies such as Cisco networking, VMware, and popular Linux distros. Progent's data security experts have earned industry-recognized certifications including CISA, CISSP, and CRISC. (See Progent's certifications). Progent also offers guidance in financial management and ERP applications. This breadth of expertise gives Progent the ability to identify and integrate the surviving pieces of your network after a ransomware intrusion and reconstruct them quickly into a functioning network. Progent has worked with leading cyber insurance providers like Chubb to help businesses clean up after ransomware assaults.
Contact Progent for Ransomware System Recovery Consulting in Southlake
For ransomware system recovery expertise in the Southlake area, phone Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.