Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Online Help from a Top-tier Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware requires time to work its way through a network. For this reason, ransomware assaults are typically launched on weekends and late at night, when IT staff may take longer to become aware of a breach and are less able to organize a quick and coordinated response. The more lateral movement ransomware is able to achieve within a target's network, the longer it will require to restore core operations and damaged files and the more information can be stolen and posted to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is designed to assist organizations to take the time-critical first step in responding to a ransomware attack by containing the malware. Progent's online ransomware engineers can help businesses in the Stockton metro area to identify and quarantine breached servers and endpoints and protect undamaged resources from being penetrated.
If your system has been penetrated by any strain of ransomware, don't panic. Get immediate help by calling Progent's Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.
Progent's Ransomware Response Services Offered in Stockton
Modern strains of ransomware like Ryuk, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, and Nephilim encrypt online files and attack any available system restores and backups. Data synchronized to the cloud can also be impacted. For a poorly defended network, this can make automated recovery nearly impossible and effectively throws the datacenter back to square one. So-called Threat Actors (TAs), the cybercriminals behind a ransomware attack, demand a settlement fee for the decryption tools required to unlock encrypted data. Ransomware attacks also try to steal (or "exfiltrate") information and TAs require an extra ransom in exchange for not publishing this information on the dark web. Even if you can rollback your system to an acceptable point in time, exfiltration can pose a big issue depending on the sensitivity of the stolen information.
The recovery process subsequent to ransomware penetration has a number of distinct phases, most of which can be performed in parallel if the response team has a sufficient number of members with the required experience.
- Quarantine: This time-critical first step requires blocking the sideways progress of the attack across your IT system. The more time a ransomware attack is permitted to go unchecked, the longer and more expensive the restoration effort. Recognizing this, Progent maintains a 24x7 Ransomware Hotline staffed by veteran ransomware recovery engineers. Quarantine processes consist of isolating affected endpoints from the rest of network to restrict the spread, documenting the environment, and securing entry points.
- Operational continuity: This covers bringing back the network to a basic acceptable level of capability with the shortest possible delay. This process is typically the highest priority for the targets of the ransomware attack, who often perceive it to be an existential issue for their company. This activity also requires the broadest range of technical skills that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual machines, desktops, notebooks and mobile phones, databases, office and mission-critical applications, network topology, and safe endpoint access. Progent's recovery team uses state-of-the-art workgroup tools to coordinate the complicated restoration effort. Progent appreciates the importance of working rapidly, continuously, and in concert with a customer's management and network support group to prioritize tasks and to put essential resources back online as fast as feasible.
- Data recovery: The effort necessary to recover data damaged by a ransomware attack depends on the state of the network, how many files are affected, and what recovery methods are needed. Ransomware assaults can destroy key databases which, if not gracefully shut down, may need to be reconstructed from scratch. This can apply to DNS and Active Directory (AD) databases. Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server rely on Active Directory, and many financial and other mission-critical applications are powered by Microsoft SQL Server. Some detective work may be required to find undamaged data. For example, non-encrypted OST files (Outlook Email Offline Folder Files) may have survived on employees' desktop computers and laptops that were off line at the time of the ransomware attack. Progent's Altaro VM Backup experts can assist you to utilize immutable backup for cloud storage, enabling tamper-proof data for a set duration so that backup data cannot be modified or deleted by anyone including root users. This adds an extra level of security and recoverability in case of a ransomware breach.
- Deploying advanced antivirus/ransomware defense: Progent's ProSight ASM uses SentinelOne's machine learning technology to offer small and medium-sized businesses the advantages of the same anti-virus tools deployed by many of the world's biggest corporations including Netflix, Citi, and Salesforce. By delivering in-line malware filtering, detection, mitigation, repair and forensics in a single integrated platform, ProSight ASM reduces TCO, simplifies management, and expedites resumption of operations. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection (NGEP) incorporated in Progent's Active Security Monitoring was ranked by Gartner Group as the industry's "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Read about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring next-generation endpoint protection and ransomware defense with SentinelOne technology.
- Negotiating a settlement with the threat actor (TA): Progent is experienced in negotiating settlements with threat actors. This calls for working closely with the ransomware victim and the insurance provider, if there is one. Services include determining the type of ransomware used in the attack; identifying and making contact with the hacker; testing decryption capabilities; deciding on a settlement amount with the ransomware victim and the cyber insurance provider; negotiating a settlement and schedule with the TA; confirming compliance with anti-money laundering sanctions; overseeing the crypto-currency transfer to the hacker; receiving, reviewing, and operating the decryption utility; troubleshooting decryption problems; building a clean environment; mapping and reconnecting datastores to match exactly their pre-attack state; and reprovisioning physical and virtual devices and services.
- Forensics: This process involves discovering the ransomware assault's storyline throughout the targeted network from beginning to end. This history of how a ransomware assault progressed within the network assists you to evaluate the impact and brings to light shortcomings in security policies or work habits that should be corrected to prevent future breaches. Forensics involves the examination of all logs, registry, GPO, AD, DNS, routers, firewalls, schedulers, and core Windows systems to look for anomalies. Forensic analysis is commonly assigned a top priority by the cyber insurance provider. Because forensic analysis can be time consuming, it is vital that other key activities like operational resumption are executed in parallel. Progent has an extensive team of information technology and cybersecurity experts with the skills required to carry out the work of containment, operational continuity, and data restoration without interfering with forensic analysis.
Progent's Qualifications
Progent has provided online and on-premises network services across the United States for more than two decades and has been awarded Microsoft's Gold Partner certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity practice areas. Progent's team of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes consultants who have earned high-level certifications in core technologies such as Cisco networking, VMware virtualization, and major distributions of Linux. Progent's cybersecurity experts have earned prestigious certifications such as CISA, CISSP-ISSAP, and CRISC. (See Progent's certifications). Progent also has guidance in financial management and Enterprise Resource Planning applications. This breadth of expertise allows Progent to identify and integrate the surviving parts of your IT environment after a ransomware attack and rebuild them quickly into an operational network. Progent has collaborated with top insurance carriers including Chubb to help businesses clean up after ransomware attacks.
Contact Progent for Ransomware System Restoration Consulting in Stockton
For ransomware system restoration consulting in the Stockton metro area, phone Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.