Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Online Help from a Senior Ransomware Engineer
Ransomware needs time to work its way across a network. For this reason, ransomware attacks are typically unleashed on weekends and at night, when IT staff are likely to be slower to become aware of a breach and are least able to organize a quick and forceful defense. The more lateral movement ransomware is able to manage inside a victim's system, the more time it takes to recover core operations and damaged files and the more data can be stolen and posted to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is designed to guide you to complete the urgent first phase in responding to a ransomware attack by stopping the bleeding. Progent's online ransomware engineers can assist organizations in the Salinas area to locate and isolate breached devices and protect clean assets from being compromised.
If your network has been breached by any version of ransomware, don't panic. Get immediate help by calling Progent's Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.
Progent's Ransomware Recovery Expertise Offered in Salinas
Current strains of ransomware like Ryuk, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, and Egregor encrypt online files and infiltrate any accessible system restores and backups. Files synched to the cloud can also be corrupted. For a poorly defended environment, this can make automated recovery nearly impossible and effectively sets the datacenter back to the beginning. So-called Threat Actors (TAs), the hackers behind a ransomware assault, demand a ransom payment in exchange for the decryption tools required to recover scrambled files. Ransomware assaults also try to steal (or "exfiltrate") information and hackers require an additional ransom in exchange for not publishing this information on the dark web. Even if you are able to restore your system to a tolerable point in time, exfiltration can be a big problem depending on the nature of the stolen data.
The restoration process after a ransomware penetration has a number of crucial stages, most of which can be performed in parallel if the recovery workgroup has enough members with the necessary skill sets.
- Quarantine: This urgent first response requires blocking the sideways spread of ransomware across your network. The more time a ransomware assault is allowed to run unrestricted, the more complex and more expensive the recovery effort. Recognizing this, Progent maintains a round-the-clock Ransomware Hotline staffed by veteran ransomware response engineers. Quarantine activities include cutting off affected endpoints from the network to block the spread, documenting the environment, and securing entry points.
- System continuity: This involves restoring the network to a minimal acceptable degree of functionality with the shortest possible downtime. This process is typically at the highest level of urgency for the targets of the ransomware attack, who often see it as a life-or-death issue for their business. This activity also demands the widest range of IT abilities that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual servers, PCs, notebooks and smart phones, databases, productivity and mission-critical apps, network topology, and secure remote access management. Progent's ransomware recovery team uses advanced workgroup tools to organize the complex restoration process. Progent appreciates the urgency of working quickly, continuously, and in concert with a customer's management and IT staff to prioritize activity and to get critical resources on line again as quickly as feasible.
- Data restoration: The work required to recover data impacted by a ransomware attack varies according to the condition of the network, the number of files that are encrypted, and what recovery techniques are required. Ransomware attacks can take down critical databases which, if not carefully closed, may need to be rebuilt from scratch. This can include DNS and Active Directory (AD) databases. Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server rely on AD, and many manufacturing and other mission-critical applications are powered by SQL Server. Some detective work could be needed to locate clean data. For example, non-encrypted OST files (Outlook Email Offline Folder Files) may have survived on staff desktop computers and laptops that were off line during the attack.
- Implementing advanced antivirus/ransomware defense: Progent's Active Security Monitoring incorporates SentinelOne's behavioral analysis technology to offer small and medium-sized companies the advantages of the same anti-virus technology used by some of the world's biggest corporations such as Netflix, Visa, and NASDAQ. By providing in-line malware filtering, identification, containment, repair and forensics in a single integrated platform, ProSight Active Security Monitoring lowers total cost of ownership, streamlines management, and promotes rapid operational continuity. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection engine incorporated in ProSight ASM was ranked by Gartner Group as the industry's "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner. Find out about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) endpoint protection and ransomware defense with SentinelOne technology.
- Negotiation with the hacker Progent is experienced in negotiating settlements with hackers. This calls for working closely with the victim and the insurance carrier, if there is one. Activities include determining the kind of ransomware used in the assault; identifying and making contact with the hacker persona; testing decryption capabilities; budgeting a settlement amount with the victim and the insurance provider; negotiating a settlement and schedule with the hacker; checking adherence to anti-money laundering sanctions; overseeing the crypto-currency disbursement to the TA; acquiring, reviewing, and using the decryption utility; troubleshooting failed files; building a clean environment; remapping and reconnecting drives to match precisely their pre-encryption condition; and recovering computers and software services.
- Forensics: This activity involves learning the ransomware attack's progress throughout the network from start to finish. This audit trail of the way a ransomware assault travelled through the network assists your IT staff to evaluate the damage and uncovers weaknesses in security policies or processes that should be rectified to avoid later breaches. Forensics involves the examination of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object (GPO), Active Directory, DNS, routers, firewalls, scheduled tasks, and core Windows systems to check for variations. Forensic analysis is typically given a high priority by the insurance carrier. Because forensic analysis can be time consuming, it is critical that other important activities like operational resumption are executed concurrently. Progent has an extensive roster of information technology and cybersecurity experts with the knowledge and experience required to carry out activities for containment, business continuity, and data restoration without interfering with forensics.
Progent's Background
Progent has provided remote and onsite IT services throughout the U.S. for more than 20 years 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 foundation technology platforms including Cisco infrastructure, VMware, and major distributions of Linux. Progent's cybersecurity experts have earned prestigious certifications such as CISA, CISSP, and GIAC. (See certifications earned by Progent consultants). Progent also has top-tier support in financial and Enterprise Resource Planning software. This scope of expertise gives Progent the ability to salvage and consolidate the undamaged pieces of your information system following a ransomware attack and rebuild them quickly into an operational network. Progent has collaborated with leading cyber insurance providers including Chubb to help businesses clean up after ransomware attacks.
Contact Progent for Ransomware Cleanup Consulting in Salinas
For ransomware cleanup consulting in the Salinas metro area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.