Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Online Access to a Senior Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware requires time to steal its way across a network. Because of this, ransomware attacks are commonly launched on weekends and at night, when support personnel are likely to take longer to recognize a break-in and are least able to mount a rapid and forceful response. The more lateral movement ransomware can manage within a victim's network, the longer it takes to recover basic IT services and damaged files and the more data can be exfiltrated to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is designed to help organizations to carry out the time-critical first phase in responding to a ransomware attack by stopping the bleeding. Progent's online ransomware experts can assist businesses in the Webster metro area to locate and quarantine infected servers and endpoints and guard undamaged 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 Services Offered in Webster
Current strains of ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Netwalker, and Nephilim encrypt online data and invade any available system restores. Data synchronized to the cloud can also be corrupted. For a poorly defended network, this can make system restoration nearly impossible and basically sets the datacenter back to the beginning. Threat Actors (TAs), the hackers behind a ransomware attack, demand a settlement fee in exchange for the decryptors required to unlock encrypted data. Ransomware attacks also try to steal (or "exfiltrate") information and TAs demand an additional payment in exchange for not posting this information on the dark web. Even if you are able to rollback your system to a tolerable date in time, exfiltration can pose a big issue according to the nature of the stolen data.
The restoration process after a ransomware penetration involves several crucial phases, the majority of which can be performed in parallel if the recovery team has a sufficient number of members with the required experience.
- Containment: This time-critical first response involves blocking the lateral progress of the attack across your IT system. The more time a ransomware assault is allowed to go unrestricted, the longer and more costly the restoration effort. Recognizing this, Progent maintains a 24x7 Ransomware Hotline staffed by seasoned ransomware recovery experts. Quarantine processes consist of cutting off affected endpoint devices from the rest of network to minimize the spread, documenting the environment, and protecting entry points.
- Operational continuity: This involves restoring the network to a basic useful degree of capability with the shortest possible downtime. This process is typically the highest priority for the victims of the ransomware assault, who often see it as an existential issue for their business. This activity also demands the broadest range of technical abilities that span domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual machines, PCs, laptops and smart phones, databases, office and mission-critical apps, network topology, and protected remote access. Progent's recovery experts use state-of-the-art workgroup tools to organize the complicated recovery effort. Progent appreciates the urgency of working rapidly, tirelessly, and in unison with a client's managers and IT staff to prioritize tasks and to put essential services back online as fast as possible.
- Data recovery: The effort required to restore files impacted by a ransomware assault depends on the state of the network, the number of files that are encrypted, and which recovery methods are needed. Ransomware assaults can take down critical databases which, if not properly shut down, may have to be rebuilt from the beginning. This can apply to DNS and AD databases. Exchange and SQL Server rely on AD, and many ERP and other business-critical platforms are powered by Microsoft SQL Server. Often some detective work could be required to find undamaged data. For instance, undamaged OST files (Outlook Email Offline Folder Files) may have survived on employees' desktop computers and laptops that were not connected during the assault. Progent's Altaro VM Backup experts can assist you to utilize immutable backup for cloud object storage, allowing tamper-proof data while under the defined policy so that backup data cannot be modified or deleted by any user including administrators. Immutable storage provides another level of protection and restoration ability in the event of a ransomware breach.
- Deploying modern antivirus/ransomware protection: Progent's Active Security Monitoring utilizes SentinelOne's machine learning technology to give small and mid-sized businesses the advantages of the same AV technology deployed by many of the world's largest enterprises such as Walmart, Visa, and Salesforce. By providing in-line malware blocking, identification, containment, repair and forensics in one integrated platform, ProSight Active Security Monitoring reduces TCO, streamlines management, and promotes rapid resumption of operations. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection engine built into in Progent's Active Security Monitoring was listed by Gartner Group as the "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Learn about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring next-generation endpoint protection and ransomware defense with SentinelOne technology.
- Negotiation with the hacker Progent has experience negotiating settlements with threat actors. This requires working closely with the victim and the cyber insurance provider, if there is one. Activities include determining the type of ransomware involved in the attack; identifying and making contact with the hacker persona; verifying decryption tool; budgeting a settlement with the ransomware victim and the insurance provider; negotiating a settlement amount and schedule with the TA; confirming compliance with anti-money laundering sanctions; carrying out the crypto-currency disbursement to the hacker; acquiring, reviewing, and using the decryption tool; debugging failed files; building a clean environment; mapping and connecting datastores to match precisely their pre-attack condition; and restoring machines and software services.
- Forensics: This activity involves learning the ransomware assault's progress across the targeted network from beginning to end. This history of how a ransomware assault progressed through the network helps your IT staff to assess the impact and highlights shortcomings in security policies or work habits that need to be corrected to prevent future break-ins. Forensics involves the examination of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object, Active Directory (AD), DNS servers, routers, firewalls, schedulers, and basic Windows systems to look for changes. Forensic analysis is typically assigned a top priority by the cyber insurance provider. Since forensic analysis can be time consuming, it is essential that other key recovery processes such as operational resumption are pursued in parallel. Progent has an extensive team of IT and data security experts with the knowledge and experience needed to carry out the work of containment, business resumption, and data restoration without interfering with forensics.
Progent's Qualifications
Progent has delivered online and on-premises network services throughout the U.S. for more than two decades and has earned Microsoft's Gold Partner certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity practice areas. Progent's roster of subject matter experts includes professionals who have been awarded high-level certifications in core technologies such as Cisco networking, VMware virtualization, and major Linux distros. Progent's cybersecurity experts have earned prestigious certifications including CISA, CISSP-ISSAP, and GIAC. (Refer to certifications earned by Progent consultants). Progent also has guidance in financial management and Enterprise Resource Planning application software. This scope of expertise gives Progent the ability to identify and consolidate the undamaged parts of your IT environment after a ransomware intrusion and rebuild them rapidly into a viable system. Progent has collaborated with top cyber insurance carriers like Chubb to assist organizations recover from ransomware attacks.
Contact Progent for Ransomware Recovery Consulting in Webster
For ransomware system restoration consulting in the Webster area, phone Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.