Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Online Access to a Senior Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware needs time to steal its way through a network. Because of this, ransomware assaults are commonly launched on weekends and late at night, when support personnel may be slower to recognize a penetration and are least able to mount a rapid and forceful response. The more lateral movement ransomware is able to make inside a victim's system, the longer it takes to recover core operations and scrambled files and the more information can be exfiltrated to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is designed to help you to carry out the urgent first phase in responding to a ransomware assault by putting out the fire. Progent's remote ransomware experts can assist businesses in the Newark area to identify and isolate infected devices and guard clean assets from being penetrated.
If your network has been breached 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 Expertise Available in Newark
Current variants of crypto-ransomware such as Ryuk, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, and Egregor encrypt online files and attack any accessible system restores. Files synchronized to the cloud can also be impacted. For a vulnerable environment, this can make system recovery almost impossible and effectively knocks the datacenter back to the beginning. So-called Threat Actors, the cybercriminals responsible for ransomware attack, insist on a ransom fee for the decryption tools needed to unlock scrambled data. Ransomware assaults also try to steal (or "exfiltrate") information and hackers demand an extra settlement in exchange for not posting this data on the dark web. Even if you are able to rollback your system to an acceptable date in time, exfiltration can be a big issue according to the nature of the downloaded data.
The recovery process subsequent to ransomware attack has a number of crucial stages, the majority of which can be performed in parallel if the recovery workgroup has a sufficient number of people with the required skill sets.
- Quarantine: This time-critical first step involves blocking the sideways spread of ransomware across your IT system. The more time a ransomware assault is allowed to go unrestricted, the longer and more costly the recovery process. Recognizing this, Progent keeps a round-the-clock Ransomware Hotline staffed by seasoned ransomware response engineers. Containment processes include cutting off infected endpoints from the network to minimize the spread, documenting the environment, and securing entry points.
- Operational continuity: This covers bringing back the network to a minimal acceptable level of functionality with the shortest possible downtime. This effort is typically the top priority for the targets of the ransomware attack, who often perceive it to be an existential issue for their business. This activity also demands the widest range of IT skills that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual servers, desktops, notebooks and mobile phones, databases, productivity and line-of-business applications, network topology, and secure endpoint access. Progent's recovery team uses state-of-the-art collaboration platforms to coordinate the complicated recovery process. Progent appreciates the importance of working quickly, continuously, and in unison with a customer's management and network support staff to prioritize tasks and to put essential resources back online as fast as possible.
- Data recovery: The work required to restore files impacted by a ransomware attack varies according to the condition of the systems, the number of files that are encrypted, and which recovery techniques are needed. Ransomware attacks can destroy key databases which, if not properly closed, may need to be reconstructed from the beginning. This can apply to DNS and AD databases. Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server rely on AD, and many financial and other business-critical applications are powered by SQL Server. Some detective work could be required to locate undamaged data. For instance, undamaged OST files (Outlook Email Offline Folder Files) may have survived on employees' desktop computers and laptops that were off line during the assault. Progent's Altaro VM Backup consultants can help you to utilize immutable backup for cloud object storage, enabling tamper-proof data while under the defined policy so that backup data cannot be erased or modified by anyone including root users. Immutable storage provides another level of protection and restoration ability in the event of a successful ransomware attack.
- Deploying advanced antivirus/ransomware protection: Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring uses SentinelOne's behavioral analysis technology to give small and medium-sized businesses the advantages of the identical anti-virus tools used by some of the world's biggest corporations such as Walmart, Visa, and Salesforce. By delivering real-time malware blocking, identification, containment, restoration and forensics in one integrated platform, Progent's Active Security Monitoring lowers total cost of ownership, simplifies administration, and expedites operational continuity. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection (NGEP) incorporated in Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring was listed by Gartner Group as the "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. Learn 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 requires working closely with the ransomware victim and the cyber insurance provider, if any. Activities include establishing the type of ransomware used in the assault; identifying and establishing communications the hacker persona; verifying decryption capabilities; budgeting a settlement with the victim and the cyber insurance provider; establishing a settlement amount and timeline with the TA; confirming compliance with anti-money laundering sanctions; overseeing the crypto-currency disbursement to the hacker; receiving, learning, and using the decryptor utility; debugging failed files; creating a clean environment; remapping and connecting drives to reflect exactly their pre-attack condition; and recovering machines and services.
- Forensic analysis: This process involves uncovering the ransomware assault's progress across the targeted network from beginning to end. This audit trail of the way a ransomware attack travelled through the network helps you to evaluate the impact and highlights vulnerabilities in rules or processes that should be rectified to avoid future breaches. Forensics involves the review of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object (GPO), Active Directory, DNS servers, routers, firewalls, scheduled tasks, and basic Windows systems to check for anomalies. Forensic analysis is commonly assigned a top priority by the insurance carrier. Because forensic analysis can be time consuming, it is vital that other key recovery processes such as business resumption are performed in parallel. Progent maintains an extensive roster of information technology and cybersecurity experts with the knowledge and experience required to carry out activities for containment, business resumption, and data restoration without interfering with forensics.
Progent's Background
Progent has provided remote and onsite IT 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 competencies. Progent's roster of subject matter experts includes consultants who have been awarded advanced certifications in foundation technologies such as Cisco networking, VMware, and major Linux distros. Progent's cybersecurity experts have earned internationally recognized certifications including CISM, CISSP-ISSAP, and GIAC. (Refer to Progent's certifications). Progent also offers guidance in financial management and Enterprise Resource Planning software. This breadth of expertise allows Progent to identify and consolidate the surviving pieces of your information system following a ransomware assault and reconstruct them quickly into a viable system. Progent has collaborated with top insurance providers including Chubb to help organizations recover from ransomware attacks.
Contact Progent for Ransomware Recovery Consulting Services in Newark
For ransomware system restoration consulting in the Newark area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.