Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Online Access to a Top-tier Ransomware Engineer
Ransomware requires time to work its way across a network. For this reason, ransomware assaults are typically launched on weekends and late at night, when support staff may be slower to become aware of a breach and are less able to organize a rapid and coordinated defense. The more lateral movement ransomware is able to manage inside a target's network, the longer it will require to restore core operations and scrambled files and the more information can be exfiltrated to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is intended to help you to take the time-critical first step in mitigating a ransomware attack by containing the malware. Progent's online ransomware engineers can help businesses in the Birmingham area to locate and isolate breached devices and guard clean assets from being compromised.
If your network has been breached by any strain of ransomware, act fast. Get immediate help by calling Progent's Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.
Progent's Ransomware Response Services Offered in Birmingham
Modern variants of ransomware like Ryuk, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, and Nephilim encrypt online data and infiltrate any accessible system restores and backups. Files synched to the cloud can also be impacted. For a vulnerable environment, this can make automated recovery almost impossible and effectively knocks the datacenter back to square one. So-called Threat Actors, the hackers responsible for ransomware attack, insist on a settlement payment for the decryptors needed to recover scrambled data. Ransomware assaults also try to exfiltrate files and hackers demand an additional payment for not posting this information on the dark web. Even if you can rollback your system to a tolerable date in time, exfiltration can pose a major issue according to the sensitivity of the downloaded data.
The recovery process after a ransomware penetration involves a number of distinct phases, most of which can proceed concurrently if the response workgroup has enough people with the necessary skill sets.
- Quarantine: This urgent initial step involves arresting the lateral spread of the attack across your IT system. The more time a ransomware assault is allowed to go unrestricted, the more complex and more expensive the recovery effort. Because of this, Progent maintains a round-the-clock Ransomware Hotline staffed by veteran ransomware recovery experts. Containment processes include isolating affected endpoints from the rest of network to restrict the contagion, documenting the environment, and protecting entry points.
- System continuity: This covers restoring the network to a minimal useful degree of functionality with the shortest possible downtime. This effort is typically at the highest level of urgency for the victims of the ransomware assault, who often perceive it to be an existential issue for their company. This project also demands the broadest array of IT skills that span domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual machines, PCs, laptops and smart phones, databases, office and mission-critical apps, network topology, and safe remote access management. Progent's recovery team uses state-of-the-art workgroup tools to organize the complicated recovery process. Progent appreciates the urgency of working rapidly, tirelessly, and in unison with a client's managers and IT staff to prioritize activity and to put critical services on line again as fast as possible.
- Data recovery: The effort required to restore data damaged by a ransomware attack varies according to the state of the systems, the number of files that are affected, and what recovery techniques are required. Ransomware attacks can take down pivotal databases which, if not properly shut down, may have to be reconstructed from the beginning. This can apply to DNS and Active Directory databases. Exchange and SQL Server rely on AD, and many ERP and other business-critical platforms are powered by SQL Server. Often some detective work may be required to find clean data. For example, non-encrypted OST files (Outlook Email Offline Folder Files) may have survived on employees' PCs and notebooks that were not connected at the time of the attack.
- Setting up advanced antivirus/ransomware protection: ProSight ASM uses SentinelOne's behavioral analysis technology to give small and medium-sized companies the advantages of the same AV technology used by many of the world's largest enterprises including Netflix, Citi, and NASDAQ. By delivering in-line malware blocking, identification, mitigation, repair and analysis in one integrated platform, ProSight Active Security Monitoring reduces TCO, streamlines management, and expedites operational continuity. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection engine incorporated in Progent's ProSight ASM was ranked by Gartner Group as the industry's "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform." Progent is a certified SentinelOne Partner. Find out about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) 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 hackers. This requires close co-operation with the ransomware victim and the insurance provider, if any. Activities include establishing the type of ransomware involved in the assault; identifying and making contact with the hacker; verifying decryption capabilities; deciding on a settlement amount with the ransomware victim and the cyber insurance provider; establishing a settlement amount and timeline with the hacker; confirming adherence to anti-money laundering regulations; overseeing the crypto-currency transfer to the hacker; acquiring, learning, and using the decryptor tool; troubleshooting decryption problems; building a clean environment; remapping and reconnecting drives to match exactly their pre-attack state; and recovering computers and software services.
- Forensic analysis: This process involves uncovering the ransomware attack's progress throughout the targeted network from start to finish. This history of how a ransomware assault travelled through the network helps your IT staff to evaluate the damage and uncovers vulnerabilities in policies or work habits that should be rectified to avoid future break-ins. Forensics involves the examination of all logs, registry, GPO, Active Directory (AD), DNS servers, routers, firewalls, scheduled tasks, and core Windows systems to detect anomalies. Forensic analysis is usually given a high priority by the insurance provider. Because forensics can be time consuming, it is vital that other key activities such as business resumption are pursued in parallel. Progent has a large roster of IT and cybersecurity professionals with the knowledge and experience needed to carry out the work of containment, business resumption, and data restoration without interfering with forensic analysis.
Progent's Background
Progent has provided online and on-premises IT services throughout the United States for more than 20 years and has been awarded Microsoft's Gold Partner designation in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity practice areas. Progent's roster of subject matter experts includes consultants who have earned advanced certifications in core technologies such as Cisco networking, VMware, and popular Linux distros. Progent's data security experts have earned industry-recognized certifications including CISA, CISSP, and GIAC. (See certifications earned by Progent consultants). Progent also offers guidance in financial and Enterprise Resource Planning applications. This broad array of expertise allows Progent to identify and integrate the surviving pieces of your IT environment after a ransomware assault and reconstruct them rapidly into a viable system. Progent has worked with top insurance carriers including Chubb to assist organizations recover from ransomware attacks.
Contact Progent for Ransomware System Recovery Consulting Services in Birmingham
For ransomware cleanup expertise in the Birmingham area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.