Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Online Access to a Top-tier Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware needs time to steal its way across a network. For this reason, ransomware attacks are typically unleashed on weekends and late at night, when IT staff may take longer to recognize a breach and are less able to mount a rapid and forceful response. The more lateral movement ransomware is able to achieve inside a victim's network, the longer it takes to recover basic IT services and scrambled files and the more information can be exfiltrated to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is intended to assist organizations to complete the urgent first phase in responding to a ransomware attack by containing the malware. Progent's online ransomware engineers can assist organizations in the Denver metro area to locate and quarantine infected devices and protect undamaged assets from being compromised.
If your system 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 Available in Denver
Modern variants of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, and Nephilim encrypt online files and invade any accessible backups. Files synchronized to the cloud can also be corrupted. For a poorly defended environment, this can make system recovery nearly impossible and basically knocks the IT system back to square one. Threat Actors (TAs), the hackers behind a ransomware attack, demand a settlement payment in exchange for the decryption tools needed to recover scrambled files. Ransomware attacks also attempt to steal (or "exfiltrate") files and hackers require an extra settlement for not posting this information or selling it. Even if you can rollback your system to an acceptable date in time, exfiltration can be a major issue according to the sensitivity of the downloaded information.
The recovery process subsequent to ransomware penetration involves a number of crucial phases, most of which can be performed concurrently if the response team has a sufficient number of members with the necessary skill sets.
- Quarantine: This urgent initial step involves blocking the lateral progress of ransomware across your IT system. The more time a ransomware attack is allowed to run unchecked, the more complex and more costly the recovery effort. Because of this, Progent keeps a 24x7 Ransomware Hotline staffed by veteran ransomware recovery experts. Containment processes consist of cutting off affected endpoint devices from the rest of network to minimize the contagion, documenting the environment, and protecting entry points.
- System continuity: This covers restoring the network to a basic acceptable level of capability with the least downtime. This effort is typically at the highest level of urgency for the targets of the ransomware assault, who often perceive it to be a life-or-death issue for their company. This project also demands the broadest array of IT skills that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual servers, PCs, notebooks and smart phones, databases, office and line-of-business apps, network topology, and safe remote access. Progent's ransomware recovery team uses state-of-the-art workgroup tools to organize the multi-faceted restoration effort. Progent appreciates the urgency of working rapidly, tirelessly, and in concert with a client's managers and network support staff to prioritize tasks and to put essential resources back online as quickly as feasible.
- Data restoration: The effort necessary to restore files damaged by a ransomware assault varies according to the state of the systems, how many files are encrypted, and what recovery methods are required. Ransomware assaults can destroy critical databases which, if not carefully closed, might need to be reconstructed from the beginning. This can include DNS and Active Directory databases. Microsoft Exchange and SQL Server depend on AD, and many ERP and other business-critical platforms are powered by Microsoft SQL Server. Often some detective work could be needed 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 at the time of the ransomware attack. Progent's ProSight Data Protection Services offer Altaro VM Backup tools to protect against ransomware attacks by leveraging Immutable Cloud Storage. This produces tamper-proof data that cannot be modified by anyone including administrators.
- Setting up advanced AV/ransomware defense: Progent's Active Security Monitoring incorporates SentinelOne's machine learning technology to offer small and mid-sized businesses the benefits of the same AV technology implemented by many of the world's largest enterprises including Netflix, Citi, and Salesforce. By providing in-line malware filtering, identification, mitigation, recovery and forensics in a single integrated platform, ProSight Active Security Monitoring cuts TCO, streamlines administration, and promotes rapid resumption of operations. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection engine built into in ProSight ASM was ranked by Gartner Group as the "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. Find out 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 has experience negotiating ransom settlements with hackers. This calls for working closely with the victim and the cyber insurance carrier, if there is one. Services include establishing the kind of ransomware involved in the attack; identifying and making contact with the hacker persona; testing decryption capabilities; deciding on a settlement with the victim and the insurance carrier; negotiating a settlement and timeline with the TA; confirming adherence to anti-money laundering (AML) regulations; overseeing the crypto-currency disbursement to the TA; acquiring, reviewing, and operating the decryption tool; debugging failed files; building a clean environment; remapping and reconnecting drives to match precisely their pre-encryption state; and restoring physical and virtual devices and software services.
- Forensic analysis: This process involves uncovering the ransomware assault's storyline across the targeted network from beginning to end. This history of how a ransomware attack travelled within the network assists your IT staff to assess the damage and highlights shortcomings in policies or work habits that need to be rectified to prevent future break-ins. Forensics entails the review of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object, AD, DNS servers, routers, firewalls, scheduled tasks, and core Windows systems to detect changes. Forensics is commonly assigned a high priority by the insurance provider. Because forensics can be time consuming, it is critical that other key recovery processes such as business continuity are pursued in parallel. Progent has a large team of information technology and cybersecurity experts with the knowledge and experience required to perform the work of containment, operational resumption, and data restoration without interfering with forensic analysis.
Progent's Background
Progent has provided remote and on-premises network services across the United States for more than two decades and has earned Microsoft's Partner designation in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity practice areas. Progent's roster of SMEs includes professionals who have been awarded high-level certifications in foundation technology platforms including Cisco infrastructure, VMware virtualization, and major Linux distros. Progent's cybersecurity experts have earned industry-recognized certifications including CISM, CISSP-ISSAP, CRISC, and CMMC 2.0. (Refer to Progent's certifications). Progent also has guidance in financial and Enterprise Resource Planning applications. This broad array of skills allows Progent to salvage and consolidate the undamaged pieces of your IT environment after a ransomware attack and reconstruct them rapidly into an operational system. Progent has collaborated with leading cyber insurance providers including Chubb to assist businesses recover from ransomware assaults.
Contact Progent for Ransomware System Recovery Expertise in Denver
For ransomware cleanup expertise in the Denver metro area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.