Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Remote Help from a Top-tier Ransomware Engineer
Ransomware requires time to work its way across a network. For this reason, ransomware attacks are commonly unleashed on weekends and late at night, when support staff may be slower to become aware of a penetration and are least able to organize a quick and forceful defense. The more lateral progress ransomware is able to achieve inside a target's system, the more time it will require to restore basic IT services and scrambled files and the more data can be stolen and posted to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is intended to help you to complete the time-critical first phase in responding to a ransomware attack by containing the malware. Progent's remote ransomware engineers can assist businesses in the Des Moines metro area to identify and isolate infected devices and guard undamaged resources from being compromised.
If your network has been penetrated by any strain of ransomware, act fast. Get help quickly by calling Progent's Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.
Progent's Ransomware Response Services Offered in Des Moines
Current strains of crypto-ransomware such as Ryuk, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, and Nephilim encrypt online data and infiltrate any available system restores. Files synched to the cloud can also be impacted. For a poorly defended environment, this can make automated recovery nearly impossible and basically knocks the datacenter back to the beginning. So-called Threat Actors (TAs), the cybercriminals responsible for ransomware assault, insist on a ransom fee in exchange for the decryption tools needed to unlock encrypted data. Ransomware assaults also attempt to steal (or "exfiltrate") files and TAs require an extra payment for not posting this information on the dark web. Even if you are able to rollback your network to a tolerable point in time, exfiltration can pose a big issue according to the nature of the downloaded data.
The restoration process after a ransomware attack involves several distinct stages, most of which can be performed concurrently if the response team has enough members with the required experience.
- Containment: This time-critical first response requires blocking the sideways progress of the attack across your network. The longer a ransomware assault is permitted to run unrestricted, the longer and more expensive the recovery process. Recognizing this, Progent keeps a round-the-clock Ransomware Hotline staffed by veteran ransomware recovery engineers. Containment activities include isolating affected endpoint devices from the network to minimize the contagion, documenting the IT system, and protecting entry points.
- System continuity: This covers bringing back the network to a basic acceptable degree of functionality with the least delay. This process is typically the highest priority for the targets of the ransomware attack, who often perceive it to be a life-or-death issue for their business. This activity also requires the widest array of technical abilities that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual servers, PCs, notebooks and mobile phones, databases, office and line-of-business apps, network architecture, and safe remote access. Progent's recovery experts use state-of-the-art collaboration platforms to organize the multi-faceted recovery process. Progent appreciates the importance of working rapidly, tirelessly, and in concert with a customer's managers and IT staff to prioritize activity and to get essential services on line again as quickly as possible.
- Data recovery: The work necessary to recover data impacted by a ransomware attack depends on the condition of the network, the number of files that are affected, and which recovery methods are needed. Ransomware attacks can take down key databases which, if not properly closed, may have to be reconstructed from the beginning. This can apply to DNS and Active Directory databases. Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server depend on Active Directory, and many financial and other mission-critical applications depend on SQL Server. Often some detective work could be required to locate undamaged 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 assault. Progent's Altaro VM Backup experts can assist you to utilize immutability for cloud storage, allowing tamper-proof data while under the defined policy so that backup data cannot be modified or deleted by anyone including root users. This adds an extra level of protection and restoration ability in the event of a successful ransomware attack.
- Implementing modern AV/ransomware defense: Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring utilizes SentinelOne's machine learning technology to give small and mid-sized businesses the benefits of the same AV technology deployed by many of the world's largest corporations such as Netflix, Visa, and Salesforce. By providing in-line malware blocking, identification, mitigation, repair and forensics in one integrated platform, Progent's ASM cuts TCO, streamlines administration, and expedites resumption of operations. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection engine incorporated in Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring was ranked by Gartner Group as the industry's "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. 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 ransom settlements with hackers. This calls for working closely with the ransomware victim and the cyber insurance carrier, if there is one. Activities consist of determining the kind of ransomware involved in the attack; identifying and making contact with the hacker; testing decryption tool; deciding on a settlement with the victim and the insurance provider; negotiating a settlement amount and schedule with the hacker; checking adherence to anti-money laundering regulations; carrying out the crypto-currency payment to the TA; receiving, reviewing, and operating the decryption utility; troubleshooting decryption problems; building a pristine environment; remapping and connecting datastores to reflect precisely their pre-attack condition; and restoring machines and services.
- Forensics: This process involves discovering the ransomware attack's progress across the targeted network from start to finish. This history of how a ransomware assault progressed within the network assists you to evaluate the impact and uncovers vulnerabilities in rules or processes that should be corrected to prevent later breaches. Forensics involves the review of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object, Active Directory (AD), DNS servers, routers, firewalls, scheduled tasks, and core Windows systems to look for anomalies. Forensics is usually assigned a top priority by the cyber insurance provider. Since forensics can be time consuming, it is vital that other important activities like operational resumption are pursued concurrently. Progent has an extensive team of IT and cybersecurity professionals with the knowledge and experience required to perform the work of containment, business continuity, and data restoration without disrupting forensics.
Progent's Background
Progent has provided online and on-premises network services throughout the U.S. for over two decades and has been awarded Microsoft's Gold Partner certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's team of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes consultants who have been awarded advanced certifications in core technology platforms including Cisco networking, VMware, and popular Linux distros. Progent's cybersecurity consultants have earned industry-recognized certifications including CISA, CISSP, and CRISC. (See Progent's certifications). Progent also offers guidance in financial and ERP applications. This scope of expertise allows Progent to salvage and consolidate the surviving pieces of your information system after a ransomware assault and rebuild them quickly into a viable system. Progent has collaborated with leading cyber insurance providers like Chubb to help businesses clean up after ransomware assaults.
Contact Progent for Ransomware Cleanup Services in Des Moines
For ransomware cleanup consulting services in the Des Moines area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.