Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Online Help from a Senior Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware needs time to work its way across a target network. Because of this, ransomware assaults are commonly unleashed on weekends and at night, when IT staff may be slower to recognize a break-in and are least able to mount a rapid and coordinated response. The more lateral progress ransomware can manage within a victim's system, the longer it takes to restore core IT services and damaged files and the more information can be stolen and posted to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is designed to assist you to take the time-critical first phase in mitigating a ransomware attack by containing the malware. Progent's remote ransomware engineers can help organizations in the Edmonton area to identify and isolate breached devices and guard clean resources from being penetrated.
If your network has been penetrated 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 Services Offered in Edmonton
Current strains of ransomware such as Ryuk, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, and Egregor encrypt online files and invade any available system restores and backups. Data synched to the cloud can also be impacted. For a poorly defended environment, this can make automated restoration almost impossible and basically sets the datacenter back to the beginning. So-called Threat Actors, the hackers responsible for ransomware assault, insist on a settlement fee in exchange for the decryptors needed to recover scrambled data. Ransomware assaults also attempt to steal (or "exfiltrate") files and hackers require an extra settlement for not publishing this data or selling it. Even if you can rollback your system to an acceptable point in time, exfiltration can be a major issue depending on the sensitivity of the stolen data.
The restoration process subsequent to ransomware penetration has a number of distinct phases, the majority of which can proceed concurrently if the response team has a sufficient number of people with the required experience.
- Containment: This time-critical initial step involves blocking the lateral spread of ransomware across your IT system. The more time a ransomware attack is permitted to go unchecked, the more complex and more expensive the restoration process. Recognizing this, Progent keeps a round-the-clock Ransomware Hotline staffed by veteran ransomware recovery engineers. Quarantine processes include isolating infected endpoint devices from the network to block the contagion, documenting the IT system, and protecting entry points.
- System continuity: This involves restoring the IT system to a basic useful degree of capability with the shortest possible delay. This effort is usually at the highest level of urgency for the victims of the ransomware attack, who often perceive it to be a life-or-death issue for their business. This activity also requires the widest range of IT skills that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual machines, desktops, laptops and smart phones, databases, office and line-of-business apps, network topology, and protected remote access. Progent's ransomware recovery experts use advanced collaboration platforms to organize the multi-faceted recovery process. Progent understands the urgency of working quickly, tirelessly, and in concert with a client's managers and IT group to prioritize tasks and to get essential services back online as quickly as possible.
- Data recovery: The work necessary to restore files damaged by a ransomware attack depends on the state of the systems, how many files are affected, and which restore techniques are needed. Ransomware attacks can take down critical databases which, if not carefully closed, might need to be rebuilt from scratch. This can include DNS and Active Directory databases. Microsoft Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server rely on Active Directory, and many financial and other business-critical platforms depend on Microsoft SQL Server. Some detective work could be required to find undamaged data. For instance, undamaged Outlook Email Offline Folder Files may exist on staff PCs and notebooks that were off line during the ransomware assault.
- Setting up modern antivirus/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 anti-virus tools used by some of the world's biggest enterprises such as Walmart, Visa, and Salesforce. By delivering real-time malware filtering, detection, mitigation, restoration and analysis in a single integrated platform, Progent's Active Security Monitoring reduces TCO, streamlines administration, and expedites operational continuity. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection (NGEP) incorporated in ProSight Active Security Monitoring was listed by Gartner Group as the industry's "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Find out about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring endpoint protection and ransomware recovery with SentinelOne technology.
- Negotiation with the hacker Progent has experience negotiating ransom settlements with threat actors. This requires close co-operation with the victim and the cyber insurance provider, if any. Activities include determining the kind of ransomware involved in the attack; identifying and establishing communications the hacker persona; testing decryption capabilities; budgeting a settlement with the ransomware victim and the insurance carrier; negotiating a settlement amount and schedule with the TA; checking adherence to anti-money laundering (AML) sanctions; carrying out the crypto-currency payment to the TA; acquiring, learning, and operating the decryptor tool; debugging failed files; building a clean environment; mapping and connecting datastores to match precisely their pre-encryption condition; and reprovisioning physical and virtual devices and software services.
- Forensic analysis: This process is aimed at discovering the ransomware attack's progress throughout the targeted network from start to finish. This history of the way a ransomware attack travelled through the network assists you to assess the damage and highlights vulnerabilities in policies or processes that should be corrected to prevent future breaches. Forensics involves the examination of all logs, registry, GPO, Active Directory, DNS, routers, firewalls, scheduled tasks, and core Windows systems to detect changes. Forensics is usually assigned a high priority by the cyber insurance provider. Since forensics can take time, it is essential that other important recovery processes such as business resumption are pursued in parallel. Progent maintains a large roster of information technology and data security experts with the skills needed to perform activities for containment, business resumption, and data recovery without disrupting forensics.
Progent's Background
Progent has delivered online and onsite IT services throughout the U.S. for over two decades and has earned Microsoft's Gold Partner designation in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity practice areas. Progent's team of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes professionals who have earned high-level certifications in foundation technologies including Cisco networking, VMware virtualization, and popular Linux distros. Progent's cybersecurity consultants have earned internationally recognized certifications such as CISM, CISSP, and GIAC. (See Progent's certifications). Progent also has guidance in financial and Enterprise Resource Planning application software. This breadth of skills gives Progent the ability to salvage and integrate the surviving pieces of your information system following a ransomware assault and rebuild them quickly into a functioning network. Progent has collaborated with top cyber insurance carriers including Chubb to help organizations clean up after ransomware assaults.
Contact Progent for Ransomware Cleanup Consulting in Edmonton
For ransomware recovery expertise in the Edmonton area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.