Waltham 24-Hour Immediate Ransomware
Computer Malware Identification and Recovery Consulting

Crypto-Ransomware : Your Feared Information Technology Catastrophe
Ransomware has become a modern cyberplague that represents an enterprise-level threat for businesses vulnerable to an attack. Multiple generations of crypto-ransomware like the CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, Bad Rabbit, SamSam and MongoLock cryptoworms have been circulating for many years and continue to inflict destruction. Recent strains of crypto-ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, Conti or Nephilim, as well as more as yet unnamed malware, not only encrypt on-line data but also infect all available system protection. Data synchronized to the cloud can also be held hostage. In a poorly architected environment, this can render automated restore operations useless and effectively sets the entire system back to zero.

Restoring programs and information following a ransomware outage becomes a race against time as the victim tries its best to contain, clear the ransomware, and restore business-critical operations. Because crypto-ransomware requires time to replicate, penetrations are frequently launched during nights and weekends, when attacks typically take longer to identify. This compounds the difficulty of rapidly marshalling and orchestrating a qualified response team.

Progent offers a range of support services for securing organizations from ransomware penetrations. Among these are staff education to help recognize and avoid phishing attempts, ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) for remote monitoring and management, plus setup and configuration of the latest generation security appliances with AI technology from SentinelOne to detect and quarantine new threats automatically. Progent also can provide the assistance of seasoned crypto-ransomware recovery engineers with the skills and perseverance to restore a compromised network as rapidly as possible.

Progent's Crypto-Ransomware Recovery Services
Subsequent to a ransomware event, sending the ransom in cryptocurrency does not ensure that cyber criminals will respond with the codes to decrypt all your files. Kaspersky Labs estimated that seventeen percent of crypto-ransomware victims never recovered their files even after having sent off the ransom, resulting in additional losses. The risk is also expensive. Ryuk ransoms are commonly a few hundred thousand dollars. For larger enterprises, the ransom can be in the millions of dollars. The other path is to setup from scratch the key components of your Information Technology environment. Without the availability of full data backups, this calls for a wide complement of IT skills, well-coordinated project management, and the ability to work 24x7 until the job is completed.

For two decades, Progent has offered certified expert Information Technology services for businesses throughout the United States and has achieved Microsoft's Partnership certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's pool of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes professionals who have earned advanced industry certifications in foundation technologies such as Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and popular distributions of Linux. Progent's cybersecurity engineers have garnered internationally-renowned certifications including CISM, CISSP-ISSAP, ISACA CRISC, GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (Refer to Progent's certifications). Progent also has expertise with accounting and ERP application software. This breadth of experience provides Progent the capability to quickly identify critical systems and integrate the surviving components of your IT environment after a ransomware attack and configure them into an operational network.

Progent's recovery team of experts uses best of breed project management tools to coordinate the complicated restoration process. Progent appreciates the importance of working swiftly and together with a customer's management and Information Technology team members to prioritize tasks and to get essential applications back on-line as soon as possible.

Client Story: A Successful Ransomware Attack Restoration
A customer contacted Progent after their network system was crashed by the Ryuk ransomware virus. Ryuk is believed to have been created by North Korean state sponsored cybercriminals, possibly using algorithms leaked from America's National Security Agency. Ryuk attacks specific companies with little room for disruption and is one of the most profitable incarnations of crypto-ransomware. Major targets include Data Resolution, a California-based info warehousing and cloud computing company, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's customer is a small manufacturer located in the Chicago metro area and has about 500 employees. The Ryuk penetration had paralyzed all business operations and manufacturing capabilities. Most of the client's backups had been directly accessible at the time of the attack and were damaged. The client was evaluating paying the ransom demand (in excess of two hundred thousand dollars) and wishfully thinking for the best, but ultimately brought in Progent.

Progent worked hand in hand the customer to rapidly determine and prioritize the essential services that needed to be restored in order to continue company operations:

• Active Directory
• Email
• Financials/MRP

Within 2 days, Progent was able to restore Active Directory to its pre-virus state. Progent then assisted with reinstallations and storage recovery of critical applications. All Exchange data and attributes were usable, which facilitated the rebuild of Exchange. Progent was also able to collect non-encrypted OST data files (Outlook Offline Data Files) on various workstations and laptops in order to recover mail messages. A not too old off-line backup of the businesses financials/MRP systems made it possible to recover these required programs back on-line. Although significant work still had to be done to recover completely from the Ryuk event, critical services were recovered quickly:

Throughout the next couple of weeks critical milestones in the restoration process were made through close collaboration between Progent team members and the customer:

• Self-hosted web sites were returned to operation without losing any information.
• The MailStore Exchange Server with over 4 million historical messages was brought on-line and accessible to users.
• CRM/Customer Orders/Invoices/Accounts Payable (AP)/AR/Inventory Control modules were fully functional.
• A new Palo Alto 850 security appliance was deployed.
• Ninety percent of the desktops and laptops were fully operational.

Conclusion
A probable business extinction disaster was evaded due to results-oriented experts, a wide array of subject matter expertise, and tight collaboration. Although in post mortem the ransomware attack described here should have been disabled with advanced cyber security solutions and NIST Cybersecurity Framework best practices, user and IT administrator education, and properly executed incident response procedures for information protection and applying software patches, the fact is that state-sponsored hackers from Russia, China and elsewhere are relentless and are not going away. If you do fall victim to a ransomware penetration, remember that Progent's roster of experts has substantial experience in ransomware virus blocking, cleanup, and file recovery.

To review or download a PDF version of this customer case study, please click:
Progent's Ryuk Recovery Case Study Datasheet. (PDF - 282 KB)

Additional Ransomware Protection Services Offered by Progent
Progent can provide companies in Waltham a range of online monitoring and security evaluation services designed to help you to reduce the threat from crypto-ransomware. These services incorporate next-generation artificial intelligence technology to uncover new strains of ransomware that can evade legacy signature-based security products.

• ProSight LAN Watch: Server and Desktop Remote Monitoring
  ProSight LAN Watch is Progent's server and desktop remote monitoring service that incorporates state-of-the-art remote monitoring and management technology to help keep your IT system running efficiently by tracking the health of vital computers that drive your information system. When ProSight LAN Watch uncovers a problem, an alarm is transmitted immediately to your designated IT management personnel and your assigned Progent consultant so all potential problems can be resolved before they can impact your network. Find out more details about ProSight LAN Watch server and desktop remote monitoring consulting.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Centralized RMM for Networks, Servers, and Desktops
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software offers a unified, cloud-based platform for managing your network, server, and desktop devices by offering an environment for streamlining common time-consuming jobs. These can include health monitoring, update management, automated repairs, endpoint configuration, backup and restore, A/V defense, secure remote access, standard and custom scripts, asset inventory, endpoint profile reporting, and troubleshooting assistance. If ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM uncovers a serious problem, it sends an alarm to your designated IT staff and your assigned Progent consultant so that emerging problems can be fixed before they impact your network. Find out more about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop monitoring consulting.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Network Infrastructure Remote Monitoring and Management
  ProSight WAN Watch is an infrastructure management service that makes it simple and inexpensive for small and mid-sized businesses to diagram, monitor, enhance and debug their connectivity hardware like switches, firewalls, and access points plus servers, endpoints and other devices. Using state-of-the-art Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology, ProSight WAN Watch makes sure that infrastructure topology maps are kept current, captures and displays the configuration information of virtually all devices on your network, tracks performance, and sends notices when potential issues are discovered. By automating complex management and troubleshooting processes, ProSight WAN Watch can knock hours off ordinary chores such as network mapping, expanding your network, finding devices that require important updates, or isolating performance bottlenecks. Learn more details about ProSight WAN Watch network infrastructure management services.

• ProSight Reporting: Real-time Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Platforms
  ProSight Reporting is a growing suite of real-time management reporting utilities designed to work with the industry's leading ticketing and network monitoring programs including ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Automate, Customer Thermometer, Auvik, and SentinelOne. ProSight Reporting uses Microsoft Graph and features color coding to surface and contextualize critical issues like spotty support follow-through or machines with out-of-date AVs. By exposing ticketing or network health problems clearly and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting improves network value, lowers management hassle, and saves money. For details, see ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring platforms.

• ProSight Data Protection Services: Backup and Disaster Recovery Services
  Progent has partnered with leading backup technology companies to produce ProSight Data Protection Services, a family of management offerings that deliver backup-as-a-service (BaaS). ProSight DPS services manage and track your backup operations and enable non-disruptive backup and rapid recovery of important files/folders, applications, images, and virtual machines. ProSight DPS lets you protect against data loss caused by equipment breakdown, natural calamities, fire, cyber attacks such as ransomware, user mistakes, malicious employees, or software bugs. Managed services in the ProSight Data Protection Services portfolio include ProSight Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight DPS ECHO Backup based on Barracuda purpose-built hardware, and ProSight DPS MSP360 Cloud and On-prem Backup. Your Progent consultant can help you to determine which of these managed backup services are most appropriate for your IT environment.

• ProSight Email Guard: Inbound and Outbound Spam Filtering and Data Leakage Protection
  ProSight Email Guard is Progent's spam and virus filtering service that incorporates the infrastructure of leading data security vendors to provide centralized control and comprehensive protection for your email traffic. The powerful architecture of Email Guard managed service integrates cloud-based filtering with an on-premises security gateway device to provide advanced protection against spam, viruses, Denial of Service Attacks, Directory Harvest Attacks, and other email-based malware. The Cloud Protection Layer acts as a first line of defense and keeps the vast majority of threats from making it to your security perimeter. This reduces your exposure to external threats and saves network bandwidth and storage space. Email Guard's onsite gateway appliance provides a deeper layer of inspection for incoming email. For outbound email, the onsite security gateway offers AV and anti-spam protection, protection against data leaks, and email encryption. The on-premises gateway can also help Microsoft Exchange Server to track and safeguard internal email that stays within your corporate firewall. For more information, see ProSight Email Guard spam and content filtering.

• ProSight Duo Two-Factor Authentication: Identity Validation, Endpoint Policy Enforcement, and Secure Single Sign-on (SSO)
  Progent's Duo MFA service plans incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to defend against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables one-tap identity confirmation on Apple iOS, Google Android, and other personal devices. Using Duo 2FA, when you log into a protected application and give your password you are requested to verify who you are on a device that only you possess and that uses a separate network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be used for this second means of authentication such as a smartphone or wearable, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You may designate several verification devices. To learn more about Duo two-factor identity validation services, visit Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services.

• Outsourced/Co-managed Help Desk: Support Desk Managed Services
  Progent's Help Center managed services enable your IT group to offload Support Desk services to Progent or split responsibilities for Help Desk services seamlessly between your internal support staff and Progent's extensive pool of IT service engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's Shared Help Desk Service offers a transparent supplement to your internal network support group. User access to the Service Desk, provision of technical assistance, problem escalation, trouble ticket generation and updates, efficiency measurement, and management of the support database are consistent regardless of whether incidents are taken care of by your in-house network support staff, by Progent, or a mix of the two. Read more about Progent's outsourced/shared Help Center services.

• Active Protection Against Ransomware: AI-based Ransomware Identification and Remediation
  Progent's Active Defense Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection service that utilizes next generation behavior-based analysis tools to defend endpoint devices and physical and virtual servers against new malware assaults such as ransomware and email phishing, which routinely get by traditional signature-based anti-virus products. Progent ASM services safeguard on-premises and cloud-based resources and offers a unified platform to manage the entire threat lifecycle including blocking, infiltration detection, mitigation, cleanup, and forensics. Top capabilities include one-click rollback using Windows VSS and real-time network-wide immunization against newly discovered threats. Find out more about Progent's ransomware protection and recovery services.

• ProSight IT Asset Management: Network Documentation Management
  Progent's ProSight IT Asset Management service is an IT infrastructure documentation management service that makes it easy to create, maintain, retrieve and safeguard information related to your network infrastructure, procedures, applications, and services. You can instantly find passwords or IP addresses and be warned about upcoming expirations of SSL certificates or domains. By updating and organizing your IT infrastructure documentation, you can eliminate as much as 50% of time thrown away trying to find critical information about your IT network. ProSight IT Asset Management features a centralized repository for storing and collaborating on all documents required for managing your network infrastructure such as recommended procedures and How-To's. ProSight IT Asset Management also supports a high level of automation for gathering and associating IT data. Whether you're planning improvements, performing regular maintenance, or responding to a crisis, ProSight IT Asset Management delivers the information you need as soon as you need it. Find out more about ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Patch Management: Patch Management Services
  Progent's managed services for patch management provide businesses of any size a flexible and affordable solution for evaluating, validating, scheduling, implementing, and tracking software and firmware updates to your dynamic IT network. In addition to optimizing the security and reliability of your computer network, Progent's patch management services allow your in-house IT staff to concentrate on line-of-business projects and activities that derive the highest business value from your information network. Find out more about Progent's patch management services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted VMs at Progent's Tier III Data Center
  With Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting service, a small or mid-size business can have its key servers and applications hosted in a protected fault tolerant data center on a fast virtual machine host set up and maintained by Progent's network support experts. With the ProSight Virtual Hosting model, the customer retains ownership of the data, the OS software, and the applications. Because the system is virtualized, it can be ported easily to a different hosting environment without requiring a time-consuming and difficult reinstallation procedure. With ProSight Virtual Hosting, your business is not tied one hosting service. Learn more details about ProSight Virtual Hosting services.

• ProSight Active Security Monitoring: Endpoint Protection and Ransomware Defense
  ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) is an endpoint protection (EPP) service that incorporates SentinelOne's cutting edge behavior-based analysis technology to guard physical and virtual endpoints against new malware attacks such as ransomware and file-less exploits, which routinely evade traditional signature-matching AV tools. ProSight ASM safeguards local and cloud resources and offers a single platform to automate the entire threat progression including blocking, infiltration detection, mitigation, cleanup, and post-attack forensics. Top capabilities include one-click rollback using Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and automatic network-wide immunization against new attacks. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Learn more about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring next-generation endpoint protection and ransomware recovery.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection: Endpoint Security and Microsoft Exchange Filtering
  ProSight Enhanced Security Protection services offer ultra-affordable multi-layer security for physical and virtual servers, desktops, mobile devices, and Microsoft Exchange. ProSight ESP uses contextual security and advanced machine learning for round-the-clock monitoring and reacting to security assaults from all vectors. ProSight ESP offers two-way firewall protection, penetration alarms, device management, and web filtering through cutting-edge technologies packaged within one agent accessible from a single control. Progent's data protection and virtualization experts can assist you to design and configure a ProSight ESP deployment that addresses your organization's unique requirements and that allows you demonstrate compliance with government and industry information protection standards. Progent will help you specify and configure security policies that ProSight ESP will enforce, and Progent will monitor your IT environment and react to alerts that require immediate action. Progent's consultants can also assist your company to install and test a backup and disaster recovery system such as ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) so you can recover rapidly from a potentially disastrous security attack such as ransomware. Find out more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP) unified endpoint security and Exchange filtering.