Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800
24x7 Online Access to a Top-tier Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware requires time to steal its way through a network. For this reason, ransomware assaults are commonly launched on weekends and at night, when IT personnel may be slower to recognize a penetration and are less able to mount a rapid and coordinated response. The more lateral movement ransomware can manage inside a target's network, the more time it will require to recover core operations and scrambled files and the more information can be stolen and posted to the dark web.
Progent's Ransomware Hot Line is designed to guide organizations to take the time-critical first phase in mitigating a ransomware assault by putting out the fire. Progent's remote ransomware engineers can assist organizations in the Fort Worth metro area to identify and isolate infected devices and protect clean assets from being penetrated.
If your network has been breached 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 Expertise Available in Fort Worth
Current variants of crypto-ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, DopplePaymer, and Egregor encrypt online files and attack any available backups. Files synchronized to the cloud can also be impacted. For a poorly defended network, this can make system recovery nearly impossible and basically sets the IT system back to the beginning. Threat Actors (TAs), the hackers responsible for ransomware assault, insist on a ransom fee in exchange for the decryption tools needed to unlock scrambled files. Ransomware attacks also try to steal (or "exfiltrate") information and TAs require an additional settlement for not publishing this information on the dark web. Even if you can restore your network to a tolerable date in time, exfiltration can be a big problem depending on the nature of the stolen information.
The restoration process subsequent to ransomware breach has several crucial stages, most of which can proceed in parallel if the response workgroup has enough people with the necessary experience.
- Containment: This time-critical first step involves arresting the lateral spread of the attack within your IT system. The longer a ransomware assault is permitted to run unchecked, the more complex and more expensive the restoration process. Because of this, Progent maintains a round-the-clock Ransomware Hotline staffed by seasoned ransomware response engineers. Quarantine processes include isolating infected endpoint devices from the rest of network to minimize the spread, documenting the environment, and securing entry points.
- System continuity: This involves restoring the network to a minimal useful degree of capability with the least downtime. This process is usually at the highest level of urgency for the targets of the ransomware assault, who often perceive it to be an existential issue for their business. This project also demands the broadest array of technical skills that cover domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual servers, desktops, laptops and mobile phones, databases, office and mission-critical applications, network topology, and safe endpoint access management. Progent's ransomware recovery team uses state-of-the-art workgroup platforms to organize the complicated restoration process. Progent understands the importance of working quickly, tirelessly, and in unison with a customer's management and network support staff to prioritize tasks and to get essential resources on line again as fast as possible.
- Data recovery: The work required to restore data impacted by a ransomware attack varies according to the condition of the systems, the number of files that are affected, and what restore methods are needed. Ransomware assaults can take down critical databases which, if not carefully closed, might have to be reconstructed from scratch. This can apply to DNS and Active Directory (AD) databases. Exchange and SQL Server depend on AD, and many manufacturing and other mission-critical platforms are powered by SQL Server. Often some detective work may be required to locate clean data. For instance, non-encrypted Outlook Email Offline Folder Files may exist on staff desktop computers and notebooks that were not connected during the attack. Progent's ProSight Data Protection Services utilize Altaro VM Backup technology to protect against ransomware attacks via Immutable Cloud Storage. This creates tamper-proof backup data that cannot be erased or modified by anyone including administrators.
- Implementing advanced antivirus/ransomware defense: ProSight ASM incorporates SentinelOne's behavioral analysis technology to give small and medium-sized businesses the benefits of the identical anti-virus technology used by some of the world's biggest corporations including Netflix, Visa, and Salesforce. By delivering in-line malware blocking, detection, mitigation, repair and analysis in one integrated platform, Progent's Active Security Monitoring reduces total cost of ownership, simplifies administration, and promotes rapid operational continuity. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection engine incorporated in ProSight ASM was listed by Gartner Group as the industry's "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Read about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) next-generation endpoint protection and ransomware defense with SentinelOne technology.
- Negotiation with the threat actor (TA): Progent has experience negotiating ransom settlements with threat actors. This requires working closely with the ransomware victim and the insurance provider, if any. Services include determining the kind of ransomware used in the assault; identifying and making contact with the hacker persona; verifying decryption tool; deciding on a settlement with the victim and the cyber insurance provider; negotiating a settlement amount and timeline with the TA; confirming adherence to anti-money laundering sanctions; carrying out the crypto-currency disbursement to the TA; receiving, reviewing, and using the decryption utility; debugging failed files; building a pristine environment; remapping and reconnecting datastores to match exactly their pre-attack state; and recovering machines and software services.
- Forensics: This process is aimed at learning the ransomware assault's progress across the network from start to finish. This audit trail of the way a ransomware attack travelled through the network helps your IT staff to evaluate the impact and uncovers gaps in security policies or processes that need to be rectified to prevent future breaches. Forensics entails the examination of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object (GPO), Active Directory, DNS servers, routers, firewalls, scheduled tasks, and core Windows systems to look for changes. Forensic analysis is usually given a top priority by the insurance provider. Because forensic analysis can be time consuming, it is vital that other key activities such as business continuity are pursued concurrently. Progent has an extensive team of IT and security experts with the skills required to carry out the work of containment, business continuity, and data restoration without interfering with forensics.
Progent's Qualifications
Progent has provided online and on-premises network services across the United States for more than 20 years and has been awarded Microsoft's Partner designation in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's roster of SMEs includes professionals who have been awarded high-level certifications in core technology platforms such as Cisco networking, VMware, and major Linux distros. Progent's data security consultants have earned industry-recognized certifications including CISA, CISSP, CRISC, and CMMC 2.0. (Refer to certifications earned by Progent consultants). Progent also has top-tier support in financial management and ERP software. This breadth of skills allows Progent to salvage and consolidate the undamaged parts of your network following a ransomware assault and rebuild them quickly into a viable system. Progent has collaborated with top cyber insurance carriers like Chubb to assist businesses clean up after ransomware assaults.
Contact Progent for Ransomware System Restoration Consulting Services in Fort Worth
For ransomware system recovery expertise in the Fort Worth metro area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.