Fresno Ransomware Defense and Restoration Expertise

Ransomware has been weaponized by cybercriminals and malicious states, posing a potentially lethal risk to companies that are successfully attacked. Current strains of crypto-ransomware go after everything, including backup, making even selective restoration a complex and costly exercise. Novel variations of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, DopplePaymer, Snatch and Egregor have made the headlines, displacing Locky, Spora, and NotPetya in notoriety, sophistication, and destructiveness.

90% of crypto-ransomware breaches are the result of innocuous-seeming emails that include dangerous links or file attachments, and many are so-called "zero-day" variants that elude detection by legacy signature-based antivirus (AV) filters. While user training and up-front identification are critical to protect against ransomware, best practices demand that you take for granted some malware will inevitably get through and that you implement a strong backup solution that enables you to recover quickly with minimal damage.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Preparedness Checkup is a low-cost service centered around a remote interview with a Progent cybersecurity expert experienced in ransomware defense and recovery. In the course of this interview Progent will collaborate directly with your Fresno network managers to gather pertinent data about your security setup and backup environment. Progent will use this information to generate a Basic Security and Best Practices Report documenting how to apply leading practices for configuring and managing your cybersecurity and backup solution to prevent or recover from a ransomware assault.

Progent's Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment highlights key areas related to ransomware prevention and restoration recovery. The report covers:

Security

• Correct use of administration accounts
• Assigning NTFS and SMB (Server Message Block) authorizations
• Optimal firewall setup
• Safe RDP access
• Advice about AntiVirus filtering identification and configuration

• Split permission architecture for backup protection
• Protecting required servers such as Active Directory
• Geographically dispersed backups including cloud backup to Microsoft Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a form of malicious software that encrypts or steals a victim's files so they cannot be used or are publicized. Crypto-ransomware often locks the target's computer. To prevent the carnage, the target is required to pay a certain amount of money (the ransom), usually in the form of a crypto currency like Bitcoin, within a short time window. It is not guaranteed that delivering the extortion price will restore the lost files or prevent its publication. Files can be encrypted or erased throughout a network based on the victim's write permissions, and you cannot solve the military-grade encryption algorithms used on the hostage files. A typical ransomware attack vector is spoofed email, whereby the target is tricked into responding to by means of a social engineering exploit known as spear phishing. This causes the email message to appear to come from a trusted sender. Another popular attack vector is an improperly secured Remote Desktop Protocol port.

The ransomware variant CryptoLocker ushered in the new age of ransomware in 2013, and the monetary losses attributed to by different versions of ransomware is said to be billions of dollars per year, roughly doubling every two years. Notorious attacks are Locky, and NotPetya. Recent headline variants like Ryuk, DoppelPaymer and Cerber are more elaborate and have caused more damage than older strains. Even if your backup procedures enable your business to recover your encrypted files, you can still be hurt by so-called exfiltration, where ransomed data are exposed to the public (known as "doxxing"). Because additional versions of ransomware are launched daily, there is no certainty that traditional signature-based anti-virus filters will block the latest malware. If an attack does show up in an email, it is critical that your users have learned to be aware of social engineering techniques. Your last line of defense is a solid process for performing and keeping remote backups plus the use of dependable recovery tools.

Ask Progent About the ProSight Crypto-Ransomware Preparedness Audit in Fresno
For pricing details and to learn more about how Progent's ProSight Ransomware Susceptibility Assessment can enhance your defense against crypto-ransomware in Fresno, phone Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.