Grand Rapids Ransomware Filtering and Removal Services

Ransomware has become the weapon of choice for cybercriminals and rogue governments, representing a potentially existential risk to businesses that are successfully attacked. Current strains of ransomware go after all vulnerable resources, including backup, making even selective recovery a complex and expensive process. Novel variations of ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Mailto (aka Netwalker), DopplePaymer, LockBit and Nephilim have made the headlines, displacing WannaCry, Spora, and Petya in prominence, elaborateness, and destructiveness.

90% of crypto-ransomware breaches are the result of innocuous-seeming emails with dangerous links or file attachments, and many are "zero-day" variants that elude the defenses of traditional signature-matching antivirus tools. Although user training and up-front detection are important to defend against ransomware attacks, best practices dictate that you assume some attacks will eventually succeed and that you put in place a strong backup solution that permits you to repair the damage rapidly with little if any losses.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Vulnerability Assessment is a low-cost service built around a remote discussion with a Progent security expert skilled in ransomware protection and repair. In the course of this assessment Progent will collaborate directly with your Grand Rapids network management staff to gather pertinent information about your cybersecurity configuration and backup processes. Progent will utilize this data to create a Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment detailing how to adhere to leading practices for implementing and administering your security and backup solution to prevent or recover from a crypto-ransomware attack.

Progent's Basic Security and Best Practices Report focuses on key areas associated with ransomware defense and restoration recovery. The report addresses:

Security

• Proper allocation and use of administration accounts
• Correct NTFS and SMB (Server Message Block) authorizations
• Proper firewall setup
• Secure Remote Desktop Protocol connections
• Advice about AntiVirus (AV) tools identification and deployment

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

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malware that encrypts or steals files so they are unusable or are publicized. Ransomware sometimes locks the victim's computer. To avoid the carnage, the victim is required to send a certain amount of money (the ransom), typically via a crypto currency like Bitcoin, within a short time window. It is not guaranteed that paying the extortion price will recover the lost files or avoid its publication. Files can be encrypted or deleted across a network depending on the target's write permissions, and you cannot break the strong encryption technologies used on the hostage files. A typical ransomware attack vector is booby-trapped email, whereby the target is lured into interacting with by a social engineering exploit called spear phishing. This makes the email message to appear to come from a familiar sender. Another popular vulnerability is an improperly secured Remote Desktop Protocol port.

The ransomware variant CryptoLocker ushered in the new age of crypto-ransomware in 2013, and the monetary losses attributed to by the many versions of ransomware is said to be billions of dollars annually, more than doubling every other year. Famous attacks include Locky, and Petya. Current headline variants like Ryuk, DoppelPaymer and Cerber are more complex and have wreaked more havoc than older strains. Even if your backup procedures permit your business to recover your encrypted files, you can still be hurt by so-called exfiltration, where ransomed documents are made public (known as "doxxing"). Because new variants of ransomware crop up daily, there is no guarantee that conventional signature-matching anti-virus filters will detect a new attack. If an attack does appear in an email, it is critical that your users have learned to be aware of phishing tricks. Your last line of defense is a solid scheme for scheduling and keeping remote backups plus the use of reliable restoration platforms.

Contact Progent About the ProSight Ransomware Readiness Audit in Grand Rapids
For pricing details and to learn more about how Progent's ProSight Ransomware Vulnerability Assessment can enhance your defense against crypto-ransomware in Grand Rapids, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.