Greensboro Ransomware Filtering and Cleanup Expertise

Ransomware has been weaponized by cybercriminals and rogue states, representing a possibly existential risk to companies that fall victim. The latest versions of crypto-ransomware target all vulnerable resources, including backup, making even partial restoration a challenging and expensive process. New variations of ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Mailto (aka Netwalker), Phobos, Conti and Egregor have emerged, displacing Locky, TeslaCrypt, and Petya in prominence, sophistication, and destructiveness.

90% of ransomware infections come from innocent-seeming emails that include dangerous links or file attachments, and many are "zero-day" strains that can escape the defenses of legacy signature-based antivirus filters. While user education and up-front detection are critical to defend against ransomware attacks, leading practices dictate that you take for granted some attacks will eventually succeed and that you prepare a strong backup mechanism that enables you to recover quickly with minimal damage.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Preparedness Checkup is an ultra-affordable service built around an online discussion with a Progent security consultant experienced in ransomware protection and repair. In the course of this interview Progent will work directly with your Greensboro IT management staff to gather critical data concerning your security profile and backup environment. Progent will utilize this data to produce a Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment documenting how to apply best practices for implementing and administering your cybersecurity and backup systems to prevent or clean up after a crypto-ransomware attack.

Progent's Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment highlights vital issues related to crypto-ransomware defense and restoration recovery. The report covers:

Cybersecurity

• Effective allocation and use of admin accounts
• Assigning NTFS (New Technology File System) and SMB permissions
• Proper firewall configuration
• Safe Remote Desktop Protocol configuration
• Recommend AntiVirus (AV) tools identification and deployment

• Split permission architecture for backup integrity
• Backing up critical servers such as AD
• Offsite backups with cloud backup to Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a type of malicious software that encrypts or steals a victim's files so they cannot be used or are made publicly available. Ransomware often locks the target's computer. To avoid the damage, the target is required to send a specified amount of money (the ransom), usually in the form of a crypto currency like Bitcoin, within a short period of time. There is no guarantee that delivering the extortion price will restore the damaged data or prevent its publication. Files can be encrypted or deleted throughout a network based on the victim's write permissions, and you cannot break the strong encryption technologies used on the compromised files. A typical ransomware attack vector is tainted email, in which the target is tricked into interacting with by means of a social engineering technique known as spear phishing. This causes the email to look as though it came from a familiar sender. Another popular attack vector is a poorly protected RDP port.

CryptoLocker opened the modern era of crypto-ransomware in 2013, and the damage attributed to by the many versions of ransomware is estimated at billions of dollars annually, roughly doubling every other year. Notorious attacks include WannaCry, and Petya. Current headline threats like Ryuk, Sodinokibi and CryptoWall are more complex and have caused more damage than older versions. Even if your backup/recovery procedures permit you to restore your encrypted files, you can still be hurt by so-called exfiltration, where ransomed documents are exposed to the public (known as "doxxing"). Because additional versions of ransomware are launched every day, there is no certainty that traditional signature-matching anti-virus filters will detect a new attack. If an attack does show up in an email, it is critical that your end users have learned to identify phishing techniques. Your last line of protection is a sound scheme for performing and keeping offsite backups and the use of reliable recovery platforms.

Ask Progent About the ProSight Ransomware Preparedness Consultation in Greensboro
For pricing information and to find out more about how Progent's ProSight Ransomware Preparedness Testing can enhance your protection against ransomware in Greensboro, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.