Network Help for Small Organizations

Ransomware Hot Line: 800-462-8800

24x7 Online Help from a Senior Ransomware Consultant
Ransomware requires time to steal its way through a target network. Because of this, ransomware assaults are typically launched on weekends and late at night, when support staff may be slower to become aware of a penetration and are least able to organize a rapid and coordinated response. The more lateral movement ransomware is able to manage inside a victim's system, the more time it takes 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 intended to guide you to take the urgent first phase in responding to a ransomware attack by containing the malware. Progent's online ransomware engineers can assist businesses to locate and isolate breached devices and protect clean resources from being compromised.

If your system has been penetrated by any version of ransomware, act fast. Get immediate help by calling Progent's 24x7 Ransomware Hot Line at 800-462-8800.

Progent's Ransomware Response Expertise
Modern variants of ransomware like Ryuk, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, and Egregor encrypt online data and invade any available backups. Files synchronized to the cloud can also be corrupted. For a poorly defended network, this can make system restoration nearly impossible and effectively knocks the IT system back to square one. Threat Actors (TAs), the hackers behind a ransomware attack, demand a ransom fee for the decryptors needed to unlock scrambled files. Ransomware attacks also attempt to steal (or "exfiltrate") information and hackers require an additional settlement in exchange for not posting this data on the dark web. Even if you are able to rollback your network to an acceptable point in time, exfiltration can pose a big problem depending on the sensitivity of the stolen information.

The restoration process subsequent to ransomware penetration involves several crucial phases, most of which can proceed in parallel if the response workgroup has a sufficient number of members with the necessary experience.

• Quarantine: This urgent initial response requires blocking the sideways spread of the attack across your network. The longer a ransomware attack is permitted to run unrestricted, the longer and more expensive the recovery process. Because of this, Progent keeps a round-the-clock Ransomware Hotline monitored by veteran ransomware response experts. Quarantine processes include cutting off affected endpoints from the network to minimize the spread, documenting the IT system, and securing entry points.
• Operational continuity: This involves restoring the IT system to a basic acceptable degree of capability with the shortest possible delay. This process is typically the top priority for the targets of the ransomware attack, who often see it as a life-or-death issue for their business. This activity also demands the broadest array of IT skills that span domain controllers, DHCP servers, physical and virtual servers, desktops, laptops and mobile phones, databases, productivity and mission-critical applications, network architecture, and protected endpoint access management. Progent's recovery experts use state-of-the-art collaboration tools to coordinate the multi-faceted recovery effort. Progent appreciates the importance of working quickly, continuously, and in unison with a customer's management and network support group to prioritize activity and to get essential services on line again as fast as possible.
• Data recovery: The effort necessary to recover files damaged by a ransomware assault varies according to the state of the systems, the number of files that are affected, and what recovery methods are required. Ransomware attacks can destroy pivotal databases which, if not carefully shut down, may have to be rebuilt from the beginning. This can include DNS and AD databases. Exchange and Microsoft SQL Server rely on Active Directory, and many manufacturing and other business-critical applications are powered by Microsoft SQL Server. Often some detective work may be required to find clean data. For example, undamaged OST files may exist on employees' PCs and notebooks that were not connected during the ransomware attack. Progent's ProSight Data Protection Services utilize Altaro VM Backup tools to defend against ransomware attacks by leveraging Immutable Cloud Storage. This creates tamper-proof data that cannot be modified by any user including administrators.
• Implementing advanced antivirus/ransomware protection: Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring uses SentinelOne's machine learning technology to offer small and medium-sized businesses the benefits of the same AV technology implemented by many of the world's biggest corporations such as Netflix, Visa, and NASDAQ. By delivering real-time malware filtering, classification, containment, recovery and forensics in one integrated platform, ProSight ASM cuts TCO, simplifies management, and expedites recovery. SentinelOne's next-generation endpoint protection (NGEP) incorporated in Progent's Active Security Monitoring was ranked by Gartner Group as the "most visionary Endpoint Protection Platform (EPP)." Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. Learn 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 settlements with hackers. This calls for close co-operation with the ransomware victim and the cyber insurance carrier, if any. Services include establishing the kind of ransomware used in the assault; identifying and establishing communications the hacker; testing decryption tool; deciding on a settlement amount with the ransomware victim and the cyber insurance carrier; establishing a settlement amount and timeline with the hacker; checking adherence to anti-money laundering (AML) regulations; carrying out the crypto-currency disbursement to the TA; receiving, reviewing, and operating the decryption utility; debugging failed files; creating a pristine environment; mapping and reconnecting drives to match precisely their pre-encryption state; and restoring physical and virtual devices and services.
• Forensics: This activity is aimed at discovering the ransomware assault's storyline throughout the network from beginning to end. This history of the way a ransomware assault travelled through the network assists your IT staff to assess the damage and uncovers vulnerabilities in security policies or work habits that should be rectified to avoid later break-ins. Forensics entails the examination of all logs, registry, Group Policy Object (GPO), Active Directory (AD), DNS servers, routers, firewalls, schedulers, and core Windows systems to detect changes. Forensic analysis is usually given a high priority by the cyber insurance carrier. Since forensic analysis can be time consuming, it is critical that other key activities like business continuity are performed in parallel. Progent maintains a large roster of IT and cybersecurity experts with the skills needed to carry out activities for containment, operational resumption, and data recovery without disrupting forensics.

Download Datasheet: Progent's Ransomware Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR) Services
For a datasheet describing Progent's ransomware endpoint detection and response (EDR) services, click:
Progent's Progent's Ransomware Endpoint Detection and Response Services Datasheet. (PDF - 748 KB)

Contact Progent for Ransomware System Recovery Services
For ransomware cleanup consulting services, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.