Baltimore Ransomware Filtering and Recovery Solutions

Ransomware has become the weapon of choice for cybercriminals and malicious states, representing a potentially existential threat to businesses that are successfully attacked. The latest versions of ransomware go after everything, including backup, making even partial restoration a long and costly exercise. Novel strains of ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, Phobos, Conti and Nephilim have emerged, displacing WannaCry, Spora, and NotPetya in prominence, elaborateness, and destructive impact.

90% of ransomware penetrations are the result of innocuous-looking emails that have malicious hyperlinks or file attachments, and a high percentage are "zero-day" strains that can escape the defenses of legacy signature-matching antivirus tools. While user education and frontline identification are important to defend your network against ransomware, leading practices dictate that you take for granted some malware will inevitably succeed and that you deploy a strong backup mechanism that allows you to recover quickly with little if any damage.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Vulnerability Checkup is a low-cost service built around a remote discussion with a Progent cybersecurity expert experienced in ransomware defense and repair. During this assessment Progent will work with your Baltimore network management staff to gather critical information about your security posture and backup processes. Progent will use this data to generate a Basic Security and Best Practices Report documenting how to follow best practices for implementing and administering your cybersecurity and backup solution to prevent or recover from a crypto-ransomware assault.

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

Security

• Proper allocation and use of admin accounts
• Correct NTFS (New Technology File System) and SMB permissions
• Optimal firewall settings
• Safe Remote Desktop Protocol configuration
• Recommend AntiVirus tools identification and configuration

• Split permission architecture for backup protection
• Protecting critical servers including Active Directory
• Offsite backups including cloud backup to Microsoft Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a form of malicious software that encrypts or deletes a victim's files so they are unusable or are made publicly available. Ransomware sometimes locks the target's computer. To prevent the damage, the victim is required to send a certain ransom, usually in the form of a crypto currency like Bitcoin, within a short period of time. It is not guaranteed that delivering the ransom will recover the lost files or avoid its exposure to the public. Files can be encrypted or deleted across a network based on the victim's write permissions, and you cannot solve the strong encryption technologies used on the compromised files. A typical ransomware delivery package is booby-trapped email, whereby the target is tricked into interacting with by means of a social engineering exploit called spear phishing. This causes the email message to look as though it came from a trusted sender. Another common attack vector is an improperly protected Remote Desktop Protocol port.

The ransomware variant CryptoLocker ushered in the new age of crypto-ransomware in 2013, and the damage attributed to by the many strains of ransomware is said to be billions of dollars annually, roughly doubling every other year. Notorious examples are Locky, and Petya. Recent headline threats like Ryuk, DoppelPaymer and Spora are more sophisticated and have wreaked more havoc than earlier versions. Even if your backup/recovery processes permit you to restore your ransomed files, you can still be hurt by so-called exfiltration, where stolen data are exposed to the public (known as "doxxing"). Because additional versions of ransomware are launched daily, there is no guarantee that traditional signature-based anti-virus filters will detect the latest malware. If threat does show up in an email, it is critical that your end users have learned to identify phishing tricks. Your last line of protection is a solid scheme for scheduling and retaining remote backups and the deployment of reliable recovery platforms.

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