24-Hour San Diego UCSD Urgent Crypto
Computer Virus Identification and Repair Services

Ransomware : Your Feared IT Catastrophe
Ransomware has become an escalating cyberplague that presents an extinction-level threat for organizations vulnerable to an attack. Versions of ransomware like the CryptoLocker, WannaCry, Locky, Syskey and MongoLock cryptoworms have been out in the wild for a long time and continue to inflict havoc. Modern variants of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, Snatch or Egregor, along with daily as yet unnamed malware, not only do encryption of online data but also infect any configured system backup. Data replicated to cloud environments can also be ransomed. In a poorly architected data protection solution, it can make automated restoration useless and effectively knocks the network back to zero.

Getting back online programs and information following a ransomware outage becomes a sprint against the clock as the victim fights to contain the damage, clear the virus, and resume mission-critical operations. Since ransomware takes time to replicate, assaults are often sprung during nights and weekends, when attacks are likely to take longer to discover. This compounds the difficulty of quickly mobilizing and organizing a qualified response team.

Progent makes available a variety of help services for securing organizations from ransomware penetrations. Among these are team training to become familiar with and not fall victim to phishing scams, ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) for remote monitoring and management, plus setup and configuration of next-generation security gateways with artificial intelligence capabilities from SentinelOne to identify and disable day-zero cyber attacks automatically. Progent in addition provides the assistance of seasoned ransomware recovery engineers with the skills and perseverance to rebuild a compromised environment as rapidly as possible.

Progent's Crypto-Ransomware Recovery Support Services
Soon after a ransomware invasion, paying the ransom demands in cryptocurrency does not ensure that merciless criminals will return the keys to decrypt any or all of your data. Kaspersky estimated that seventeen percent of ransomware victims never restored their data even after having sent off the ransom, resulting in more losses. The gamble is also very costly. Ryuk ransoms are commonly a few hundred thousand dollars. For larger organizations, the ransom can reach millions of dollars. The other path is to setup from scratch the critical components of your Information Technology environment. Absent access to essential data backups, this requires a wide range of IT skills, professional project management, and the willingness to work non-stop until the task is over.

For twenty years, Progent has offered certified expert IT services for businesses throughout the US and has earned Microsoft's Partnership certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's group of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes consultants who have attained high-level industry certifications in key technologies including Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and major distributions of Linux. Progent's security experts have earned internationally-recognized industry certifications including CISA, CISSP, ISACA CRISC, SANS GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (See Progent's certifications). Progent in addition has experience with accounting and ERP software solutions. This breadth of experience provides Progent the ability to efficiently understand necessary systems and organize the surviving components of your IT system after a ransomware attack and assemble them into a functioning system.

Progent's recovery team of experts uses state-of-the-art project management applications to coordinate the sophisticated recovery process. Progent understands the urgency of acting rapidly and together with a client's management and Information Technology staff to prioritize tasks and to put key applications back on-line as soon as humanly possible.

Customer Case Study: A Successful Crypto-Ransomware Virus Recovery
A client contacted Progent after their organization was taken over by the Ryuk ransomware. Ryuk is believed to have been launched by Northern Korean government sponsored cybercriminals, possibly using strategies leaked from the U.S. National Security Agency. Ryuk seeks specific organizations with limited ability to sustain operational disruption and is among the most lucrative incarnations of crypto-ransomware. High publicized organizations include Data Resolution, a California-based info warehousing and cloud computing firm, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's client is a regional manufacturer located in Chicago with about 500 staff members. The Ryuk intrusion had shut down all company operations and manufacturing processes. The majority of the client's information backups had been on-line at the start of the intrusion and were damaged. The client was taking steps for paying the ransom (in excess of $200K) and wishfully thinking for good luck, but ultimately engaged Progent.

Progent worked hand in hand the client to quickly determine and assign priority to the mission critical services that needed to be recovered in order to restart company functions:

• Microsoft Active Directory
• Microsoft Exchange
• Financials/MRP

Within 48 hours, Progent was able to rebuild Active Directory services to its pre-intrusion state. Progent then initiated rebuilding and storage recovery of needed servers. All Exchange Server ties and configuration information were usable, which accelerated the restore of Exchange. Progent was also able to collect local OST files (Microsoft Outlook Off-Line Data Files) on staff PCs and laptops to recover email messages. A not too old off-line backup of the businesses accounting software made them able to restore these vital applications back online for users. Although significant work still had to be done to recover completely from the Ryuk damage, critical systems were restored rapidly:

Throughout the following couple of weeks key milestones in the recovery process were made through tight collaboration between Progent team members and the client:

• In-house web applications were brought back up with no loss of data.
• The MailStore Exchange Server containing more than 4 million historical messages was spun up and accessible to users.
• CRM/Product Ordering/Invoices/AP/Accounts Receivables (AR)/Inventory capabilities were 100 percent recovered.
• A new Palo Alto 850 firewall was brought online.
• Most of the desktop computers were back into operation.

Conclusion
A potential business disaster was dodged by hard-working experts, a wide spectrum of IT skills, and close teamwork. Although in analyzing the event afterwards the ransomware penetration described here would have been identified and disabled with modern security solutions and NIST Cybersecurity Framework or ISO/IEC 27001 best practices, staff education, and appropriate incident response procedures for data backup and keeping systems up to date with security patches, the fact remains that state-sponsored cybercriminals from China, North Korea and elsewhere are relentless and represent an ongoing threat. If you do fall victim to a crypto-ransomware virus, remember that Progent's team of professionals has proven experience in ransomware virus defense, remediation, and file recovery.

To read or download a PDF version of this ransomware incident report, please click:
Progent's Ryuk Recovery Case Study Datasheet. (PDF - 282 KB)

Additional Ransomware Protection Services Offered by Progent
Progent offers companies in San Diego UCSD a variety of remote monitoring and security evaluation services designed to assist you to reduce the threat from ransomware. These services utilize next-generation artificial intelligence technology to detect zero-day strains of crypto-ransomware that are able to escape detection by legacy signature-based anti-virus products.

• ProSight LAN Watch: Server and Desktop Monitoring
  ProSight LAN Watch is Progent's server and desktop remote monitoring managed service that uses state-of-the-art remote monitoring and management (RMM) technology to keep your IT system running efficiently by checking the health of vital assets that drive your information system. When ProSight LAN Watch uncovers a problem, an alarm is transmitted immediately to your specified IT management personnel and your assigned Progent engineering consultant so all potential problems can be addressed before they have a chance to impact productivity. Find out more about ProSight LAN Watch server and desktop remote monitoring services.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Unified RMM Solution for Networks, Servers, and Desktops
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software offers a centralized, cloud-driven platform for managing your client-server infrastructure by providing tools for streamlining common tedious tasks. These can include health monitoring, update management, automated remediation, endpoint configuration, backup and restore, anti-virus response, secure remote access, built-in and custom scripts, asset inventory, endpoint status reporting, and troubleshooting assistance. When ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM identifies a serious incident, it sends an alert to your designated IT personnel and your assigned Progent consultant so that emerging issues can be fixed before they interfere with your network. Find out more about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop remote monitoring consulting.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Infrastructure Management
  Progent's ProSight WAN Watch is a network infrastructure management service that makes it easy and inexpensive for small and mid-sized organizations to diagram, track, reconfigure and debug their connectivity appliances like switches, firewalls, and wireless controllers plus servers, printers, endpoints and other devices. Incorporating cutting-edge RMM technology, ProSight WAN Watch ensures that infrastructure topology diagrams are kept current, copies and manages the configuration of virtually all devices connected to your network, monitors performance, and generates alerts when issues are discovered. By automating tedious network management activities, WAN Watch can knock hours off common tasks like making network diagrams, reconfiguring your network, locating devices that need important software patches, or resolving performance issues. Learn more about ProSight WAN Watch network infrastructure management consulting.

• ProSight Reporting: Real-time and In-depth Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Platforms
  ProSight Reporting is an expanding suite of real-time and in-depth management reporting tools created to work with the top ticketing and remote network monitoring applications such as ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Automate, Customer Thermometer, Auvik, and SentinelOne. ProSight Reporting incorporates Microsoft Graph and features color coding to surface and contextualize critical issues such as spotty support follow-through or machines with missing patches. By identifying ticketing or network health concerns clearly and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting enhances network value, lowers management hassle, and saves money. For more information, visit ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring platforms.

• ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS): Backup and Recovery Services
  Progent has worked with advanced backup/restore technology providers to produce ProSight Data Protection Services, a portfolio of management offerings that deliver backup-as-a-service (BaaS). ProSight DPS products automate and monitor your backup processes and allow transparent backup and fast recovery of important files/folders, applications, images, and VMs. ProSight DPS helps your business avoid data loss resulting from hardware breakdown, natural disasters, fire, malware such as ransomware, user error, ill-intentioned insiders, or software glitches. Managed backup services in the ProSight Data Protection Services product line include ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight DPS ECHO Backup using Barracuda dedicated storage, and ProSight DPS MSP360 Hybrid Backup. Your Progent expert can assist you to identify which of these managed backup services are best suited for your network.

• ProSight Email Guard: Inbound and Outbound Spam Filtering and Data Leakage Protection
  ProSight Email Guard is Progent's spam and virus filtering service that incorporates the infrastructure of top data security companies to provide centralized management and world-class security for all your inbound and outbound email. The powerful architecture of Progent's Email Guard managed service combines a Cloud Protection Layer with a local gateway appliance to provide complete protection against spam, viruses, Dos Attacks, Directory Harvest Attacks (DHAs), and other email-borne malware. The Cloud Protection Layer acts as a preliminary barricade and blocks most unwanted email from making it to your network firewall. This reduces your vulnerability to inbound attacks and saves system bandwidth and storage. Email Guard's on-premises gateway device adds a further level of analysis for inbound email. For outgoing email, the local security gateway provides anti-virus and anti-spam protection, DLP, and email encryption. The on-premises gateway can also assist Microsoft Exchange Server to monitor and safeguard internal email that originates and ends inside your security perimeter. For more information, visit Email Guard spam and content filtering.

• ProSight Duo Multi-Factor Authentication: ID Confirmation, Endpoint Remediation, and Secure Single Sign-on (SSO)
  Progent's Duo authentication services utilize Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against password theft through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo enables one-tap identity confirmation on iOS, Google Android, and other personal devices. Using 2FA, whenever you sign into a secured application and enter your password you are asked to verify your identity via a device that only you have and that uses a different network channel. A wide selection of devices can be utilized for this second means of authentication such as an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You may register multiple verification devices. To learn more about ProSight Duo two-factor identity authentication services, refer to Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for access security.

• Progent's Outsourced/Shared Help Desk: Support Desk Managed Services
  Progent's Help Desk managed services enable your information technology team to outsource Help Desk services to Progent or divide responsibilities for Service Desk support seamlessly between your internal network support team and Progent's nationwide pool of certified IT service engineers and subject matter experts (SMEs). Progent's Shared Help Desk Service offers a seamless extension of your core IT support group. End user interaction with the Help Desk, delivery of technical assistance, escalation, trouble ticket creation and tracking, performance metrics, and maintenance of the support database are consistent whether incidents are resolved by your internal IT support organization, by Progent, or both. Read more about Progent's outsourced/shared Service Center services.

• Active Protection Against Ransomware: AI-based Ransomware Identification and Remediation
  Progent's Active Defense Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection managed service that incorporates cutting edge behavior-based machine learning technology to defend endpoints and servers and VMs against modern malware assaults such as ransomware and email phishing, which routinely evade traditional signature-based anti-virus tools. Progent ASM services safeguard local and cloud resources and provides a single platform to address the complete threat lifecycle including blocking, detection, mitigation, cleanup, and forensics. Top capabilities include single-click rollback using Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and automatic system-wide immunization against newly discovered attacks. Find out more about Progent's ransomware protection and recovery services.

• ProSight IT Asset Management: Network Documentation Management
  Progent's ProSight IT Asset Management service is a cloud-based IT documentation management service that makes it easy to create, maintain, find and protect information related to your IT infrastructure, processes, applications, and services. You can quickly locate passwords or IP addresses and be warned automatically about impending expirations of SSLs or domains. By updating and managing your network documentation, you can save as much as 50% of time thrown away searching for critical information about your network. ProSight IT Asset Management features a common location for holding and sharing all documents required for managing your business network like standard operating procedures and self-service instructions. ProSight IT Asset Management also supports advanced automation for gathering and relating IT data. Whether you're planning improvements, performing regular maintenance, or responding to a crisis, ProSight IT Asset Management gets you the information you require as soon as you need it. Learn more about ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Patch Management: Software/Firmware Update Management Services
  Progent's support services for patch management provide businesses of any size a versatile and cost-effective solution for evaluating, validating, scheduling, implementing, and documenting software and firmware updates to your ever-evolving IT network. Besides maximizing the security and reliability of your computer network, Progent's software/firmware update management services allow your IT team to focus on more strategic projects and activities that derive maximum business value from your information network. Read more about Progent's patch management support services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted VMs at Progent's World-class Data Center
  With ProSight Virtual Hosting service, a small business can have its critical servers and apps hosted in a secure Tier III data center on a high-performance virtual machine host set up and maintained by Progent's network support professionals. With Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting model, the client retains ownership of the data, the OS platforms, and the apps. Because the environment is virtualized, it can be ported easily to a different hardware solution without a lengthy and difficult reinstallation process. With ProSight Virtual Hosting, you are not tied one hosting provider. Find out more details about ProSight Virtual Hosting services.

• ProSight Active Security Monitoring: Endpoint Protection and Ransomware Defense
  Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring is an endpoint protection (EPP) solution that incorporates SentinelOne's cutting edge behavior analysis technology to guard physical and virtual endpoint devices against new malware assaults such as ransomware and email phishing, which easily get by traditional signature-based AV products. ProSight ASM protects local and cloud resources and provides a single platform to address the entire malware attack lifecycle including filtering, infiltration detection, mitigation, cleanup, and post-attack forensics. Top capabilities include one-click rollback with Windows VSS and automatic network-wide immunization against newly discovered threats. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. Find out more about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) next-generation endpoint protection and ransomware defense.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP): Physical and Virtual Endpoint Security and Exchange Email Filtering
  Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP) services deliver affordable in-depth security for physical servers and VMs, workstations, mobile devices, and Microsoft Exchange. ProSight ESP uses contextual security and advanced machine learning for round-the-clock monitoring and reacting to cyber assaults from all vectors. ProSight ESP provides firewall protection, intrusion alerts, endpoint control, and web filtering through leading-edge tools incorporated within one agent accessible from a unified console. Progent's data protection and virtualization experts can assist you to plan and implement a ProSight ESP deployment that meets your company's unique needs and that helps you demonstrate compliance with legal and industry information security standards. Progent will assist you specify and configure policies that ProSight ESP will manage, and Progent will monitor your network and react to alarms that call for urgent attention. Progent can also assist your company to install and test a backup and disaster recovery system like ProSight Data Protection Services so you can recover rapidly from a destructive cyber attack such as ransomware. Read more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection unified endpoint protection and Exchange filtering.