Fargo Ransomware Defense and Removal Services

Ransomware has become the weapon of choice for cybercriminals and rogue states, representing a possibly lethal threat to businesses that are breached. Current versions of crypto-ransomware target all vulnerable resources, including online backup, making even selective restoration a challenging and costly process. Novel versions of ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Mailto (aka Netwalker), DopplePaymer, Snatch and Nephilim have made the headlines, displacing Locky, TeslaCrypt, and NotPetya in prominence, elaborateness, and destructiveness.

90% of crypto-ransomware infections come from innocuous-looking emails with dangerous hyperlinks or attachments, and a high percentage are "zero-day" variants that can escape the defenses of legacy signature-matching antivirus filters. While user education and frontline identification are critical to protect against ransomware attacks, leading practices demand that you take for granted some attacks will eventually succeed and that you implement a solid backup solution that allows you to restore files and services quickly with little if any damage.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Preparedness Checkup is a low-cost service centered around a remote discussion with a Progent security consultant skilled in ransomware defense and repair. In the course of this assessment Progent will cooperate with your Fargo network management staff to collect pertinent information concerning your cybersecurity posture and backup environment. Progent will utilize this data to generate a Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment detailing how to adhere to leading practices for configuring and administering your security and backup solution to prevent or clean up after a ransomware assault.

Progent's Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment highlights key areas associated with crypto-ransomware defense and restoration recovery. The report addresses:

Security

• Effective use of administration accounts
• Correct NTFS (New Technology File System) and SMB authorizations
• Optimal firewall setup
• Secure RDP configuration
• Advice about AntiVirus tools identification and configuration

• Split permission model for backup protection
• Protecting critical servers such as AD
• Offsite backups including cloud backup to Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts or steals a victim's files so they are unusable or are made publicly available. Crypto-ransomware often locks the victim's computer. To avoid the carnage, the victim is required to send a certain ransom, typically in the form of a crypto currency like Bitcoin, within a short period of time. It is not guaranteed that paying the ransom will restore the damaged files or avoid its exposure to the public. Files can be altered or deleted throughout a network based on the victim's write permissions, and you cannot reverse engineer the strong encryption technologies used on the hostage files. A common ransomware attack vector is booby-trapped email, in which the target is lured into interacting with by a social engineering exploit called spear phishing. This causes the email message to appear to come from a familiar sender. Another common attack vector is an improperly secured RDP port.

The ransomware variant CryptoLocker opened the modern era of ransomware in 2013, and the monetary losses caused by the many versions of ransomware is said to be billions of dollars annually, roughly doubling every other year. Famous attacks include Locky, and NotPetya. Recent high-profile variants like Ryuk, DoppelPaymer and TeslaCrypt are more complex and have caused more damage than earlier strains. Even if your backup/recovery procedures allow you to restore your ransomed files, you can still be hurt by so-called exfiltration, where stolen data are exposed to the public. Because additional versions of ransomware are launched daily, there is no certainty that traditional signature-based anti-virus filters will block the latest attack. If threat does show up in an email, it is important that your end users have learned to be aware of social engineering tricks. Your ultimate defense is a solid process for scheduling and keeping offsite backups and the use of dependable restoration platforms.

Contact Progent About the ProSight Crypto-Ransomware Readiness Report in Fargo
For pricing information and to find out more about how Progent's ProSight Ransomware Readiness Review can bolster your protection against crypto-ransomware in Fargo, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.