Minneapolis Ransomware Protection and Removal Solutions

Ransomware has become the weapon of choice for the major cyber-crime organizations and rogue governments, representing a possibly existential threat to companies that fall victim. Current versions of ransomware target everything, including online backup, making even partial restoration a long and costly process. New versions of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Mailto (aka Netwalker), Phobos, Snatch and Nephilim have made the headlines, displacing Locky, TeslaCrypt, and NotPetya in prominence, elaborateness, and destructive impact.

90% of crypto-ransomware penetrations are the result of innocent-seeming emails that include malicious hyperlinks or attachments, and a high percentage are so-called "zero-day" variants that can escape detection by traditional signature-based antivirus (AV) filters. Although user education and frontline identification are critical to defend your network against ransomware, leading practices dictate that you assume some attacks will eventually succeed and that you implement a solid backup mechanism that allows you to repair the damage rapidly with little if any damage.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Vulnerability Assessment is a low-cost service built around an online interview with a Progent security expert experienced in ransomware defense and repair. In the course of this interview Progent will collaborate with your Minneapolis IT managers to collect pertinent data about your cybersecurity posture and backup environment. Progent will utilize this information to produce a Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment documenting how to apply best practices for configuring and administering your security and backup solution to block or recover from a ransomware assault.

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

Cybersecurity

• Effective use of admin accounts
• Correct NTFS and SMB (Server Message Block) authorizations
• Proper firewall configuration
• Safe Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) configuration
• Recommend AntiVirus filtering identification and deployment

• Split permission model for backup integrity
• Backing up key servers such as Active Directory
• Geographically dispersed backups including cloud backup to Microsoft Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a form of malicious software that encrypts or steals files so they are unusable or are made publicly available. Crypto-ransomware often locks the target's computer. To avoid the damage, the victim is asked to send a certain ransom, usually in the form of a crypto currency like Bitcoin, within a brief time window. It is never certain that paying the ransom will recover the lost data or prevent its publication. Files can be altered or deleted across a network depending on the target's write permissions, and you cannot solve the military-grade encryption technologies used on the hostage files. A common ransomware attack vector is spoofed email, whereby the target is tricked into interacting with by a social engineering technique called spear phishing. This makes the email to appear to come from a trusted source. Another common vulnerability is a poorly protected RDP port.

CryptoLocker opened the new age of ransomware in 2013, and the monetary losses caused by different versions of ransomware is estimated at billions of dollars annually, more than doubling every other year. Notorious attacks include WannaCry, and NotPetya. Recent high-profile threats like Ryuk, DoppelPaymer and Spora are more elaborate and have wreaked more damage than older versions. Even if your backup/recovery procedures permit you to restore your encrypted data, you can still be threatened by exfiltration, where stolen data are exposed to the public. Because additional variants of ransomware are launched daily, there is no guarantee that traditional signature-matching anti-virus tools will block the latest attack. If an attack does show up in an email, it is important that your users have been taught to be aware of phishing tricks. Your last line of defense is a sound process for scheduling and retaining remote backups plus the deployment of dependable restoration tools.

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