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Crypto-Ransomware : Your Crippling Information Technology Nightmare
Ransomware has become a too-frequent cyberplague that poses an existential danger for businesses of all sizes unprepared for an assault. Different iterations of ransomware such as Dharma, Fusob, Locky, SamSam and MongoLock cryptoworms have been out in the wild for years and still inflict destruction. Newer strains of crypto-ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, Snatch or Nephilim, along with more unnamed newcomers, not only encrypt online data but also infect many accessible system protection. Information synchronized to cloud environments can also be encrypted. In a poorly designed system, it can make any recovery useless and basically sets the entire system back to zero.

Getting back online services and information following a crypto-ransomware attack becomes a race against time as the targeted business tries its best to stop the spread, cleanup the ransomware, and restore enterprise-critical activity. Due to the fact that crypto-ransomware needs time to move laterally, penetrations are usually sprung on weekends, when successful attacks in many cases take longer to notice. This multiplies the difficulty of rapidly mobilizing and coordinating a capable response team.

Progent provides a variety of services for securing enterprises from crypto-ransomware attacks. Among these are staff 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 the latest generation security solutions with artificial intelligence capabilities from SentinelOne to detect and suppress new cyber threats rapidly. Progent in addition offers the assistance of seasoned ransomware recovery consultants with the track record and perseverance to rebuild a breached environment as rapidly as possible.

Progent's Ransomware Recovery Services
Subsequent to a crypto-ransomware invasion, paying the ransom demands in cryptocurrency does not ensure that criminal gangs will return the keys to unencrypt any or all of your data. Kaspersky Labs determined that 17% of ransomware victims never restored their information after having sent off the ransom, resulting in increased losses. The risk is also costly. Ryuk ransoms are often several hundred thousand dollars. For larger enterprises, the ransom can be in the millions of dollars. The other path is to re-install the essential components of your Information Technology environment. Absent the availability of complete data backups, this calls for a broad range of skill sets, top notch team management, and the capability to work non-stop until the task is complete.

For two decades, Progent has offered certified expert Information Technology services for businesses across the US and has achieved Microsoft's Partnership certification status in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's pool of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes professionals who have earned advanced certifications in important technologies like Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and popular distributions of Linux. Progent's cybersecurity experts have garnered internationally-renowned certifications including CISA, CISSP, ISACA CRISC, GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (See Progent's certifications). Progent also has expertise with financial systems and ERP application software. This breadth of expertise gives Progent the skills to rapidly determine necessary systems and consolidate the remaining parts of your network environment after a crypto-ransomware penetration and rebuild them into an operational system.

Progent's security team deploys top notch project management tools to orchestrate the complex recovery process. Progent knows the urgency of acting rapidly and in concert with a customer's management and IT staff to prioritize tasks and to get the most important systems back on line as fast as possible.

Customer Case Study: A Successful Crypto-Ransomware Intrusion Response
A business hired Progent after their network was crashed by Ryuk ransomware. Ryuk is thought to have been created by North Korean state hackers, possibly using strategies leaked from America's National Security Agency. Ryuk goes after specific organizations with limited ability to sustain operational disruption and is among the most profitable versions of ransomware viruses. Major victims include Data Resolution, a California-based data warehousing and cloud computing company, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's customer is a small manufacturing business based in Chicago with around 500 workers. The Ryuk intrusion had brought down all company operations and manufacturing processes. Most of the client's data backups had been directly accessible at the beginning of the intrusion and were damaged. The client was pursuing financing for paying the ransom demand (exceeding two hundred thousand dollars) and wishfully thinking for good luck, but ultimately brought in Progent.

Progent worked hand in hand the client to quickly get our arms around and prioritize the most important areas that needed to be recovered in order to continue business operations:

• Windows Active Directory
• Electronic Messaging
• MRP System

Within 48 hours, Progent was able to rebuild Active Directory services to its pre-penetration state. Progent then completed rebuilding and storage recovery of essential systems. All Exchange Server data and configuration information were intact, which facilitated the rebuild of Exchange. Progent was also able to find non-encrypted OST files (Outlook Offline Data Files) on staff desktop computers and laptops to recover email data. A recent off-line backup of the businesses manufacturing systems made them able to restore these required programs back on-line. Although a lot of work remained to recover fully from the Ryuk damage, critical systems were returned to operations rapidly:

Over the next few weeks critical milestones in the recovery project were accomplished in close cooperation between Progent team members and the customer:

• Internal web applications were restored with no loss of information.
• The MailStore Microsoft Exchange Server exceeding 4 million archived emails was spun up and accessible to users.
• CRM/Customer Orders/Invoicing/Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivables/Inventory Control capabilities were fully operational.
• A new Palo Alto 850 security appliance was set up.
• Nearly all of the desktops and laptops were operational.

Conclusion
A probable business-ending catastrophe was evaded with top-tier experts, a broad array of knowledge, and tight collaboration. Although in retrospect the crypto-ransomware virus penetration described here would have been identified and disabled with current cyber security technology solutions and security best practices, staff training, and well designed security procedures for data protection and proper patching controls, the reality remains that government-sponsored cyber criminals from China, Russia, North Korea and elsewhere are tireless and will continue. If you do fall victim to a ransomware virus, remember that Progent's team of professionals has substantial experience in crypto-ransomware virus defense, removal, and data restoration.

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

Additional Ransomware Protection Services Offered by Progent
Progent can provide companies in Baltimore a variety of online monitoring and security evaluation services to assist you to reduce your vulnerability to ransomware. These services utilize next-generation artificial intelligence technology to detect zero-day strains of crypto-ransomware that are able to evade traditional signature-based anti-virus products.

• ProSight Managed Service Plans: for Small to Mid-size Businesses
  Progent's ProSight Managed IT Service Packages make it possible for small and mid-size companies to deploy Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology to create leading-edge network resilience. Progent takes care of the daily monitoring and management for you, so your network expands readily without becoming an obstacle. For an affordable and predictable monthly subscription, Progent's experienced IT group can be your complete technology safety net. Basic plans include RMM, security, monthly patching, and documentation. As your requirements grow, you can add low-cost subscriptions to advanced solutions such as SaaS M365/Google Workspace backup, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), penetration testing, or WiFi management.

• ProSight LAN Watch: Server and Desktop Remote Monitoring
  ProSight LAN Watch is Progent's server and desktop monitoring service that uses state-of-the-art remote monitoring and management techniques to keep your network operating efficiently by tracking the state of critical computers that power your business network. When ProSight LAN Watch detects a problem, an alert is transmitted immediately to your specified IT management personnel and your assigned Progent consultant so all potential issues can be addressed before they have a chance to disrupt your network. Learn more details about ProSight LAN Watch server and desktop monitoring services.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Centralized RMM for Networks, Servers, and Workstations
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software delivers a unified, cloud-based platform for monitoring and managing your client-server infrastructure by offering tools for streamlining common tedious jobs. These can include health monitoring, patch management, automated repairs, endpoint setup, backup and restore, anti-virus defense, secure remote access, standard and custom scripts, resource inventory, endpoint status reports, and debugging support. If ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM uncovers a serious incident, it transmits an alert to your specified IT management staff and your assigned Progent consultant so potential problems can be taken care of before they impact productivity. Find out more about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop monitoring services.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Infrastructure Remote Monitoring and Management
  ProSight WAN Watch is a network infrastructure monitoring and management service that makes it simple and affordable for smaller businesses to diagram, monitor, enhance and troubleshoot their connectivity appliances like routers and switches, firewalls, and wireless controllers as well as servers, endpoints and other networked devices. Incorporating cutting-edge RMM technology, ProSight WAN Watch ensures that infrastructure topology diagrams are always current, copies and manages the configuration of virtually all devices on your network, monitors performance, and sends alerts when problems are discovered. By automating time-consuming network management processes, ProSight WAN Watch can knock hours off common chores like making network diagrams, reconfiguring your network, locating appliances that need critical updates, or isolating performance problems. Find out more details about ProSight WAN Watch infrastructure management services.

• ProSight Reporting: In-depth Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Applications
  ProSight Reporting is an expanding family of real-time and in-depth reporting tools designed to integrate with the top ticketing and network monitoring platforms including 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 inconsistent support follow-through or endpoints with missing patches. By exposing ticketing or network health concerns concisely and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting improves productivity, reduces management hassle, and saves money. For more information, see ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring applications.

• ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS): Managed Backup and Recovery Services
  Progent has worked with advanced backup/restore software providers to create ProSight Data Protection Services, a portfolio of subscription-based management offerings that provide backup-as-a-service. ProSight DPS services automate and monitor your data backup processes and enable non-disruptive backup and fast recovery of vital files/folders, applications, images, plus Hyper-V and VMware virtual machines. ProSight DPS lets you protect against data loss resulting from hardware breakdown, natural disasters, fire, cyber attacks like ransomware, user mistakes, malicious employees, or software bugs. Managed backup services available in the ProSight Data Protection Services product family include ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight ECHO Backup based on Barracuda dedicated hardware, and ProSight DPS MSP360 Hybrid Backup. Your Progent consultant can help you to determine which of these managed backup services are most appropriate 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 and email encryption service that incorporates the technology of top information security vendors to deliver web-based control and comprehensive protection for your inbound and outbound email. The powerful structure of Email Guard managed service combines a Cloud Protection Layer with a local security gateway appliance to offer advanced defense against spam, viruses, Dos Attacks, Directory Harvest Attacks, and other email-borne threats. Email Guard's cloud filter acts as a first line of defense and blocks the vast majority of threats from reaching your security perimeter. This reduces your vulnerability to inbound attacks and conserves network bandwidth and storage. Email Guard's on-premises gateway appliance provides a further layer of inspection for inbound email. For outgoing email, the on-premises security gateway provides AV and anti-spam protection, protection against data leaks, and email encryption. The local gateway can also assist Microsoft Exchange Server to monitor and protect internal email that originates and ends within your corporate firewall. For more details, see ProSight Email Guard spam and content filtering.

• ProSight Duo Multi-Factor Authentication: Access Security, Endpoint Policy Enforcement, and Secure Single Sign-on
  Progent's Duo MFA service plans incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to protect against stolen passwords by using two-factor authentication. Duo supports one-tap identity verification on Apple iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, when you sign into a protected online account and give your password you are requested to confirm who you are via a unit that only you possess and that is accessed using a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A wide selection of out-of-band devices can be used as this added means of authentication including an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You may register several validation devices. To learn more about ProSight Duo two-factor identity authentication services, refer to Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for access security.

• Progent's Outsourced/Shared Help Center: Call Center Managed Services
  Progent's Help Center managed services enable your IT group to offload Help Desk services to Progent or split responsibilities for Service Desk support seamlessly between your internal network support staff and Progent's nationwide roster of certified IT support technicians, engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's Shared Help Desk Service offers a smooth extension of your internal support staff. End user access to the Help Desk, provision of support services, escalation, ticket generation and tracking, performance measurement, and maintenance of the support database are consistent regardless of whether incidents are taken care of by your in-house IT support group, by Progent, or by a combination. Learn more about Progent's outsourced/co-managed Service Center services.

• Progent Active Protection Against Ransomware: Machine Learning-based Ransomware Identification and Remediation
  Progent's Active Defense Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection service that incorporates cutting edge behavior analysis technology to guard endpoints and physical and virtual servers against new malware attacks like ransomware and file-less exploits, which easily get by traditional signature-matching AV tools. Progent Active Security Monitoring services safeguard local and cloud-based resources and offers a single platform to manage the complete malware attack lifecycle including filtering, identification, containment, remediation, and forensics. Key capabilities include single-click rollback with Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and real-time network-wide immunization against new threats. Learn more about Progent's ransomware protection and cleanup 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, retrieve and protect information about your network infrastructure, procedures, applications, and services. You can quickly locate passwords or serial numbers and be alerted automatically about upcoming expirations of SSL certificates or warranties. By updating and organizing your network documentation, you can eliminate up to half of time spent trying to find critical information about your network. ProSight IT Asset Management includes a centralized repository for storing and collaborating on all documents related to managing your network infrastructure such as recommended procedures and self-service instructions. ProSight IT Asset Management also offers a high level of automation for gathering and relating IT information. Whether you're making improvements, doing maintenance, or reacting to a crisis, ProSight IT Asset Management gets you the data you require when you need it. Read more about Progent's ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Patch Management: Software/Firmware Update Management Services
  Progent's managed services for software and firmware patch management provide organizations of all sizes a versatile and affordable solution for evaluating, testing, scheduling, applying, and documenting software and firmware updates to your dynamic IT network. Besides maximizing the protection and reliability of your IT network, Progent's software/firmware update management services permit your in-house IT team to focus on line-of-business projects and tasks that derive maximum business value from your network. Read more about Progent's patch management services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted VMs at Progent's World-class Data Center
  With Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting service, a small organization can have its key servers and applications hosted in a secure Tier III data center on a fast virtual host configured and managed by Progent's network support experts. With the ProSight Virtual Hosting service model, the client owns the data, the operating system platforms, and the apps. Because the environment is virtualized, it can be moved immediately to a different hardware environment without requiring a time-consuming and technically risky reinstallation process. With ProSight Virtual Hosting, you are not tied a single hosting service. Learn more 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 utilizes SentinelOne's cutting edge behavior-based machine learning technology to guard physical and virtual endpoint devices against modern malware assaults like ransomware and file-less exploits, which easily escape traditional signature-based anti-virus tools. ProSight Active Security Monitoring protects local and cloud resources and offers a single platform to address the entire threat lifecycle including filtering, identification, containment, remediation, and post-attack forensics. Key features include one-click rollback with Windows VSS and real-time 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 recovery.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP): Physical and Virtual Endpoint Security and Microsoft Exchange Email Filtering
  Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection services deliver affordable multi-layer security for physical servers and VMs, desktops, mobile devices, and Microsoft Exchange. ProSight ESP utilizes contextual security and modern behavior analysis for round-the-clock monitoring and responding to security threats from all attack vectors. ProSight ESP provides two-way firewall protection, penetration alarms, device management, and web filtering through leading-edge tools packaged within a single agent managed from a single control. Progent's security and virtualization consultants can assist your business to design and configure a ProSight ESP environment that meets your organization's specific needs and that helps you demonstrate compliance with legal and industry information security regulations. Progent will help you specify and configure security policies that ProSight ESP will manage, and Progent will monitor your network and respond to alerts that call for urgent attention. Progent can also help your company to install and verify a backup and disaster recovery solution like ProSight Data Protection Services so you can get back in business rapidly from a destructive security attack like ransomware. Learn more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP) unified endpoint protection and Exchange email filtering.