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Computer Virus Detection and Repair Consulting

Ransomware : Your Worst Information Technology Catastrophe
Ransomware has become an escalating cyberplague that presents an enterprise-level threat for organizations poorly prepared for an assault. Multiple generations of crypto-ransomware like the Reveton, CryptoWall, Bad Rabbit, Syskey and MongoLock cryptoworms have been running rampant for many years and still inflict havoc. The latest variants of ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, Snatch or Egregor, plus more as yet unnamed malware, not only do encryption of online data but also infect many configured system protection mechanisms. Data synchronized to the cloud can also be encrypted. In a poorly architected environment, it can make automatic restore operations useless and basically knocks the datacenter back to zero.

Getting back applications and information after a ransomware intrusion becomes a sprint against time as the targeted organization tries its best to contain the damage, cleanup the crypto-ransomware, and resume mission-critical activity. Because ransomware needs time to move laterally, assaults are usually launched at night, when penetrations may take longer to identify. This multiplies the difficulty of rapidly assembling and organizing a capable response team.

Progent makes available a variety of services for securing businesses from crypto-ransomware penetrations. These include team member education to help recognize and avoid phishing scams, ProSight Active Security Monitoring for remote monitoring and management, along with installation of next-generation security solutions with machine learning technology from SentinelOne to identify and suppress day-zero cyber attacks automatically. Progent in addition provides the assistance of expert ransomware recovery engineers with the talent and commitment to restore a breached environment as rapidly as possible.

Progent's Crypto-Ransomware Restoration Support Services
After a ransomware penetration, paying the ransom demands in cryptocurrency does not guarantee that criminal gangs will provide the codes to decipher all your files. Kaspersky Labs determined that 17% of ransomware victims never recovered their files even after having sent off the ransom, resulting in increased losses. The risk is also very costly. Ryuk ransoms are typically a few hundred thousand dollars. For larger enterprises, the ransom can reach millions. The fallback is to setup from scratch the mission-critical components of your Information Technology environment. Absent access to full data backups, this calls for a broad range of skill sets, top notch project management, and the willingness to work non-stop until the task is done.

For decades, Progent has made available professional Information Technology services for businesses throughout the United States and has achieved Microsoft's Partnership certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's pool of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes consultants who have been awarded top certifications in foundation technologies including Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and major distributions of Linux. Progent's security engineers have earned internationally-renowned industry certifications including CISA, CISSP-ISSAP, ISACA CRISC, SANS GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (Refer to Progent's certifications). Progent in addition has experience with financial systems and ERP software solutions. This breadth of expertise provides Progent the skills to knowledgably determine necessary systems and re-organize the remaining pieces of your Information Technology environment following a ransomware event and rebuild them into a functioning system.

Progent's security group deploys best of breed project management tools to orchestrate the complicated recovery process. Progent understands the urgency of working quickly and together with a customer's management and Information Technology staff to prioritize tasks and to get critical applications back online as soon as possible.

Client Case Study: A Successful Crypto-Ransomware Incident Recovery
A small business engaged Progent after their company was attacked by the Ryuk ransomware. Ryuk is generally considered to have been created by North Korean state hackers, suspected of adopting techniques leaked from America's National Security Agency. Ryuk seeks specific businesses with little or no room for operational disruption and is one of the most lucrative versions of crypto-ransomware. Major victims include Data Resolution, a California-based info warehousing and cloud computing company, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's client is a small manufacturing business located in Chicago with around 500 workers. The Ryuk attack had brought down all company operations and manufacturing processes. Most of the client's information backups had been on-line at the beginning of the attack and were encrypted. The client was evaluating paying the ransom (more than $200,000) and hoping for good luck, but ultimately called Progent.

Progent worked with the client to quickly determine and assign priority to the key elements that needed to be recovered to make it possible to resume departmental functions:

• Active Directory
• Microsoft Exchange
• Accounting and Manufacturing Software

Within 2 days, Progent was able to re-build Active Directory services to its pre-intrusion state. Progent then performed setup and hard drive recovery on needed applications. All Exchange Server schema and configuration information were usable, which facilitated the rebuild of Exchange. Progent was able to find non-encrypted OST files (Microsoft Outlook Offline Folder Files) on team workstations in order to recover mail data. A not too old off-line backup of the customer's financials/MRP systems made it possible to return these vital programs back online. Although a large amount of work was left to recover completely from the Ryuk virus, core services were restored quickly:

Over the next month critical milestones in the restoration project were achieved in close collaboration between Progent engineers and the customer:

• In-house web sites were brought back up with no loss of data.
• The MailStore Microsoft Exchange Server exceeding four million historical messages was brought online and accessible to users.
• CRM/Orders/Invoicing/AP/AR/Inventory Control functions were completely functional.
• A new Palo Alto Networks 850 security appliance was installed.
• 90% of the user workstations were operational.

Conclusion
A probable business-ending disaster was avoided through the efforts of results-oriented experts, a wide range of IT skills, and tight collaboration. Although upon completion of forensics the crypto-ransomware attack described here would have been identified and stopped with up-to-date cyber security technology solutions and NIST Cybersecurity Framework best practices, team training, and properly executed incident response procedures for backup and keeping systems up to date with security patches, the reality is that government-sponsored criminal cyber gangs from Russia, China and elsewhere are relentless and will continue. If you do fall victim to a ransomware attack, feel confident that Progent's team of professionals has substantial experience in crypto-ransomware virus defense, remediation, and data disaster recovery.

To review or download a PDF version of this case study, please click:
Progent's Ryuk Virus Recovery Case Study Datasheet. (PDF - 282 KB)

Additional Ransomware Protection Services Available from Progent
Progent offers businesses in Appleton a range of online monitoring and security assessment services to assist you to minimize the threat from crypto-ransomware. These services include modern machine learning technology to detect new strains of ransomware that are able to escape detection by legacy signature-based security solutions.

• ProSight Managed Service Packages: for Small to Mid-size Businesses
  Progent's ProSight Managed IT Service Packages make it realistic for small and mid-size companies to utilize Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology to create advanced IT resilience. Progent handles the daily monitoring and management for you, so your system expands readily without holding you back. For an affordable and predictable monthly subscription, Progent's experienced IT team can be your dependable technology safety net. Entry-level plans include remote monitoring and management (RMM), cybersecurity, automatic monthly patching, and reporting. As your needs expand, you can add low-cost subscriptions to advanced solutions such as SaaS M365/Google Workspace backup, Multi-Factor Authentication, pen testing, or WiFi management.

• ProSight LAN Watch: Server and Desktop Remote Monitoring
  ProSight LAN Watch is Progent's server and desktop monitoring managed service that uses advanced remote monitoring and management techniques to keep your network running at peak levels by tracking the health of vital assets that drive your information system. When ProSight LAN Watch uncovers an issue, an alert is transmitted automatically to your designated IT personnel and your assigned Progent consultant so that any potential problems can be addressed before they can impact productivity. Find out more details about ProSight LAN Watch server and desktop monitoring services.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Centralized RMM Solution for Networks, Servers, and Desktops
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software delivers a centralized, cloud-based solution for monitoring and managing your client-server infrastructure by offering an environment for performing common tedious tasks. These include health monitoring, update management, automated remediation, endpoint deployment, backup and restore, anti-virus protection, remote access, built-in and custom scripts, resource inventory, endpoint profile reports, and debugging assistance. If ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM identifies a serious problem, it transmits an alert to your specified IT personnel and your assigned Progent technical consultant so that emerging issues can be fixed before they impact productivity. Find out more about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop monitoring services.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Network Infrastructure Remote Monitoring and Management
  Progent's ProSight WAN Watch is a network infrastructure management service that makes it easy and inexpensive for smaller organizations to map out, track, enhance and debug their connectivity appliances such as routers, firewalls, and wireless controllers as well as servers, endpoints and other devices. Using state-of-the-art Remote Monitoring and Management technology, ProSight WAN Watch ensures that network diagrams are always current, copies and displays the configuration of virtually all devices connected to your network, tracks performance, and generates alerts when problems are discovered. By automating time-consuming network management activities, WAN Watch can cut hours off ordinary tasks like network mapping, expanding your network, locating devices that need important updates, or isolating performance issues. Find out more details about ProSight WAN Watch infrastructure management consulting.

• ProSight Reporting: In-depth Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Platforms
  ProSight Reporting is an expanding suite of real-time and in-depth reporting plug-ins designed to integrate with the top ticketing and remote network monitoring programs such as ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Automate, Customer Thermometer, Auvik, and SentinelOne. ProSight Reporting incorporates Microsoft Graph and utilizes color coding to surface and contextualize key issues such as spotty support follow-up or machines with missing patches. By exposing ticketing or network health concerns clearly and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting improves productivity, lowers management overhead, and saves money. For more information, visit ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring platforms.

• ProSight Data Protection Services: Backup and Disaster Recovery Services
  Progent has partnered with leading backup technology providers to create ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a selection of management outsourcing plans that provide backup-as-a-service (BaaS). ProSight DPS services automate and monitor your backup processes and enable transparent backup and fast recovery of critical files, applications, images, and virtual machines. ProSight DPS helps you recover from data loss caused by equipment breakdown, natural calamities, fire, cyber attacks such as ransomware, human error, ill-intentioned employees, or application glitches. Managed services available in the ProSight Data Protection Services product family include ProSight Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight DPS ECHO Backup using Barracuda purpose-built storage, and ProSight MSP360 Hybrid Backup. Your Progent expert can help you to identify which of these managed 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 uses the infrastructure of top data security vendors to provide centralized control and comprehensive protection for all your inbound and outbound email. The hybrid architecture of Email Guard managed service integrates a Cloud Protection Layer with a local gateway appliance to offer complete protection against spam, viruses, Denial of Service Attacks, DHAs, and other email-borne threats. Email Guard's cloud filter acts as a first line of defense and blocks most threats from reaching your security perimeter. This decreases your exposure to external threats and conserves network bandwidth and storage. Email Guard's onsite gateway appliance provides a deeper layer of inspection for inbound email. For outbound email, the on-premises gateway offers anti-virus and anti-spam filtering, DLP, and email encryption. The onsite gateway can also help Microsoft Exchange Server to monitor and protect internal email that stays within your corporate firewall. For more details, see Email Guard spam and content filtering.

• ProSight Duo Two-Factor Authentication: ID Confirmation, Endpoint Remediation, and Secure Single Sign-on
  Progent's Duo MFA managed services incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against password theft by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables single-tap identity confirmation with Apple iOS, Google Android, and other personal devices. With Duo 2FA, whenever you log into a secured application and give your password you are asked to verify your identity via a unit that only you possess and that is accessed using a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A broad selection of devices can be used for this second form of ID validation including an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You may designate several verification devices. To learn more about Duo identity authentication services, visit Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for access security.

• Progent's Outsourced/Shared Service Center: Call Center Managed Services
  Progent's Call Desk managed services permit your IT staff to outsource Call Center services to Progent or divide activity for Service Desk support seamlessly between your in-house network support staff and Progent's extensive roster of certified IT support engineers and subject matter experts (SMEs). Progent's Shared Service Desk provides a transparent supplement to your internal support group. Client access to the Help Desk, delivery of technical assistance, problem escalation, ticket creation and updates, efficiency measurement, and maintenance of the support database are cohesive regardless of whether incidents are taken care of by your in-house support resources, by Progent's team, or by a combination. Read more about Progent's outsourced/shared Call Center services.

• Progent Active Defense Against Ransomware: Machine Learning-based Ransomware Identification and Remediation
  Progent's Active Defense Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection solution that incorporates next generation behavior analysis tools to guard endpoints and physical and virtual servers against new malware assaults like ransomware and email phishing, which routinely escape legacy signature-based AV tools. Progent Active Security Monitoring services protect local and cloud resources and offers a unified platform to address the entire threat lifecycle including protection, detection, containment, remediation, and forensics. Key features include single-click rollback using Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and automatic system-wide immunization against newly discovered attacks. 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 allows you to create, maintain, find and safeguard information related to your IT infrastructure, procedures, applications, and services. You can instantly find passwords or serial numbers and be warned automatically about upcoming expirations of SSLs or warranties. By updating and managing your network documentation, you can save up to 50% 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 business network such as standard operating procedures (SOPs) and How-To's. ProSight IT Asset Management also supports a high level of automation for collecting and associating IT information. Whether you're making improvements, doing maintenance, or reacting to an emergency, ProSight IT Asset Management delivers the information you require as soon as you need it. Read more about ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Patch Management: Patch Management Services
  Progent's managed services for patch management provide businesses of any size a versatile and affordable solution for assessing, validating, scheduling, implementing, and documenting software and firmware updates to your ever-evolving IT network. In addition to optimizing the security and functionality of your computer network, Progent's patch management services permit your in-house IT staff to focus on line-of-business projects and tasks that derive the highest business value from your network. Learn more about Progent's patch management support services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted VMs at Progent's World-class Data Center
  With Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting service, a small or mid-size organization can have its critical servers and apps hosted in a secure fault tolerant data center on a fast virtual host set up and maintained by Progent's network support professionals. With the ProSight Virtual Hosting model, the client owns the data, the operating system software, and the apps. Because the environment is virtualized, it can be ported immediately to an alternate hosting solution without a lengthy and difficult reinstallation process. With ProSight Virtual Hosting, your business is not locked into a single hosting provider. Find out 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) service that utilizes SentinelOne's next generation behavior-based analysis technology to guard physical and virtual endpoints against modern malware assaults such as ransomware and email phishing, which easily evade traditional signature-based AV tools. ProSight Active Security Monitoring protects on-premises and cloud-based resources and provides a unified platform to automate the entire malware attack lifecycle including protection, detection, mitigation, remediation, and post-attack forensics. Top capabilities include one-click rollback with Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and automatic network-wide immunization against newly discovered attacks. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Learn more about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) endpoint protection and ransomware defense.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP): Physical and Virtual Endpoint Protection and Microsoft Exchange Filtering
  ProSight Enhanced Security Protection services deliver affordable multi-layer security for physical servers and VMs, desktops, mobile devices, and Microsoft Exchange. ProSight ESP uses adaptive security and modern behavior analysis for continuously monitoring and responding to security threats from all vectors. ProSight ESP provides two-way firewall protection, penetration alarms, endpoint management, and web filtering through leading-edge tools incorporated within a single agent managed from a single control. Progent's data protection and virtualization consultants can assist your business to plan and configure a ProSight ESP deployment that meets your company's specific requirements and that helps you demonstrate compliance with legal and industry data protection standards. Progent will assist you specify and implement policies that ProSight ESP will enforce, and Progent will monitor your network and react to alerts that require immediate action. Progent can also help your company to set up and test a backup and disaster recovery system such as ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) so you can get back in business quickly from a destructive security attack such as ransomware. Find out more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP) unified endpoint protection and Exchange filtering.