Porto Alegre 24/7 Urgent Crypto
Computer Virus Detection and Restoration Support

Ransomware : Your Worst Information Technology Nightmare
Ransomware has become a too-frequent cyberplague that represents an extinction-level danger for organizations poorly prepared for an assault. Versions of ransomware such as Dharma, CryptoWall, Bad Rabbit, Syskey and MongoLock cryptoworms have been replicating for years and still cause harm. More recent versions of crypto-ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, Snatch or Nephilim, as well as more as yet unnamed newcomers, not only encrypt on-line critical data but also infiltrate most configured system protection. Files synched to cloud environments can also be held hostage. In a poorly architected data protection solution, this can render any restore operations hopeless and basically sets the datacenter back to square one.

Getting back on-line applications and information after a ransomware attack becomes a race against time as the targeted organization struggles to contain, eradicate the ransomware, and resume mission-critical activity. Because ransomware requires time to replicate, assaults are frequently launched on weekends and holidays, when attacks are likely to take more time to identify. This multiplies the difficulty of quickly mobilizing and coordinating a capable mitigation team.

Progent offers a range of services for securing organizations from crypto-ransomware attacks. Among these are staff training to help recognize and not fall victim to phishing exploits, ProSight Active Security Monitoring for remote monitoring and management, along with setup and configuration of next-generation security appliances with AI capabilities from SentinelOne to detect and extinguish zero-day threats automatically. Progent in addition offers the services of experienced crypto-ransomware recovery engineers with the track record and commitment to rebuild a compromised environment as rapidly as possible.

Progent's Ransomware Restoration Help
Soon after a ransomware event, sending the ransom in cryptocurrency does not guarantee that cyber hackers will return the keys to decipher all your data. Kaspersky Labs ascertained that 17% of crypto-ransomware victims never restored their files after having paid the ransom, resulting in additional losses. The risk is also costly. Ryuk ransoms are often several hundred thousand dollars. For larger organizations, the ransom can be in the millions of dollars. The fallback is to setup from scratch the vital elements of your Information Technology environment. Without access to essential information backups, this requires a wide range of skills, well-coordinated project management, and the capability to work continuously until the task is complete.

For two decades, Progent has made available professional Information Technology services for businesses across the U.S. and has earned Microsoft's Partnership certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's group of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes engineers who have been awarded top industry certifications in important technologies including Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and popular distributions of Linux. Progent's cybersecurity experts have garnered internationally-renowned industry certifications including CISM, CISSP, ISACA CRISC, GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (See Progent's certifications). Progent also has expertise with accounting and ERP application software. This breadth of experience provides Progent the capability to quickly understand critical systems and integrate the surviving components of your IT environment after a ransomware penetration and configure them into an operational network.

Progent's security group has best of breed project management tools to orchestrate the complex recovery process. Progent understands the importance of working swiftly and in unison with a customer's management and Information Technology staff to prioritize tasks and to put the most important applications back on-line as soon as humanly possible.

Business Case Study: A Successful Crypto-Ransomware Attack Restoration
A client contacted Progent after their company was penetrated by Ryuk crypto-ransomware. Ryuk is thought to have been deployed by Northern Korean state sponsored criminal gangs, possibly using algorithms exposed from America's National Security Agency. Ryuk seeks specific businesses with limited tolerance for operational disruption and is one of the most profitable examples of ransomware malware. Well Known targets include Data Resolution, a California-based data warehousing and cloud computing company, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's client is a single-location manufacturing company located in the Chicago metro area and has around 500 workers. The Ryuk event had brought down all company operations and manufacturing capabilities. The majority of the client's information backups had been directly accessible at the time of the intrusion and were eventually encrypted. The client was taking steps for paying the ransom (more than $200,000) and wishfully thinking for the best, but ultimately reached out to Progent.

Progent worked hand in hand the client to quickly assess and assign priority to the mission critical systems that needed to be recovered to make it possible to resume business functions:

• Microsoft Active Directory
• Electronic Mail
• Accounting/MRP

Within 48 hours, Progent was able to recover Windows Active Directory to its pre-attack state. Progent then assisted with setup and hard drive recovery on essential servers. All Microsoft Exchange Server data and attributes were intact, which greatly helped the rebuild of Exchange. Progent was also able to locate non-encrypted OST data files (Microsoft Outlook Off-Line Folder Files) on staff PCs to recover email information. A recent offline backup of the customer's accounting/ERP systems made them able to return these required applications back servicing users. Although major work remained to recover totally from the Ryuk damage, the most important systems were recovered quickly:

During the next couple of weeks critical milestones in the restoration project were completed through tight collaboration between Progent consultants and the customer:

• In-house web applications were returned to operation with no loss of data.
• The MailStore Exchange Server containing more than four million archived messages was restored to operations and accessible to users.
• CRM/Customer Orders/Invoicing/AP/Accounts Receivables (AR)/Inventory capabilities were 100 percent operational.
• A new Palo Alto Networks 850 security appliance was brought online.
• Ninety percent of the user desktops were back into operation.

Conclusion
A likely enterprise-killing disaster was dodged through the efforts of dedicated experts, a broad range of IT skills, and close collaboration. Although in post mortem the ransomware virus penetration detailed here should have been identified and disabled with modern cyber security systems and security best practices, user education, and well thought out incident response procedures for data backup and proper patching controls, the fact is that state-sponsored hackers from China, Russia, North Korea and elsewhere are relentless and are an ongoing threat. If you do fall victim to a ransomware incursion, feel confident that Progent's roster of professionals has proven experience in ransomware virus defense, removal, and file recovery.

To read or download a PDF version of this customer case study, please click:
Progent's Crypto-Ransomware Recovery Case Study Datasheet. (PDF - 282 KB)

Additional Ransomware Protection Services Offered by Progent
Progent can provide companies in Porto Alegre a range of online monitoring and security evaluation services to help you to minimize the threat from ransomware. These services include next-generation AI technology to uncover new variants of ransomware that are able to evade legacy signature-based anti-virus solutions.

• ProSight Managed Service Packages: for Small to Mid-size Businesses
  Progent's ProSight Managed IT Service Packages make it feasible for small and mid-size businesses to utilize Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology to achieve leading-edge network resilience. Progent takes care of the daily monitoring and maintenance for you, so your system scales readily without holding you back. For a low and predictable monthly price, Progent's experienced IT group can be your complete technology safety net. Basic plans include RMM, cybersecurity, automatic monthly patching, and documentation. As your requirements expand, you can add low-cost subscriptions to advanced options like as SaaS M365/Google Workspace backup and restore, Multi-Factor Authentication, pen testing, or WiFi management.

• ProSight LAN Watch: Server and Desktop Monitoring and Management
  ProSight LAN Watch is Progent's server and desktop remote monitoring service that incorporates advanced remote monitoring and management technology to keep your network operating at peak levels by checking the state of vital assets that drive your information system. When ProSight LAN Watch uncovers a problem, an alarm is transmitted automatically to your specified IT personnel and your Progent engineering consultant so any looming issues can be addressed before they have a chance to impact your network. Learn more details about ProSight LAN Watch server and desktop monitoring consulting.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Centralized RMM for Networks, Servers, and Desktops
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software delivers a unified, cloud-based solution for monitoring and managing your network, server, and desktop devices by providing an environment for performing common tedious tasks. These include health monitoring, update management, automated repairs, endpoint configuration, backup and restore, anti-virus protection, remote access, built-in and custom scripts, resource inventory, endpoint profile reporting, and troubleshooting help. When ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM uncovers a serious issue, it transmits an alarm to your specified IT management staff and your Progent consultant so that potential problems can be taken care of before they interfere with productivity. Find out more details about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop remote monitoring services.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Infrastructure Remote Monitoring and Management
  ProSight WAN Watch is a network infrastructure monitoring and management service that makes it easy and affordable for smaller organizations to map out, track, enhance and troubleshoot their connectivity appliances such as routers and switches, firewalls, and access points plus servers, endpoints and other networked devices. Incorporating state-of-the-art RMM technology, WAN Watch makes sure that network diagrams are always current, captures and displays the configuration information of virtually all devices connected to your network, monitors performance, and sends notices when problems are discovered. By automating time-consuming management and troubleshooting activities, ProSight WAN Watch can cut hours off common chores such as network mapping, expanding your network, finding devices that need critical software patches, or isolating performance bottlenecks. Find out more about ProSight WAN Watch infrastructure monitoring and management services.

• ProSight Reporting: In-depth Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Applications
  ProSight Reporting is an expanding family of real-time management reporting tools designed to integrate with the top ticketing and remote network monitoring platforms such as ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Automate, Customer Thermometer, Auvik, and SentinelOne. ProSight Reporting incorporates Microsoft Graph and features color coding to highlight and contextualize critical issues such as spotty support follow-up or machines with missing patches. By exposing ticketing or network health concerns concisely 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 Recovery Services
  Progent has partnered with advanced backup/restore technology providers to create ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a family of offerings that deliver backup-as-a-service. ProSight DPS services manage and track your data backup processes and enable transparent backup and fast recovery of vital files, applications, images, and virtual machines. ProSight DPS lets your business avoid data loss resulting from hardware failures, natural disasters, fire, cyber attacks such as ransomware, human error, ill-intentioned employees, or application glitches. Managed services in the ProSight Data Protection Services product family include ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight DPS ECHO Backup using Barracuda purpose-built storage, and ProSight DPS MSP360 Hybrid Backup. Your Progent consultant can assist 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 leading data security vendors to deliver web-based management and world-class security for all your email traffic. The powerful architecture of Email Guard managed service integrates cloud-based filtering with a local security gateway device to provide complete defense against spam, viruses, Dos Attacks, Directory Harvest Attacks (DHAs), and other email-borne malware. The Cloud Protection Layer serves as a preliminary barricade and keeps most threats from reaching your network firewall. This decreases your exposure to inbound threats and conserves system bandwidth and storage. Email Guard's on-premises security gateway appliance adds a deeper layer of inspection for incoming email. For outbound email, the onsite gateway offers anti-virus and anti-spam protection, protection against data leaks, and email encryption. The on-premises security gateway can also assist Microsoft Exchange Server to monitor and safeguard internal email that stays within your corporate firewall. For more details, see ProSight Email Guard spam filtering and data leakage protection.

• ProSight Duo Two-Factor Authentication: Access Security, Endpoint Policy Enforcement, and Protected Single Sign-on (SSO)
  Progent's Duo authentication managed services incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to protect against compromised passwords through the use of two-factor authentication. Duo supports one-tap identity verification with iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, when you sign into a protected online account and enter your password you are asked to verify your identity via a device that only you have and that is accessed using a different network channel. A wide range of devices can be used for this second form of authentication such as a smartphone or wearable, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You can designate multiple validation devices. To learn more about Duo two-factor identity validation services, refer to Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for access security.

• Progent's Outsourced/Shared Call Center: Support Desk Managed Services
  Progent's Call Desk managed services permit your information technology group to offload Call Center services to Progent or split responsibilities for Service Desk support seamlessly between your internal support resources and Progent's extensive pool of certified IT service engineers and subject matter experts (SMEs). Progent's Co-managed Help Desk Service provides a smooth extension of your in-house IT support organization. Client interaction with the Help Desk, delivery of technical assistance, problem escalation, ticket creation and updates, performance metrics, and maintenance of the service database are consistent regardless of whether incidents are resolved by your internal support group, by Progent's team, or both. Learn more about Progent's outsourced/co-managed Help Desk services.

• Active Defense Against Ransomware: Machine Learning-based Ransomware Detection and Remediation
  Progent's Active Protection Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection (EPP) managed service that utilizes cutting edge behavior-based analysis tools to guard endpoint devices and physical and virtual servers against new malware attacks like ransomware and email phishing, which easily escape legacy signature-based anti-virus tools. Progent Active Security Monitoring services safeguard on-premises and cloud-based resources and provides a single platform to automate the complete threat lifecycle including blocking, infiltration detection, mitigation, remediation, and forensics. Key capabilities include one-click rollback using Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and real-time network-wide immunization against newly discovered attacks. Learn more about Progent's ransomware protection and recovery services.

• ProSight IT Asset Management: Network Documentation Management
  ProSight IT Asset Management service is an IT infrastructure documentation management service that makes it easy to create, update, retrieve and protect data related to your IT infrastructure, procedures, applications, and services. You can instantly locate passwords or IP addresses and be warned automatically about upcoming expirations of SSL certificates or warranties. By updating and organizing your IT documentation, you can eliminate as much as 50% of time spent searching for vital information about your IT network. ProSight IT Asset Management features a common repository for storing and collaborating on all documents required for managing your business network such as recommended procedures and How-To's. ProSight IT Asset Management also supports a high level of automation for collecting and relating IT information. Whether you're making improvements, doing maintenance, or responding to an emergency, ProSight IT Asset Management gets you the knowledge you need when you need it. Learn more about Progent's ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Progent's Patch Management: Software/Firmware Update Management Services
  Progent's support services for patch management provide businesses of all sizes a flexible and affordable solution for assessing, testing, scheduling, implementing, and tracking software and firmware updates to your dynamic information network. In addition to optimizing the protection and functionality of your IT network, Progent's software/firmware update management services free up time for your in-house IT staff to concentrate on line-of-business initiatives and activities that deliver maximum business value from your network. Read 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 key servers and applications hosted in a protected fault tolerant data center on a fast virtual host set up and maintained by Progent's IT support experts. With the ProSight Virtual Hosting service model, the client owns the data, the operating system platforms, and the apps. Because the system is virtualized, it can be moved immediately to a different hosting environment without requiring a lengthy and difficult configuration process. With ProSight Virtual Hosting, your business is not locked into a single hosting service. Find out more about ProSight Virtual Hosting services.

• ProSight Active Security Monitoring: Endpoint Protection and Ransomware Defense
  ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) is an endpoint protection (EPP) service that incorporates SentinelOne's next generation behavior machine learning technology to defend physical and virtual endpoint devices against modern malware assaults like ransomware and file-less exploits, which routinely get by legacy signature-based anti-virus products. ProSight ASM safeguards on-premises and cloud-based resources and provides a single platform to address the entire malware attack lifecycle including protection, infiltration detection, containment, cleanup, and forensics. Top features include one-click rollback with Windows VSS and real-time network-wide immunization against newly discovered attacks. 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: Endpoint Protection and Exchange Filtering
  ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP) services offer ultra-affordable multi-layer protection for physical and virtual servers, workstations, mobile devices, and Exchange Server. ProSight ESP uses contextual security and advanced heuristics for continuously monitoring and responding to security threats from all attack vectors. ProSight ESP provides firewall protection, penetration alarms, device control, and web filtering through cutting-edge technologies incorporated within a single agent accessible from a single console. Progent's data protection and virtualization consultants can assist your business to design and implement a ProSight ESP deployment that meets your company's unique needs and that allows you prove compliance with legal and industry information protection standards. Progent will assist you specify and implement policies that ProSight ESP will manage, and Progent will monitor your network and react to alerts that call for immediate action. Progent's consultants can also assist you to set up and verify a backup and restore system such as ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) so you can get back in business quickly from a potentially disastrous cyber attack such as ransomware. Find out more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP) unified physical and virtual endpoint protection and Microsoft Exchange filtering.