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Computer Virus Assessment and Recovery Experts

Ransomware : Your Feared IT Nightmare
Ransomware has become an escalating cyberplague that presents an extinction-level threat for businesses unprepared for an assault. Different iterations of crypto-ransomware like the Dharma, Fusob, Bad Rabbit, Syskey and MongoLock cryptoworms have been replicating for many years and still inflict harm. Recent variants of ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, Conti or Egregor, along with additional as yet unnamed newcomers, not only encrypt online information but also infiltrate any available system restores and backups. Files replicated to the cloud can also be held hostage. In a vulnerable data protection solution, it can make automatic restoration useless and effectively sets the datacenter back to zero.

Retrieving programs and data following a ransomware attack becomes a race against time as the victim fights to stop lateral movement, eradicate the ransomware, and restore mission-critical activity. Because crypto-ransomware requires time to replicate, attacks are often sprung on weekends and holidays, when penetrations typically take longer to uncover. This compounds the difficulty of promptly mobilizing and organizing a capable mitigation team.

Progent makes available a variety of support services for securing enterprises from crypto-ransomware attacks. Among these are team member training to help recognize and not fall victim to phishing scams, ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) for remote monitoring and management, plus setup and configuration of modern security solutions with AI technology from SentinelOne to discover and disable zero-day threats automatically. Progent also provides the assistance of experienced ransomware recovery consultants with the skills and perseverance to restore a breached system as soon as possible.

Progent's Ransomware Restoration Help
After a ransomware penetration, sending the ransom demands in cryptocurrency does not ensure that criminal gangs will return the codes to decrypt all your files. Kaspersky Labs ascertained that 17% of ransomware victims never restored their data after having paid the ransom, resulting in increased losses. The risk is also very costly. Ryuk ransoms are often several hundred thousand dollars. For larger enterprises, the ransom can be in the millions of dollars. The alternative is to re-install the essential parts of your IT environment. Without the availability of full system backups, this requires a wide complement of skill sets, top notch project management, and the willingness to work 24x7 until the task is over.

For twenty years, Progent has made available professional Information Technology services for businesses across the US and has achieved Microsoft's Partnership certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's team of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes engineers who have attained advanced industry certifications in important technologies such as Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and popular distributions of Linux. Progent's cybersecurity consultants have earned internationally-renowned certifications including CISM, CISSP-ISSAP, CRISC, SANS GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (Refer to Progent's certifications). Progent also has expertise with accounting and ERP application software. This breadth of expertise gives Progent the skills to efficiently understand important systems and integrate the surviving pieces of your Information Technology system following a ransomware event and rebuild them into a functioning system.

Progent's recovery team uses top notch project management tools to coordinate the complex recovery process. Progent appreciates the urgency of working swiftly and in unison with a client's management and Information Technology staff to assign priority to tasks and to put the most important applications back online as fast as humanly possible.

Case Study: A Successful Ransomware Incident Recovery
A customer engaged Progent after their organization was attacked by the Ryuk crypto-ransomware. Ryuk is believed to have been developed by North Korean government sponsored criminal gangs, possibly adopting techniques leaked from the United States National Security Agency. Ryuk targets specific organizations with little ability to sustain operational disruption and is among the most lucrative incarnations of crypto-ransomware. Major victims include Data Resolution, a California-based data warehousing and cloud computing firm, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's customer is a single-location manufacturing company located in Chicago and has around 500 staff members. The Ryuk attack had frozen all company operations and manufacturing capabilities. The majority of the client's system backups had been online at the time of the intrusion and were encrypted. The client considered paying the ransom demand (in excess of $200K) and hoping for good luck, but in the end reached out to Progent.

Progent worked together with the client to quickly determine and prioritize the key applications that had to be recovered to make it possible to resume departmental operations:

• Microsoft Active Directory
• Electronic Messaging
• Accounting/MRP

In less than two days, Progent was able to re-build Active Directory services to its pre-penetration state. Progent then initiated setup and hard drive recovery on the most important systems. All Exchange Server data and attributes were intact, which facilitated the rebuild of Exchange. Progent was also able to assemble local OST files (Microsoft Outlook Offline Data Files) on staff desktop computers and laptops to recover email information. A not too old offline backup of the client's financials/MRP systems made it possible to recover these vital services back online for users. Although major work was left to recover fully from the Ryuk virus, the most important systems were recovered rapidly:

Over the next few weeks important milestones in the restoration project were made through tight cooperation between Progent team members and the client:

• Internal web sites were restored without losing any data.
• The MailStore Exchange Server exceeding 4 million historical emails was brought online and available for users.
• CRM/Product Ordering/Invoices/Accounts Payable (AP)/Accounts Receivables (AR)/Inventory functions were 100 percent recovered.
• A new Palo Alto 850 security appliance was set up and programmed.
• 90% of the user workstations were functioning as before the incident.

Conclusion
A probable business-killing disaster was dodged by dedicated professionals, a broad spectrum of knowledge, and close collaboration. Although in analyzing the event afterwards the ransomware virus incident detailed here should have been prevented with modern cyber security technology and NIST Cybersecurity Framework or ISO/IEC 27001 best practices, user training, and properly executed security procedures for information protection and proper patching controls, the fact is that state-sponsored hackers from Russia, China and elsewhere are relentless and are not going away. If you do fall victim to a ransomware virus, remember that Progent's team of experts has extensive experience in ransomware virus blocking, cleanup, and information systems disaster recovery.

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

Additional Ransomware Protection Services Offered by Progent
Progent can provide companies in Rancho Cordova a portfolio of remote monitoring and security assessment services designed to assist you to minimize the threat from crypto-ransomware. These services utilize next-generation machine learning technology to detect new strains of ransomware that can 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 feasible for small and mid-size businesses to utilize Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) solutions to achieve leading-edge network resilience. Progent handles the daily monitoring and maintenance for you, so your network expands easily without holding you back. For a low and predictable monthly subscription, Progent's experienced IT team can be your dependable technology safety net. Entry-level packages include RMM, cybersecurity, monthly patching, and reporting. As your needs expand, you can add low-cost subscriptions to advanced solutions like as SaaS M365/Google Workspace backup, Multi-Factor Authentication, penetration testing, or WiFi management.

• ProSight LAN Watch: Server and Desktop Monitoring
  ProSight LAN Watch is Progent's server and desktop remote monitoring service that incorporates state-of-the-art remote monitoring and management techniques to help keep your IT system operating at peak levels by tracking the state of vital computers that drive your information system. When ProSight LAN Watch uncovers an issue, an alert is transmitted immediately to your designated IT personnel and your Progent engineering consultant so any potential problems can be resolved before they have a chance to impact productivity. Find out more details about ProSight LAN Watch server and desktop remote monitoring services.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Unified RMM Solution for Networks, Servers, and Workstations
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software offers a centralized, cloud-based platform for managing your network, server, and desktop devices by providing an environment for streamlining common tedious tasks. These can include health monitoring, patch management, automated repairs, endpoint deployment, backup and recovery, anti-virus protection, remote access, standard and custom scripts, asset inventory, endpoint profile reports, and debugging assistance. If ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM spots a serious issue, it transmits an alarm to your designated IT personnel and your assigned Progent consultant so potential issues can be fixed before they interfere with productivity. Learn more details about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop monitoring consulting.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Infrastructure Remote Monitoring and Management
  Progent's ProSight WAN Watch is a network infrastructure management service that makes it easy and affordable for small and mid-sized organizations to map, monitor, reconfigure and debug their connectivity appliances like switches, firewalls, and wireless controllers plus servers, printers, endpoints and other networked devices. Using cutting-edge RMM technology, ProSight WAN Watch makes sure that infrastructure topology maps are always current, captures and manages the configuration of almost all devices connected to your network, monitors performance, and generates alerts when problems are detected. By automating tedious management and troubleshooting processes, WAN Watch can knock hours off common tasks like network mapping, reconfiguring your network, locating devices that require important updates, or isolating performance issues. Learn more about ProSight WAN Watch network infrastructure management consulting.

• ProSight Reporting: Real-time Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Platforms
  ProSight Reporting is a growing suite of real-time and in-depth reporting utilities created to integrate with the industry's top ticketing and remote network monitoring applications including ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Automate, Customer Thermometer, Auvik, and SentinelOne. ProSight Reporting uses Microsoft Graph and utilizes color coding to highlight and contextualize key issues like inconsistent support follow-through or machines with out-of-date AVs. By exposing ticketing or network health concerns clearly and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting enhances productivity, reduces management hassle, and saves money. For more information, see ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring applications.

• ProSight Data Protection Services: Backup and Disaster Recovery Services
  Progent has worked with advanced backup software providers to create ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a portfolio of subscription-based management outsourcing plans that deliver backup-as-a-service. ProSight DPS services manage and track your data backup processes and enable non-disruptive backup and rapid restoration of important files, apps, images, plus VMs. ProSight DPS helps your business protect against data loss caused by hardware failures, natural calamities, fire, malware like ransomware, user mistakes, ill-intentioned insiders, or application bugs. Managed services in the ProSight DPS product line include ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight ECHO Backup based on Barracuda purpose-built storage, and ProSight DPS MSP360 Hybrid Backup. Your Progent expert can assist you to identify which of these fully 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 filtering service that uses the infrastructure of leading data security vendors to provide centralized management and comprehensive protection for your email traffic. The powerful architecture of Progent's Email Guard managed service integrates cloud-based filtering with an on-premises security gateway device to offer complete defense against spam, viruses, Dos Attacks, Directory Harvest Attacks (DHAs), and other email-borne malware. The Cloud Protection Layer serves as a first line of defense and blocks the vast majority of unwanted email from making it to your network firewall. This reduces your exposure to inbound attacks and conserves network bandwidth and storage. Email Guard's on-premises security gateway device provides a deeper level of inspection for inbound email. For outgoing email, the onsite security gateway offers AV and anti-spam filtering, policy-based Data Loss Prevention, and email encryption. The on-premises security gateway can also help Exchange Server to track and safeguard internal email traffic that originates and ends inside your corporate firewall. For more information, see ProSight Email Guard spam filtering and data leakage protection.

• ProSight Duo Two-Factor Authentication: Identity Validation, Endpoint Remediation, and Protected Single Sign-on
  Progent's Duo authentication managed services utilize Cisco's Duo technology to defend against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo enables one-tap identity confirmation on Apple iOS, Android, and other personal devices. Using Duo 2FA, whenever you log into a protected online account and give your password you are requested to confirm who you are on a unit that only you possess and that uses a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be used for this second form of authentication such as a smartphone or wearable, a hardware/software token, a landline telephone, etc. You may register several verification devices. To find out more about Duo identity authentication services, visit Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services.

• Progent's Outsourced/Shared Service Center: Help Desk Managed Services
  Progent's Help Desk services enable your IT group to outsource Call Center services to Progent or divide responsibilities for support services transparently between your internal network support staff and Progent's nationwide roster of certified IT service engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's Co-managed Service Desk offers a smooth supplement to your in-house IT support resources. End user interaction with the Service Desk, provision of support services, issue escalation, trouble ticket generation and updates, performance metrics, and management of the service database are consistent whether issues are taken care of by your internal support group, by Progent, or both. Read more about Progent's outsourced/shared Call Desk services.

• Progent Active Defense Against Ransomware: AI-based Ransomware Identification and Remediation
  Progent's Active Protection Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection (EPP) service that incorporates next generation behavior machine learning technology to guard endpoint devices as well as physical and virtual servers against new malware assaults like ransomware and file-less exploits, which routinely evade legacy signature-based anti-virus products. Progent ASM services protect local and cloud-based resources and offers a unified platform to manage the complete threat progression including protection, detection, containment, cleanup, and post-attack forensics. Key features include one-click rollback with Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and automatic network-wide immunization against newly discovered attacks. Find out more about Progent's ransomware protection and cleanup services.

• ProSight IT Asset Management: Network Documentation Management
  ProSight IT Asset Management service is an IT infrastructure documentation management service that allows you to create, update, find and safeguard information related to your network infrastructure, procedures, applications, and services. You can instantly find passwords or serial numbers and be warned about upcoming expirations of SSL certificates ,domains or warranties. By updating and organizing your network documentation, you can save up to 50% of time spent looking for vital information about your IT network. ProSight IT Asset Management includes a centralized repository for holding and sharing all documents required for managing your business network like standard operating procedures (SOPs) and self-service instructions. ProSight IT Asset Management also offers a high level of automation for gathering and associating IT data. Whether you're planning enhancements, doing maintenance, or reacting to a crisis, ProSight IT Asset Management delivers the data you require as soon as you need it. Find out more about ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Patch Management: Software/Firmware Update Management Services
  Progent's managed services for patch management offer organizations of all sizes a versatile and affordable solution for evaluating, testing, scheduling, implementing, and documenting updates to your ever-evolving information system. In addition to optimizing the protection and functionality of your IT environment, 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 derive the highest business value from your information network. Read more about Progent's software/firmware update management services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted VMs at Progent's World-class Data Center
  With Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting service, a small business can have its critical servers and apps hosted in a protected fault tolerant data center on a fast virtual host configured and managed by Progent's network support professionals. With Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting service model, the client retains ownership of the data, the operating system software, and the apps. Since the environment is virtualized, it can be moved easily to an alternate hardware environment without a lengthy and technically risky 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
  ProSight Active Security Monitoring is an endpoint protection (EPP) service that utilizes SentinelOne's cutting edge behavior machine learning tools to guard physical and virtual endpoints against new malware attacks such as ransomware and file-less exploits, which easily escape traditional signature-based AV tools. ProSight Active Security Monitoring protects on-premises and cloud resources and provides a unified platform to address the complete malware attack lifecycle including protection, infiltration detection, mitigation, remediation, and post-attack forensics. Key features include single-click rollback using Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and real-time system-wide immunization against newly discovered threats. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Learn more about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) next-generation endpoint protection and ransomware defense.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP): Endpoint Security and Microsoft Exchange Email Filtering
  Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection services deliver affordable in-depth protection for physical and virtual servers, desktops, mobile devices, and Exchange Server. ProSight ESP uses contextual security and advanced heuristics for continuously monitoring and reacting to security assaults from all vectors. ProSight ESP provides firewall protection, penetration alerts, device management, and web filtering through cutting-edge tools packaged within a single agent accessible from a single console. Progent's data protection and virtualization experts can help you to design and configure a ProSight ESP environment that addresses your organization's specific needs and that allows you demonstrate compliance with legal and industry data protection regulations. Progent will help you define and implement policies that ProSight ESP will enforce, and Progent will monitor your network and respond to alarms that call for immediate attention. Progent can also assist you to install and test a backup and disaster recovery solution such as ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) so you can get back in business quickly from a potentially disastrous security attack like ransomware. Learn more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection unified physical and virtual endpoint security and Microsoft Exchange filtering.