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Ransomware : Your Feared Information Technology Disaster
Crypto-Ransomware has become a modern cyberplague that poses an existential danger for businesses of all sizes vulnerable to an attack. Versions of crypto-ransomware such as CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, Locky, Syskey and MongoLock cryptoworms have been out in the wild for many years and still cause destruction. The latest variants of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, Snatch or Egregor, plus daily unnamed viruses, not only encrypt on-line data but also infect many accessible system backup. Data synched to the cloud can also be encrypted. In a poorly architected environment, it can render automated restore operations useless and effectively knocks the network back to zero.

Getting back online applications and data following a ransomware outage becomes a race against time as the targeted organization tries its best to contain, clear the ransomware, and resume enterprise-critical operations. Due to the fact that crypto-ransomware needs time to replicate, assaults are often sprung on weekends, when successful penetrations typically take more time to notice. This compounds the difficulty of promptly mobilizing and coordinating a knowledgeable mitigation team.

Progent offers an assortment of services for securing enterprises from ransomware attacks. Among these are user education to become familiar with and avoid phishing exploits, ProSight Active Security Monitoring for remote monitoring and management, along with deployment of next-generation security gateways with AI capabilities from SentinelOne to identify and disable zero-day threats quickly. Progent in addition offers the services of seasoned crypto-ransomware recovery engineers with the skills and perseverance to reconstruct a breached environment as rapidly as possible.

Progent's Crypto-Ransomware Restoration Support Services
After a ransomware penetration, paying the ransom in cryptocurrency does not guarantee that distant criminals will provide the keys to decrypt all your information. Kaspersky ascertained that seventeen percent of ransomware victims never restored their files even after having paid the ransom, resulting in additional losses. The gamble is also costly. Ryuk ransoms are typically a few hundred thousand dollars. For larger organizations, the ransom demand can be in the millions. The alternative is to re-install the mission-critical components of your Information Technology environment. Absent access to complete information backups, this calls for a broad complement of skill sets, professional project management, and the ability to work 24x7 until the recovery project is over.

For twenty years, Progent has provided certified expert IT services for businesses throughout the U.S. and has achieved Microsoft's Partnership certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's team of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes consultants who have earned advanced certifications in foundation technologies including Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and major distributions of Linux. Progent's security consultants have garnered internationally-renowned industry certifications including CISM, CISSP, CRISC, SANS GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (See Progent's certifications). Progent also has expertise in financial systems and ERP application software. This breadth of expertise provides Progent the ability to rapidly understand important systems and consolidate the surviving pieces of your IT environment after a ransomware penetration and rebuild them into an operational system.

Progent's recovery team has state-of-the-art project management systems to orchestrate the complicated recovery process. Progent knows the urgency of working quickly and together with a customer's management and IT staff to prioritize tasks and to put key systems back online as soon as possible.

Client Case Study: A Successful Ransomware Attack Recovery
A customer sought out Progent after their network system was brought down by the Ryuk crypto-ransomware. Ryuk is generally considered to have been deployed by Northern Korean state criminal gangs, suspected of using technology leaked from America's National Security Agency. Ryuk goes after specific organizations with little or no ability to sustain disruption and is among the most profitable versions of ransomware. Well Known organizations include Data Resolution, a California-based info warehousing and cloud computing firm, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's client is a small manufacturer based in Chicago and has around 500 employees. The Ryuk penetration had shut down all company operations and manufacturing processes. Most of the client's data backups had been online at the beginning of the intrusion and were damaged. The client considered paying the ransom demand (exceeding $200K) and praying for good luck, but ultimately called Progent.

Progent worked hand in hand the customer to rapidly identify and assign priority to the most important elements that needed to be recovered to make it possible to continue business functions:

• Microsoft Active Directory
• E-Mail
• Financials/MRP

In less than two days, Progent was able to restore Windows Active Directory to its pre-penetration state. Progent then charged ahead with setup and storage recovery of the most important applications. All Exchange Server schema and attributes were intact, which greatly helped the rebuild of Exchange. Progent was able to locate intact OST files (Outlook Email Offline Data Files) on user desktop computers to recover mail data. A recent offline backup of the businesses financials/MRP systems made them able to restore these essential services back online for users. Although a large amount of work was left to recover fully from the Ryuk event, core services were recovered quickly:

During the following month important milestones in the restoration process were made through tight cooperation between Progent engineers and the client:

• In-house web sites were returned to operation with no loss of information.
• The MailStore Microsoft Exchange Server containing more than four million archived messages was spun up and available for users.
• CRM/Orders/Invoicing/AP/AR/Inventory capabilities were completely operational.
• A new Palo Alto Networks 850 security appliance was brought on-line.
• Nearly all of the user PCs were back into operation.

Conclusion
A likely company-ending disaster was evaded with results-oriented professionals, a broad spectrum of knowledge, and tight teamwork. Although in post mortem the crypto-ransomware virus penetration detailed here should have been prevented with advanced cyber security technology solutions and NIST Cybersecurity Framework best practices, user education, and well designed incident response procedures for information protection and applying software patches, the fact remains that government-sponsored cyber criminals from China, Russia, North Korea and elsewhere are tireless and are an ongoing threat. If you do fall victim to a ransomware virus, feel confident that Progent's team of experts has substantial experience in ransomware virus defense, removal, and file disaster recovery.

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

Additional Crypto-Ransomware Protection Services Offered by Progent
Progent can provide businesses in Santiago a portfolio of remote monitoring and security assessment services to assist you to reduce your vulnerability to crypto-ransomware. These services utilize modern artificial intelligence capability to uncover new variants of crypto-ransomware that are able to evade legacy signature-based security products.

• ProSight Managed Service Packages: 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 achieve leading-edge network resilience. Progent handles the necessary monitoring and maintenance for you, so your network scales easily without becoming an obstacle. For a low and predictable monthly subscription, Progent's full-service IT team can be your dependable technology safety net. Entry-level packages include RMM, security, monthly patching, and documentation. As your needs grow, you can add low-cost subscriptions to best-of-breed options such as SaaS M365/Google Workspace backup and restore, Multi-Factor Authentication, penetration testing, or WiFi management.

• ProSight LAN Watch: Server and Desktop Remote Monitoring and Management
  ProSight LAN Watch is Progent's server and desktop remote monitoring service that incorporates state-of-the-art remote monitoring and management (RMM) techniques to help keep your IT system operating efficiently by checking the state of critical computers that drive your business network. When ProSight LAN Watch detects an issue, an alert is sent automatically to your designated IT management staff and your Progent engineering consultant so that any looming issues can be addressed before they have a chance to impact your network. Learn more about ProSight LAN Watch server and desktop remote monitoring services.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Centralized RMM for Networks, Servers, and Workstations
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software offers a centralized, cloud-driven platform for monitoring and managing your client-server infrastructure by providing tools for streamlining common time-consuming tasks. These can include health monitoring, update management, automated remediation, endpoint setup, backup and recovery, A/V defense, secure remote access, built-in and custom scripts, asset inventory, endpoint profile reports, and troubleshooting assistance. If ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM identifies a serious issue, it sends an alert to your specified IT personnel and your assigned Progent consultant so that emerging issues can be taken care of before they impact your network. 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 an infrastructure management service that makes it simple and affordable for small and mid-sized organizations to map, monitor, reconfigure and troubleshoot their connectivity appliances such as routers and switches, firewalls, and access points as well as servers, endpoints and other networked devices. Incorporating cutting-edge RMM technology, ProSight WAN Watch ensures that network diagrams are always current, copies and manages the configuration information of almost all devices connected to your network, monitors performance, and sends notices when problems are detected. By automating time-consuming management processes, ProSight WAN Watch can cut hours off ordinary chores such as making network diagrams, reconfiguring your network, finding appliances that need important software patches, or isolating performance problems. Learn more details about ProSight WAN Watch network infrastructure management consulting.

• ProSight Reporting: Real-time Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Applications
  ProSight Reporting is an expanding family of real-time and in-depth reporting plug-ins designed to work with the leading ticketing and remote network monitoring programs including ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Automate, Customer Thermometer, Auvik, and SentinelOne. ProSight Reporting uses Microsoft Graph and features color coding to highlight and contextualize critical issues like spotty support follow-through or endpoints with out-of-date AVs. By exposing ticketing or network health concerns concisely and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting enhances network value, lowers 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 technology companies to create ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a portfolio of subscription-based management outsourcing plans that deliver backup-as-a-service (BaaS). ProSight DPS services manage and track your backup operations and enable non-disruptive backup and fast restoration of vital files, apps, system images, plus virtual machines. ProSight DPS helps your business avoid data loss caused by hardware failures, natural calamities, fire, cyber attacks like ransomware, user error, malicious insiders, or software glitches. Managed services available in the ProSight DPS product family include ProSight Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight ECHO Backup using Barracuda dedicated hardware, and ProSight MSP360 Cloud and On-prem Backup. Your Progent consultant can help you to identify which of these fully 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 filtering and email encryption service that uses the infrastructure of leading information security vendors to deliver centralized control and world-class protection for all your inbound and outbound email. The powerful architecture of Email Guard managed service integrates cloud-based filtering with a local gateway device to offer complete defense against spam, viruses, Dos Attacks, Directory Harvest Attacks, and other email-borne threats. Email Guard's Cloud Protection Layer acts as a first line of defense and keeps the vast majority of unwanted email from making it to your security perimeter. This decreases your vulnerability to external threats and saves system bandwidth and storage. Email Guard's onsite security gateway device adds a further level of inspection for inbound email. For outbound email, the on-premises security gateway offers anti-virus and anti-spam protection, protection against data leaks, and email encryption. The on-premises security gateway can also help Exchange Server to monitor and safeguard internal email that originates and ends inside your security perimeter. For more details, visit Email Guard spam filtering and data leakage protection.

• ProSight Duo Multi-Factor Authentication: Access Security, Endpoint Remediation, and Secure Single Sign-on
  Progent's Duo authentication service plans incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to protect against stolen passwords by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports single-tap identity verification with iOS, Google Android, and other personal devices. Using 2FA, whenever you sign into a secured online account and give your password you are asked to verify your identity via a unit that only you have and that is accessed using a different network channel. A wide selection of out-of-band devices can be used for this second means of authentication such as an iPhone or Android or wearable, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You can designate several verification devices. For details about ProSight Duo identity validation services, go to Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for access security.

• Progent's Outsourced/Shared Help Desk: Support Desk Managed Services
  Progent's Support Center services permit your IT staff to offload Help Desk services to Progent or split responsibilities for Service Desk support seamlessly between your in-house network support group and Progent's extensive pool of certified IT support technicians, engineers and subject matter experts (SMEs). Progent's Co-managed Help Desk Service provides a transparent extension of your in-house IT support staff. Client interaction with the Help Desk, provision of support, problem escalation, ticket creation and updates, performance measurement, and management of the support database are cohesive regardless of whether issues are taken care of by your in-house network support staff, by Progent, or by a combination. Find out more about Progent's outsourced/co-managed Service Desk services.

• Active Protection Against Ransomware: AI-based Ransomware Detection and Cleanup
  Progent's Active Defense Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection managed service that incorporates cutting edge behavior-based machine learning tools to guard endpoints and servers and VMs against modern malware attacks like ransomware and file-less exploits, which easily escape traditional signature-matching anti-virus products. Progent ASM services protect on-premises and cloud resources and provides a single platform to address the complete threat lifecycle including blocking, identification, mitigation, remediation, and forensics. Key features include one-click rollback with Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and real-time network-wide immunization against newly discovered attacks. Read more about Progent's ransomware defense and recovery 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, retrieve and protect data about your IT infrastructure, processes, applications, and services. You can quickly locate passwords or IP addresses and be warned about upcoming expirations of SSL certificates or warranties. By updating and organizing your IT documentation, you can save as much as half of time thrown away trying to find critical information about your network. ProSight IT Asset Management includes a common repository for storing and sharing all documents related to managing your network infrastructure such as standard operating procedures (SOPs) and How-To's. ProSight IT Asset Management also offers advanced automation for collecting and associating IT data. Whether you're planning improvements, performing regular maintenance, or reacting to an emergency, ProSight IT Asset Management delivers the data you need the instant you need it. Learn more about ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Patch Management: Software/Firmware Update Management Services
  Progent's support services for software and firmware patch management provide businesses of any size a flexible and affordable alternative for assessing, testing, scheduling, applying, and tracking updates to your ever-evolving IT system. In addition to maximizing the protection and functionality of your IT network, Progent's patch management services allow your in-house IT team to concentrate on line-of-business initiatives and tasks that deliver the highest business value from your information network. Learn more about Progent's software/firmware update management services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted VMs at Progent's Tier III Data Center
  With ProSight Virtual Hosting service, a small business can have its critical servers and apps hosted in a secure Tier III data center on a high-performance virtual host set up and managed by Progent's IT support professionals. Under the ProSight Virtual Hosting service model, the client retains ownership of the data, the operating system platforms, and the apps. Since the environment is virtualized, it can be ported easily to an alternate hardware environment without requiring a lengthy and technically risky configuration procedure. With ProSight Virtual Hosting, you are not locked into one hosting provider. Learn more about ProSight Virtual Hosting services.

• ProSight Active Security Monitoring: Endpoint Protection and Ransomware Defense
  Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) is an endpoint protection (EPP) service that utilizes SentinelOne's next generation behavior machine learning technology to guard physical and virtual endpoint devices against new malware assaults like ransomware and file-less exploits, which easily escape legacy signature-matching anti-virus products. ProSight ASM protects on-premises and cloud resources and offers a unified platform to automate the complete threat lifecycle including filtering, infiltration detection, containment, remediation, and post-attack forensics. Top features include one-click rollback with Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and automatic 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) endpoint protection and ransomware defense.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection: Physical and Virtual Endpoint Security and Microsoft Exchange Filtering
  Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP) managed services offer economical in-depth security for physical servers and VMs, workstations, mobile devices, and Exchange Server. ProSight ESP utilizes adaptive security and advanced heuristics for continuously monitoring and responding to cyber threats from all attack vectors. ProSight ESP offers two-way firewall protection, penetration alerts, device management, and web filtering via cutting-edge technologies packaged within one agent managed from a single control. Progent's security and virtualization experts can help your business to design and configure a ProSight ESP deployment that addresses your company's specific requirements and that helps you achieve and demonstrate compliance with government and industry information protection regulations. Progent will help you specify and implement security policies that ProSight ESP will enforce, and Progent will monitor your IT environment and respond to alerts that call for urgent action. Progent can also assist you to set up and test a backup and disaster recovery solution such as ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) so you can recover rapidly from a destructive security attack like ransomware. Read more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP) unified physical and virtual endpoint security and Microsoft Exchange filtering.