Lakeland 24x7 Critical Ransomware
Infection Detection and Recovery Help

Ransomware : Your Feared IT Disaster
Ransomware has become a modern cyber pandemic that presents an existential threat for businesses of all sizes vulnerable to an assault. Versions of ransomware like the Dharma, WannaCry, Locky, SamSam and MongoLock cryptoworms have been circulating for a long time and continue to cause destruction. Newer variants of ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, Conti or Nephilim, along with daily as yet unnamed viruses, not only encrypt online data but also infiltrate any configured system restores and backups. Files synchronized to cloud environments can also be corrupted. In a poorly architected system, it can render automated restoration hopeless and effectively sets the network back to square one.

Restoring programs and data after a ransomware intrusion becomes a race against time as the targeted business struggles to stop the spread, clear the virus, and resume enterprise-critical activity. Because ransomware requires time to move laterally, penetrations are frequently sprung at night, when successful attacks may take longer to identify. This compounds the difficulty of promptly assembling and orchestrating an experienced response team.

Progent offers an assortment of solutions for protecting organizations from ransomware attacks. Among these are user training to help identify and not fall victim to phishing exploits, ProSight Active Security Monitoring for remote monitoring and management, plus installation of the latest generation security gateways with machine learning capabilities from SentinelOne to detect and disable new cyber attacks intelligently. Progent in addition can provide the services of seasoned crypto-ransomware recovery professionals with the talent and perseverance to re-deploy a compromised system as soon as possible.

Progent's Ransomware Restoration Help
After a crypto-ransomware penetration, sending the ransom demands in cryptocurrency does not provide any assurance that merciless criminals will return the codes to unencrypt any of your data. Kaspersky Labs determined that seventeen percent of ransomware victims never restored their data even after having sent off the ransom, resulting in more losses. The gamble is also very costly. Ryuk ransoms are commonly a few hundred thousand dollars. For larger enterprises, the ransom demand can reach millions of dollars. The alternative is to piece back together the key elements of your Information Technology environment. Absent access to essential information backups, this requires a wide range of skill sets, professional project management, and the capability to work 24x7 until the task is complete.

For decades, Progent has made available expert Information Technology services for businesses across the U.S. and has earned Microsoft's Partnership certification status in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's pool of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes consultants who have been awarded advanced certifications in leading technologies such as Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and popular distributions of Linux. Progent's cyber security engineers have earned internationally-renowned industry certifications including CISA, CISSP, CRISC, GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (Visit Progent's certifications). Progent in addition has expertise in accounting and ERP software solutions. This breadth of expertise affords Progent the skills to quickly identify critical systems and consolidate the surviving pieces of your computer network system following a crypto-ransomware penetration and configure them into a functioning system.

Progent's security team of experts uses powerful project management systems to coordinate the complex recovery process. Progent knows the urgency of acting rapidly and together with a customer's management and Information Technology resources to prioritize tasks and to put the most important applications back online as fast as possible.

Customer Story: A Successful Ransomware Incident Response
A client sought out Progent after their network was taken over by the Ryuk ransomware. Ryuk is thought to have been created by North Korean state cybercriminals, suspected of using strategies leaked from the U.S. NSA organization. Ryuk goes after specific organizations with limited tolerance for operational disruption and is one of the most profitable instances of ransomware viruses. Major organizations include Data Resolution, a California-based data warehousing and cloud computing firm, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's customer is a single-location manufacturer headquartered in Chicago with around 500 workers. The Ryuk penetration had paralyzed all business operations and manufacturing processes. Most of the client's data protection had been directly accessible at the beginning of the attack and were encrypted. The client was pursuing financing for paying the ransom (exceeding $200,000) and hoping for good luck, but in the end called Progent.

Progent worked together with the client to quickly get our arms around and assign priority to the most important systems that had to be addressed to make it possible to resume departmental functions:

• Windows Active Directory
• Microsoft Exchange Server
• MRP System

In less than 48 hours, Progent was able to restore Active Directory services to its pre-virus state. Progent then performed setup and hard drive recovery of needed systems. All Microsoft Exchange Server ties and configuration information were intact, which accelerated the rebuild of Exchange. Progent was also able to assemble intact OST files (Microsoft Outlook Off-Line Data Files) on various PCs to recover mail messages. A not too old offline backup of the client's accounting systems made it possible to return these vital applications back available to users. Although a lot of work remained to recover fully from the Ryuk event, critical systems were restored quickly:

During the following few weeks critical milestones in the recovery project were achieved in tight collaboration between Progent team members and the client:

• In-house web applications were brought back up with no loss of information.
• The MailStore Microsoft Exchange Server exceeding four million archived messages was brought on-line and accessible to users.
• CRM/Customer Orders/Invoicing/Accounts Payable (AP)/Accounts Receivables (AR)/Inventory capabilities were 100% operational.
• A new Palo Alto 850 firewall was installed.
• 90% of the desktops and laptops were functioning as before the incident.

Conclusion
A probable business catastrophe was evaded with results-oriented experts, a wide array of knowledge, and tight collaboration. Although in retrospect the ransomware penetration described here should have been identified and stopped with current cyber security solutions and best practices, team training, and well designed security procedures for information protection and applying software patches, the reality is that government-sponsored criminal cyber gangs from Russia, China and elsewhere are tireless and will continue. If you do fall victim to a ransomware virus, feel confident that Progent's roster of experts has a proven track record in crypto-ransomware virus blocking, mitigation, and information systems recovery.

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 Available from Progent
Progent offers businesses in Lakeland a range of online monitoring and security assessment services designed to assist you to reduce the threat from crypto-ransomware. These services incorporate modern AI technology to detect new variants of ransomware that can evade traditional signature-based anti-virus solutions.

• ProSight Managed Service Plans: for Small to Mid-size Businesses
  Progent's ProSight Managed IT Service Packages make it realistic for small and mid-size companies to deploy Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) solutions to create leading-edge IT resilience. Progent handles the necessary monitoring and maintenance for you, so your system scales smoothly without holding you back. For a low and predictable monthly subscription, Progent's full-service IT group can be your complete technology safety net. Entry-level packages include RMM, security, automatic monthly patching, and documentation. As your requirements expand, you can add low-cost subscriptions to best-of-breed solutions like as SaaS M365/Google Workspace backup, 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 advanced remote monitoring and management (RMM) technology to help keep your IT system operating efficiently by tracking the state of vital assets that drive your information system. When ProSight LAN Watch detects an issue, an alert is transmitted immediately to your specified IT staff and your Progent consultant so all looming problems can be resolved before they can disrupt productivity. Learn more details about ProSight LAN Watch server and desktop monitoring consulting.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Unified RMM for Networks, Servers, and Workstations
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software offers a unified, cloud-based solution for managing your client-server infrastructure by offering tools for performing common time-consuming jobs. These can include health monitoring, patch management, automated remediation, endpoint configuration, backup and restore, A/V protection, secure remote access, standard and custom scripts, asset inventory, endpoint profile reports, and debugging support. If ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM spots a serious problem, it sends an alert to your designated IT management staff and your Progent technical consultant so that emerging problems can be fixed before they interfere with your network. Find out more about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop monitoring consulting.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Network Infrastructure Management
  Progent's ProSight WAN Watch is a network infrastructure monitoring and management service that makes it easy and inexpensive for small and mid-sized businesses to diagram, monitor, optimize and troubleshoot their connectivity hardware like routers and switches, firewalls, and wireless controllers as well as servers, printers, client computers and other devices. Using cutting-edge Remote Monitoring and Management technology, ProSight WAN Watch ensures that infrastructure topology diagrams are kept updated, captures and manages the configuration information of virtually all devices connected to your network, tracks performance, and sends notices when problems are detected. By automating tedious management and troubleshooting activities, ProSight WAN Watch can cut hours off common chores such as making network diagrams, expanding your network, finding devices that require important software patches, or identifying the cause of performance issues. Learn more about ProSight WAN Watch network infrastructure monitoring and management consulting.

• ProSight Reporting: In-depth Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Applications
  ProSight Reporting is an expanding suite of in-depth management reporting plug-ins created to work 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 such as inconsistent support follow-through or endpoints with out-of-date AVs. By identifying ticketing or network health concerns concisely and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting enhances productivity, lowers management overhead, and saves money. For more information, visit ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring applications.

• ProSight Data Protection Services: Managed Backup and Disaster Recovery Services
  Progent has partnered with leading backup technology providers to produce ProSight Data Protection Services, a selection of subscription-based offerings that provide backup-as-a-service. ProSight DPS services automate and track your data backup operations and enable non-disruptive backup and fast restoration of critical files/folders, applications, images, plus VMs. ProSight DPS helps your business recover from data loss resulting from equipment failures, natural disasters, fire, malware like ransomware, human error, ill-intentioned employees, or application glitches. Managed backup services available in the ProSight Data Protection Services product line include ProSight Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight ECHO Backup using Barracuda purpose-built storage, and ProSight DPS MSP360 Hybrid Backup. Your Progent consultant can help you to determine which of these fully managed backup 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 and email encryption service that uses the infrastructure of top data security companies to deliver centralized control and world-class security for all your inbound and outbound email. The powerful structure of Progent's Email Guard combines a Cloud Protection Layer with an on-premises gateway device to provide complete defense against spam, viruses, Denial of Service Attacks, Directory Harvest Attacks, and other email-borne threats. The cloud filter acts as a first line of defense and blocks the vast majority of threats from making it to your network firewall. This reduces your vulnerability to external threats and saves network bandwidth and storage. Email Guard's on-premises security gateway device provides a further level of analysis for inbound email. For outgoing email, the on-premises security gateway offers AV and anti-spam filtering, DLP, and email encryption. The on-premises gateway can also help Exchange Server to track and safeguard internal email that originates and ends within your corporate firewall. For more details, visit ProSight Email Guard spam and content filtering.

• ProSight Duo Two-Factor Authentication: Access Security, Endpoint Policy Enforcement, and Protected Single Sign-on
  Progent's Duo authentication service plans incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to defend against password theft by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports one-tap identity confirmation with iOS, Android, and other personal devices. Using Duo 2FA, when you sign into a secured online account and enter your password you are asked to confirm who you are on a unit that only you possess and that uses a different ("out-of-band") network channel. A broad selection of devices can be utilized for this second means of ID validation including an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline telephone, etc. You can designate multiple verification devices. To learn more about ProSight Duo identity authentication services, go to Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for access security.

• Outsourced/Co-managed Help Center: Support Desk Managed Services
  Progent's Call Desk services permit your IT staff to outsource Help Desk services to Progent or split activity for support services transparently between your in-house network support team and Progent's extensive roster of IT support engineers and subject matter experts (SMEs). Progent's Shared Help Desk Service offers a transparent extension of your in-house network support staff. User interaction with the Help Desk, provision of support services, problem escalation, trouble ticket generation and updates, efficiency measurement, and management of the service database are cohesive regardless of whether incidents are taken care of by your in-house IT support staff, by Progent, or a mix of the two. Learn more about Progent's outsourced/shared Call Desk services.

• Progent Active Protection Against Ransomware: AI-based Ransomware Detection and Remediation
  Progent's Active Defense Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection (EPP) solution that incorporates cutting edge behavior analysis technology to defend endpoints as well as servers and VMs against new malware assaults like ransomware and file-less exploits, which routinely evade traditional signature-matching anti-virus products. Progent ASM services safeguard local and cloud-based resources and provides a unified platform to automate the entire malware attack lifecycle including filtering, infiltration detection, mitigation, cleanup, and post-attack forensics. Key features include one-click rollback with Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and real-time network-wide immunization against new threats. Find out more about Progent's ransomware defense and recovery services.

• ProSight IT Asset Management: Network Documentation Management
  ProSight IT Asset Management service is a cloud-based IT documentation management service that allows you to create, update, retrieve and protect data related to your IT infrastructure, procedures, applications, and services. You can instantly find passwords or IP addresses and be warned automatically about upcoming expirations of SSLs or warranties. By cleaning up and organizing your IT documentation, you can eliminate up to 50% of time spent looking for critical information about your network. ProSight IT Asset Management features a common location for storing and sharing all documents related to managing your business network like standard operating procedures and self-service instructions. ProSight IT Asset Management also supports a high level of automation for collecting and associating IT information. Whether you're planning enhancements, performing maintenance, or responding to a crisis, ProSight IT Asset Management delivers the knowledge you require when you need it. Find out more about Progent's ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Progent's Patch Management: Patch Management Services
  Progent's managed services for patch management provide businesses of all sizes a flexible and affordable alternative for assessing, testing, scheduling, applying, and documenting software and firmware updates to your dynamic information system. Besides maximizing the protection and functionality of your IT environment, Progent's software/firmware update management services free up time for your in-house IT team to focus on line-of-business initiatives and tasks that derive the highest business value from your information network. Read more about Progent's software/firmware update management services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted Virtual Machines at Progent's World-class Data Center
  With Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting service, a small organization can have its key servers and apps hosted in a protected Tier III data center on a high-performance virtual host set up and managed by Progent's IT support professionals. With the ProSight Virtual Hosting service model, the client retains ownership of the data, the OS platforms, and the applications. Because the environment is virtualized, it can be moved immediately to a different hardware solution without requiring a time-consuming 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 service that incorporates SentinelOne's cutting edge behavior analysis technology to defend physical and virtual endpoint devices against modern malware assaults like ransomware and email phishing, which routinely evade traditional signature-matching anti-virus products. ProSight ASM safeguards 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 single-click rollback with Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and real-time network-wide immunization against newly discovered threats. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. Read more about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) endpoint protection and ransomware recovery.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection: Physical and Virtual Endpoint Security and Microsoft Exchange Filtering
  Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection managed services deliver ultra-affordable in-depth protection for physical servers and VMs, desktops, mobile devices, and Exchange Server. ProSight ESP uses contextual security and advanced heuristics for continuously monitoring and responding to cyber assaults from all vectors. ProSight ESP offers two-way firewall protection, penetration alarms, endpoint control, and web filtering via cutting-edge tools incorporated within a single agent accessible from a single control. Progent's security and virtualization consultants can assist you to plan and configure a ProSight ESP environment that addresses your organization's unique requirements and that allows you achieve and demonstrate compliance with legal and industry information protection regulations. 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 urgent action. Progent's consultants can also help you to set up and verify a backup and disaster recovery solution such as ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) so you can get back in business rapidly from a potentially disastrous cyber attack such as ransomware. Read more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP) unified endpoint protection and Microsoft Exchange email filtering.