24/7 Naples Immediate Crypto-Ransomware
Malware Damage Assessment and Repair Consulting

Ransomware : Your Feared Information Technology Catastrophe
Ransomware has become a too-frequent cyber pandemic that poses an extinction-level danger for businesses of all sizes vulnerable to an assault. Different versions of ransomware such as Reveton, WannaCry, Locky, SamSam and MongoLock cryptoworms have been circulating for years and still inflict destruction. Modern variants of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, LockBit or Nephilim, along with more unnamed malware, not only do encryption of online data but also infect any available system restores and backups. Data synchronized to the cloud can also be ransomed. In a vulnerable system, this can make automatic restore operations impossible and basically knocks the network back to zero.

Getting back programs and information following a ransomware attack becomes a sprint against time as the victim struggles to contain the damage, cleanup the virus, and restore enterprise-critical operations. Since ransomware requires time to replicate, assaults are frequently sprung on weekends, when successful attacks typically take longer to uncover. This multiplies the difficulty of quickly assembling and coordinating a qualified response team.

Progent has a variety of help services for securing organizations from crypto-ransomware attacks. These include staff education to help identify and not fall victim to phishing exploits, ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) for remote monitoring and management, along with installation of modern security appliances with AI technology from SentinelOne to detect and quarantine zero-day cyber attacks automatically. Progent in addition offers the assistance of expert crypto-ransomware recovery consultants with the skills and perseverance to reconstruct a breached network as quickly as possible.

Progent's Ransomware Restoration Services
After a ransomware event, paying the ransom demands in cryptocurrency does not guarantee that cyber hackers will return the codes to unencrypt any or all of your files. Kaspersky estimated that 17% of ransomware victims never recovered their files after having paid the ransom, resulting in increased losses. The gamble is also costly. Ryuk ransoms are commonly a few hundred thousand dollars. For larger organizations, the ransom demand can reach millions. The alternative is to piece back together the essential parts of your IT environment. Absent access to complete data backups, this calls for a wide complement of IT skills, well-coordinated team management, and the ability to work non-stop until the recovery project is completed.

For twenty years, Progent has provided expert Information Technology services for companies throughout the US and has achieved Microsoft's Partnership certification status in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's pool of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes consultants who have earned advanced certifications in key technologies including Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and major distributions of Linux. Progent's cyber security consultants have earned internationally-recognized certifications including CISA, CISSP-ISSAP, CRISC, SANS GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (Refer to Progent's certifications). Progent also has expertise with financial systems and ERP application software. This breadth of experience affords Progent the ability to rapidly determine important systems and integrate the surviving components of your Information Technology environment after a ransomware penetration and rebuild them into a functioning system.

Progent's recovery team of experts deploys state-of-the-art project management tools to coordinate the complex recovery process. Progent appreciates the urgency of working rapidly and in concert with a client's management and IT resources to assign priority to tasks and to put the most important systems back on-line as soon as possible.

Customer Case Study: A Successful Ransomware Penetration Response
A business hired Progent after their network system was penetrated by Ryuk crypto-ransomware. Ryuk is thought to have been deployed by North Korean government sponsored cybercriminals, suspected of adopting approaches leaked from America's NSA organization. Ryuk targets specific organizations with little or no ability to sustain disruption and is among the most lucrative incarnations of ransomware viruses. Headline victims include Data Resolution, a California-based information warehousing and cloud computing company, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's customer is a single-location manufacturer headquartered in the Chicago metro area with about 500 workers. The Ryuk intrusion had brought down all company operations and manufacturing processes. The majority of the client's information backups had been directly accessible at the start of the intrusion and were destroyed. The client was actively seeking loans for paying the ransom (exceeding $200,000) and praying for good luck, but in the end utilized Progent.

Progent worked with the customer to quickly understand and prioritize the key areas that needed to be recovered in order to continue departmental operations:

• Active Directory
• E-Mail
• Accounting and Manufacturing Software

In less than 48 hours, Progent was able to recover Active Directory to its pre-virus state. Progent then helped perform reinstallations and hard drive recovery on critical applications. All Exchange schema and attributes were intact, which facilitated the restore of Exchange. Progent was able to locate non-encrypted OST files (Outlook Email Off-Line Folder Files) on user workstations in order to recover mail information. A recent off-line backup of the customer's financials/MRP systems made it possible to return these required applications back on-line. Although a lot of work needed to be completed to recover fully from the Ryuk damage, core services were restored quickly:

During the following month important milestones in the restoration project were made in tight collaboration between Progent team members and the customer:

• In-house web applications were brought back up without losing any data.
• The MailStore Microsoft Exchange Server exceeding 4 million archived emails was brought on-line and available for users.
• CRM/Orders/Invoicing/Accounts Payable/AR/Inventory Control modules were fully recovered.
• A new Palo Alto 850 firewall was installed.
• 90% of the user workstations were being used by staff.

Conclusion
A potential business-killing disaster was avoided through the efforts of dedicated experts, a wide spectrum of knowledge, and close collaboration. Although in retrospect the ransomware penetration described here could have been prevented with up-to-date cyber security technology solutions and ISO/IEC 27001 best practices, user education, and properly executed security procedures for backup and applying software patches, the fact remains that government-sponsored cybercriminals from China, Russia, North Korea and elsewhere are tireless and are an ongoing threat. If you do fall victim to a crypto-ransomware incursion, remember that Progent's roster of experts has a proven track record in crypto-ransomware virus blocking, remediation, and data recovery.

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

Additional Ransomware Protection Services Offered by Progent
Progent can provide companies in Naples a range of online monitoring and security assessment services designed to assist you to minimize the threat from ransomware. These services incorporate modern machine learning capability to detect new variants of crypto-ransomware that are able to evade traditional signature-based security products.

• ProSight Managed Service Plans: for Small to Mid-size Businesses
  Progent's ProSight Managed IT Service Plans make it feasible for small and mid-size businesses to utilize Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology to achieve leading-edge IT resilience. Progent handles the necessary monitoring and management for you, so your system scales smoothly without becoming an obstacle. For a low and predictable monthly price, Progent's full-service IT team can be your complete technology safety net. Basic plans include remote monitoring and management (RMM), cybersecurity, automatic monthly patching, and documentation. As your needs grow, you can add low-cost subscriptions to advanced solutions like as SaaS M365/Google Workspace backup and restore, 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 remote monitoring service that incorporates state-of-the-art remote monitoring and management (RMM) technology to help keep your network running at peak levels by checking the health of vital assets that drive your information system. When ProSight LAN Watch uncovers an issue, an alert is transmitted automatically to your specified IT management staff and your assigned Progent consultant so that any potential issues can be resolved 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: Unified RMM Solution for Networks, Servers, and Desktops
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software offers a centralized, cloud-based platform for monitoring and managing your network, server, and desktop devices by providing tools for performing common tedious jobs. These can include health monitoring, patch management, automated remediation, endpoint configuration, backup and restore, A/V protection, secure remote access, built-in and custom scripts, resource inventory, endpoint profile reporting, and debugging support. If ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM identifies a serious incident, it sends an alarm to your specified IT personnel and your Progent consultant so that emerging problems can be taken care of before they interfere with productivity. Learn more details about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop remote monitoring services.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Infrastructure Management
  ProSight WAN Watch is an infrastructure monitoring and management service that makes it simple and inexpensive for smaller organizations to diagram, monitor, reconfigure and debug their networking hardware such as switches, firewalls, and wireless controllers plus servers, endpoints and other devices. Using state-of-the-art Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology, WAN Watch ensures that network diagrams are kept current, copies and displays the configuration information of virtually all devices on your network, monitors performance, and generates notices when problems are detected. By automating time-consuming network management activities, ProSight WAN Watch can cut hours off ordinary tasks like network mapping, reconfiguring your network, finding appliances that need important software patches, or isolating performance bottlenecks. Find out 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 family of real-time management reporting utilities created to integrate with the leading ticketing and network monitoring programs such as ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Automate, Customer Thermometer, Auvik, and SentinelOne. ProSight Reporting uses Microsoft Graph and features color coding to surface and contextualize critical issues like spotty support follow-up or machines with out-of-date AVs. By identifying ticketing or network health concerns clearly and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting improves productivity, lowers management overhead, and saves money. For details, see ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring platforms.

• ProSight Data Protection Services: Backup and Disaster Recovery Services
  Progent has worked with advanced backup/restore technology providers to produce ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a portfolio of subscription-based management outsourcing plans that deliver backup-as-a-service. ProSight DPS services manage and monitor your backup operations and allow non-disruptive backup and fast restoration of critical files/folders, applications, images, plus virtual machines. ProSight DPS lets your business recover from data loss caused by hardware breakdown, natural disasters, fire, malware like ransomware, user error, malicious employees, or software glitches. Managed backup services available in the ProSight DPS portfolio include ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight ECHO Backup based on Barracuda dedicated hardware, and ProSight MSP360 Cloud and On-prem 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 and virus filtering and email encryption service that uses the technology of top information security companies to provide web-based management and comprehensive security for all your inbound and outbound email. The powerful structure of Email Guard managed service combines a Cloud Protection Layer with a local gateway device to provide advanced protection against spam, viruses, Denial of Service Attacks, Directory Harvest Attacks, and other email-based threats. The cloud filter acts as a preliminary barricade and keeps most threats from reaching your security perimeter. This decreases your exposure to external threats and saves system bandwidth and storage space. Email Guard's onsite gateway appliance provides a further layer of analysis for inbound email. For outbound email, the on-premises security gateway provides anti-virus and anti-spam filtering, policy-based Data Loss Prevention, and email encryption. The on-premises gateway can also help Microsoft Exchange Server to track and protect internal email traffic that originates and ends within your corporate firewall. For more information, visit Email Guard spam filtering and data leakage protection.

• ProSight Duo Multi-Factor Authentication: ID Confirmation, Endpoint Remediation, and Protected Single Sign-on (SSO)
  Progent's Duo authentication service plans utilize Cisco's Duo technology to defend against password theft by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports single-tap identity verification on iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using 2FA, whenever you sign into a secured application and enter your password you are requested to confirm your identity via a device that only you possess and that is accessed using a different network channel. A broad range of out-of-band devices can be utilized as this second means of authentication including a smartphone or watch, a hardware/software token, a landline phone, etc. You may register multiple validation devices. For more information about ProSight Duo two-factor identity validation services, visit Duo MFA two-factor authentication services for access security.

• Outsourced/Co-managed Service Center: Help Desk Managed Services
  Progent's Help Center managed services permit your information technology staff to outsource Call Center services to Progent or divide responsibilities for Service Desk support seamlessly between your internal network support group and Progent's nationwide roster of IT support engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's Co-managed Help Desk Service offers a seamless extension of your core support organization. End user access to the Help Desk, provision of support services, problem escalation, ticket generation and updates, efficiency metrics, and management of the service database are cohesive regardless of whether issues are taken care of by your corporate IT support group, by Progent, or both. Learn more about Progent's outsourced/shared Service Desk services.

• Active Defense Against Ransomware: AI-based Ransomware Detection and Remediation
  Progent's Active Protection Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection solution that incorporates next generation behavior-based analysis tools to defend endpoint devices as well as servers and VMs against modern malware attacks like ransomware and file-less exploits, which easily get by traditional signature-based AV tools. Progent ASM services safeguard on-premises and cloud resources and provides a unified platform to address the entire malware attack lifecycle including blocking, identification, containment, remediation, and forensics. Top features include one-click rollback with Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and real-time network-wide immunization against new 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, maintain, retrieve and protect information related to your IT infrastructure, processes, applications, and services. You can quickly locate passwords or serial numbers and be warned automatically about upcoming expirations of SSLs ,domains or warranties. By updating and managing your network documentation, you can eliminate as much as half of time spent searching for critical information about your network. ProSight IT Asset Management features a centralized repository for storing and collaborating on all documents required for managing your business network such as standard operating procedures and self-service instructions. ProSight IT Asset Management also supports advanced automation for gathering and relating IT data. Whether you're planning enhancements, performing maintenance, or reacting to an emergency, ProSight IT Asset Management delivers the data you require as soon as you need it. Learn more about ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Progent's 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 assessing, testing, scheduling, applying, and tracking updates to your dynamic IT network. Besides maximizing the protection and reliability of your IT network, Progent's patch management services permit your in-house IT staff to concentrate on more strategic initiatives and tasks that deliver the highest business value from your network. Read more about Progent's software/firmware update management support services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted VMs at Progent's Tier III Data Center
  With 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 machine host set up and maintained by Progent's network support professionals. Under the ProSight Virtual Hosting model, the client owns the data, the OS platforms, and the applications. Since the environment is virtualized, it can be ported immediately to a different hardware solution without requiring a time-consuming and difficult configuration procedure. With ProSight Virtual Hosting, you are not locked into a single hosting provider. Learn more details 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 service that utilizes SentinelOne's cutting edge behavior machine learning technology to guard physical and virtual endpoint devices against new malware attacks like ransomware and file-less exploits, which routinely evade legacy signature-matching anti-virus products. ProSight ASM safeguards on-premises and cloud-based resources and offers a single platform to manage the complete threat lifecycle including filtering, identification, containment, cleanup, and forensics. Key features include one-click rollback with Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and real-time system-wide immunization against new attacks. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Read more about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) next-generation endpoint protection and ransomware recovery.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP): Physical and Virtual Endpoint Security and Exchange Email Filtering
  Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection services offer ultra-affordable multi-layer security for physical servers and VMs, desktops, mobile devices, and Microsoft Exchange. ProSight ESP uses adaptive security and advanced machine learning for round-the-clock monitoring and reacting to security assaults from all vectors. ProSight ESP provides firewall protection, intrusion alerts, device management, and web filtering through cutting-edge technologies incorporated within a single agent managed from a single control. Progent's security and virtualization consultants can assist your business to plan and configure a ProSight ESP environment that addresses your organization's specific needs and that helps you achieve and demonstrate compliance with legal and industry information security standards. Progent will assist you specify and configure policies that ProSight ESP will manage, and Progent will monitor your IT environment and react to alarms that call for immediate attention. Progent can also help your company to install and test a backup and restore system such as ProSight Data Protection Services so you can recover rapidly from a destructive cyber attack such as ransomware. Find out more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection unified physical and virtual endpoint security and Exchange email filtering.