24-7 Santa Monica Critical Crypto-Ransomware
Computer Virus Identification and Removal Support

Ransomware : Your Worst Information Technology Disaster
Crypto-Ransomware has become a modern cyberplague that poses an enterprise-level danger for organizations unprepared for an attack. Versions of crypto-ransomware such as CryptoLocker, WannaCry, Bad Rabbit, Syskey and MongoLock cryptoworms have been replicating for years and continue to inflict harm. The latest versions of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, Conti or Egregor, plus more as yet unnamed viruses, not only encrypt on-line data but also infect most available system restores and backups. Files synchronized to the cloud can also be corrupted. In a poorly designed environment, this can make automated recovery hopeless and basically knocks the entire system back to square one.

Restoring applications and data after a crypto-ransomware attack becomes a sprint against the clock as the victim struggles to stop lateral movement, cleanup the virus, and restore mission-critical operations. Since ransomware takes time to spread, penetrations are usually sprung during weekends and nights, when successful attacks in many cases take longer to detect. This multiplies the difficulty of promptly mobilizing and orchestrating a qualified mitigation team.

Progent has an assortment of support services for securing organizations from ransomware events. Among these are team member training to help identify and not fall victim to phishing scams, ProSight Active Security Monitoring for remote monitoring and management, plus installation of modern security solutions with machine learning technology from SentinelOne to detect and quarantine new cyber attacks quickly. Progent also provides the assistance of expert ransomware recovery consultants with the talent and commitment to restore a breached system as soon as possible.

Progent's Ransomware Recovery Services
Soon after a ransomware event, even paying the ransom in cryptocurrency does not guarantee that merciless criminals will respond with the codes to unencrypt any or all of your information. Kaspersky Labs determined that 17% of crypto-ransomware victims never restored their information even after having paid the ransom, resulting in more losses. The risk is also costly. Ryuk ransoms are commonly a few hundred thousand dollars. For larger organizations, the ransom can reach millions of dollars. The fallback is to re-install the vital elements of your Information Technology environment. Without access to complete data backups, this requires a broad complement of IT skills, top notch team management, and the willingness to work continuously until the task is complete.

For two decades, Progent has made available expert Information Technology services for businesses across the US and has earned Microsoft's Partnership certification status in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's team of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes consultants who have attained advanced certifications in important technologies such as Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and popular distributions of Linux. Progent's cybersecurity specialists have earned internationally-recognized industry certifications including CISM, CISSP, CRISC, GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (Refer to Progent's certifications). Progent also has expertise in financial management and ERP software solutions. This breadth of expertise affords Progent the skills to rapidly understand important systems and integrate the surviving parts of your network system after a ransomware event and configure them into an operational network.

Progent's security team uses powerful project management applications to orchestrate the sophisticated recovery process. Progent appreciates the urgency of working rapidly and in concert with a client's management and IT staff to assign priority to tasks and to put critical applications back on-line as soon as humanly possible.

Customer Story: A Successful Crypto-Ransomware Virus Response
A customer escalated to Progent after their network was taken over by the Ryuk ransomware virus. Ryuk is generally considered to have been developed by Northern Korean government sponsored hackers, possibly using strategies leaked from the United States NSA organization. Ryuk targets specific organizations with limited tolerance for operational disruption and is one of the most profitable incarnations of crypto-ransomware. Well Known 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 business based in Chicago and has about 500 workers. The Ryuk event had paralyzed all business operations and manufacturing processes. The majority of the client's backups had been on-line at the start of the attack and were destroyed. The client was pursuing financing for paying the ransom demand (in excess of $200K) and wishfully thinking for the best, but in the end reached out to Progent.

Progent worked with the customer to quickly understand and assign priority to the key systems that had to be restored to make it possible to continue departmental functions:

• Active Directory (AD)
• Electronic Messaging
• MRP System

Within 48 hours, Progent was able to restore Active Directory services to its pre-virus state. Progent then helped perform setup and storage recovery of the most important servers. All Exchange Server schema and attributes were intact, which greatly helped the rebuild of Exchange. Progent was able to assemble local OST files (Outlook Email Off-Line Data Files) on staff desktop computers to recover email data. A not too old off-line backup of the client's financials/ERP systems made it possible to restore these required programs back online for users. Although significant work needed to be completed to recover totally from the Ryuk damage, core services were returned to operations rapidly:

During the following month key milestones in the recovery project were made through close cooperation between Progent consultants and the client:

• In-house web sites were returned to operation with no loss of information.
• The MailStore Exchange Server containing more than 4 million archived emails was spun up and available for users.
• CRM/Customer Orders/Invoicing/Accounts Payable (AP)/AR/Inventory Control capabilities were 100% functional.
• A new Palo Alto 850 firewall was brought online.
• Ninety percent of the user workstations were operational.

Conclusion
A likely enterprise-killing disaster was averted through the efforts of results-oriented professionals, a wide range of subject matter expertise, and close teamwork. Although upon completion of forensics the ransomware incident described here would have been identified and stopped with current security solutions and security best practices, user education, and well thought out incident response procedures for data backup and applying software patches, the reality remains that government-sponsored criminal cyber gangs from Russia, North Korea and elsewhere are relentless and represent an ongoing threat. If you do get hit by a ransomware attack, remember that Progent's roster of experts has substantial experience in ransomware virus defense, removal, and data restoration.

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

Additional Crypto-Ransomware Protection Services Offered by Progent
Progent can provide companies in Santa Monica a portfolio 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 uncover new strains of crypto-ransomware that are able to evade traditional signature-based security solutions.

• 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 businesses to utilize Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology to achieve leading-edge network resilience. Progent handles the necessary monitoring and maintenance for you, so your network expands easily without becoming an obstacle. For an affordable and predictable monthly subscription, Progent's full-service IT team can be your dependable technology safety net. Basic plans include RMM, cybersecurity, automatic monthly patching, and reporting. As your needs grow, you can add low-cost subscriptions to best-in-class solutions 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 monitoring managed service that uses state-of-the-art remote monitoring and management technology to keep your IT system operating efficiently by checking the health of vital computers that power your information system. When ProSight LAN Watch detects a problem, an alarm is transmitted automatically to your designated IT management personnel and your Progent engineering consultant so that all looming problems 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 unified, cloud-driven solution for managing your network, server, and desktop devices by offering tools for performing common tedious tasks. These can include health monitoring, patch management, automated repairs, endpoint configuration, backup and recovery, anti-virus response, secure remote access, built-in and custom scripts, asset inventory, endpoint profile reporting, and debugging help. When ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM identifies a serious incident, it sends an alarm to your specified IT staff and your assigned Progent consultant so that potential problems can be fixed before they interfere with your network. Learn more about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop monitoring services.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Infrastructure Management
  Progent's ProSight WAN Watch is an infrastructure management service that makes it simple and affordable for small and mid-sized businesses to map, track, enhance and troubleshoot their networking appliances like routers and switches, firewalls, and access points plus servers, printers, client computers and other devices. Incorporating state-of-the-art RMM technology, WAN Watch ensures that network maps are always current, copies and displays the configuration information of almost all devices connected to your network, tracks performance, and generates alerts when issues are discovered. By automating time-consuming management and troubleshooting processes, ProSight WAN Watch can knock hours off ordinary tasks such as network mapping, reconfiguring your network, finding appliances that need important software patches, or resolving performance issues. Learn more about ProSight WAN Watch network infrastructure management consulting.

• ProSight Reporting: Real-time Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Applications
  ProSight Reporting is an expanding suite of real-time and in-depth management reporting plug-ins created to work with the industry's top ticketing and 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 critical issues like inconsistent support follow-through or endpoints with missing patches. By exposing ticketing or network health concerns clearly and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting improves productivity, lowers management hassle, and saves money. For more information, visit ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring platforms.

• ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS): Managed Backup and Disaster Recovery Services
  Progent has partnered with advanced backup/restore software providers to produce ProSight Data Protection Services, a family of management outsourcing plans that deliver backup-as-a-service (BaaS). ProSight DPS products manage and monitor your data backup operations and allow transparent backup and fast recovery of vital files, applications, images, and Hyper-V and VMware virtual machines. ProSight DPS helps your business protect against data loss resulting from equipment breakdown, natural disasters, fire, cyber attacks such as ransomware, human error, ill-intentioned employees, or application glitches. Managed services available in the ProSight DPS portfolio include ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight DPS ECHO Backup based on Barracuda dedicated storage, and ProSight DPS MSP360 Hybrid Backup. Your Progent consultant can help you to identify which of these managed backup services are most appropriate for your IT environment.

• ProSight Email Guard: Inbound and Outbound Spam Filtering and Data Leakage Protection
  ProSight Email Guard is Progent's spam filtering service that uses the technology of leading data security vendors to deliver web-based management and comprehensive security for your email traffic. The powerful structure of Email Guard integrates cloud-based filtering with an on-premises security gateway appliance to provide advanced protection against spam, viruses, Denial of Service Attacks, DHAs, and other email-borne threats. The cloud filter serves as a first line of defense and blocks most threats from making it to your network firewall. This decreases your vulnerability to external attacks and conserves network bandwidth and storage. Email Guard's on-premises gateway appliance adds a deeper layer of analysis for inbound email. For outbound email, the local security gateway provides anti-virus and anti-spam filtering, protection against data leaks, and email encryption. The local security gateway can also help Exchange Server to monitor and safeguard internal email that stays within your security perimeter. For more information, see Email Guard spam filtering and data leakage protection.

• ProSight Duo Two-Factor Authentication: ID Confirmation, Endpoint Policy Enforcement, and Secure Single Sign-on
  Progent's Duo MFA managed services incorporate Cisco's Duo technology to defend against password theft by using two-factor authentication. Duo supports one-tap identity confirmation with iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, when you sign into a protected application and enter your password you are asked to confirm your identity on a device that only you possess and that uses a separate network channel. A broad selection of devices can be utilized for this second means of authentication such as a smartphone or wearable, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You can register several verification devices. For details about ProSight Duo identity authentication services, refer to Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for access security.

• Outsourced/Co-managed Call Center: Call Center Managed Services
  Progent's Support Desk services allow your IT staff to offload Support Desk services to Progent or divide activity for Service Desk support transparently between your in-house support staff and Progent's extensive pool of IT service technicians, engineers and subject matter experts (SMEs). Progent's Shared Help Desk Service provides a transparent extension of your core support organization. User interaction with the Help Desk, provision of support services, escalation, ticket creation and tracking, performance measurement, and maintenance of the service database are cohesive whether issues are taken care of by your in-house support staff, by Progent, or both. Learn more about Progent's outsourced/co-managed Call Desk services.

• Active Defense Against Ransomware: Machine Learning-based Ransomware Detection and Cleanup
  Progent's Active Protection Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection managed service that incorporates next generation behavior analysis tools to guard endpoint devices and servers and VMs against new malware assaults such as ransomware and email phishing, which routinely evade legacy signature-matching AV tools. Progent Active Security Monitoring services protect local and cloud-based resources and provides a unified platform to manage the entire threat lifecycle including blocking, detection, containment, cleanup, and post-attack forensics. Key features include one-click rollback with Windows VSS and automatic network-wide immunization against new threats. Find out more about Progent's ransomware protection and cleanup services.

• ProSight IT Asset Management: Network Documentation Management
  Progent's 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, business apps, and services. You can quickly locate passwords or IP addresses and be alerted automatically about impending expirations of SSLs or warranties. By cleaning up and organizing your network documentation, you can eliminate as much as half of time thrown away trying to find critical information about your IT network. ProSight IT Asset Management features a centralized location for holding and sharing all documents required for managing your business network such as recommended procedures and self-service instructions. ProSight IT Asset Management also supports advanced automation for collecting and relating IT data. Whether you're planning improvements, performing maintenance, or responding to an emergency, ProSight IT Asset Management delivers the data you require when you need it. Find out more about Progent's ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Patch Management: Patch Management Services
  Progent's support services for software and firmware patch management offer organizations of all sizes a versatile and affordable solution for evaluating, testing, scheduling, implementing, and tracking software and firmware updates to your dynamic information system. In addition to optimizing the protection and functionality of your IT network, Progent's software/firmware update management services allow your IT staff to concentrate on more strategic initiatives and activities that deliver the highest business value from your information network. Find out more about Progent's software/firmware update management services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted Virtual Machines at Progent's World-class Data Center
  With ProSight Virtual Hosting service, a small or mid-size organization can have its key servers and applications hosted in a secure Tier III data center on a fast virtual host set up and managed by Progent's network support professionals. With Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting service model, the customer retains ownership of the data, the operating system software, and the apps. Since the system is virtualized, it can be ported immediately to an alternate hosting solution without a lengthy and difficult configuration procedure. With ProSight Virtual Hosting, you are not tied one hosting provider. Learn more details 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 utilizes SentinelOne's cutting edge behavior machine learning tools to defend physical and virtual endpoints against modern malware assaults like ransomware and email phishing, which easily evade legacy signature-matching anti-virus tools. ProSight Active Security Monitoring safeguards local and cloud resources and offers a unified platform to address the entire malware attack lifecycle including filtering, identification, containment, remediation, and post-attack forensics. Top features include single-click rollback with Windows VSS and real-time system-wide immunization against newly discovered attacks. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Learn more about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) endpoint protection and ransomware recovery.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP): Endpoint Security and Exchange Email Filtering
  ProSight Enhanced Security Protection services deliver affordable in-depth security for physical and virtual servers, desktops, smartphones, and Exchange email. ProSight ESP utilizes contextual security and advanced heuristics for round-the-clock monitoring and reacting to security assaults from all attack vectors. ProSight ESP provides firewall protection, penetration alarms, device management, and web filtering via cutting-edge technologies incorporated within a single agent accessible from a unified control. Progent's data protection and virtualization consultants can help your business to plan and implement a ProSight ESP deployment that addresses your company's unique needs and that helps you achieve and demonstrate compliance with legal and industry information security regulations. Progent will help you define and configure policies that ProSight ESP will enforce, and Progent will monitor your network and respond to alarms that call for urgent attention. Progent can also help you to set up and test a backup and disaster recovery solution like ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) so you can recover rapidly from a potentially disastrous cyber attack such as ransomware. Read more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP) unified physical and virtual endpoint security and Exchange email filtering.