Ransomware Defense and Recovery Expertise Salinas

Ransomware : Your Worst Information Technology Nightmare
Crypto-Ransomware has become an escalating cyberplague that represents an extinction-level danger for businesses of all sizes unprepared for an attack. Versions of crypto-ransomware like the CryptoLocker, CryptoWall, Bad Rabbit, NotPetya and MongoLock cryptoworms have been replicating for years and continue to cause harm. More recent versions of ransomware such as Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, LockBit and Egregor, plus additional unnamed newcomers, not only perform encryption of online data files but also infiltrate any configured system backups. Files replicated to cloud environments can also be corrupted. In a poorly architected system, it can make any restore operations hopeless and effectively knocks the entire system back to square one.

Retrieving applications and information following a crypto-ransomware outage becomes a race against the clock as the targeted organization fights to stop lateral movement, clear the virus, and restore business-critical activity. Because ransomware requires time to spread across a network, attacks are frequently launched at night, when penetrations in many cases take more time to discover. This compounds the difficulty of promptly assembling and orchestrating an experienced response team.

Progent makes available an assortment of services for protecting Salinas businesses from ransomware events. These include team education to help recognize and not fall victim to phishing exploits, ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) for endpoint detection and response using SentinelOne's behavior-based threat defense to detect and quarantine day-zero modern malware attacks. Progent also can provide the services of seasoned ransomware recovery engineers with the talent and perseverance to restore a breached system as urgently as possible.

Progent's Ransomware Recovery Help
Following a crypto-ransomware penetration, even paying the ransom demands in cryptocurrency does not provide any assurance that cyber hackers will respond with the needed keys to decipher any of your files. Kaspersky estimated that seventeen percent of crypto-ransomware victims never recovered their information after having paid the ransom, resulting in more losses. The risk is also expensive. Ryuk ransoms are often several hundred thousand dollars. For larger enterprises, the ransom demand can reach millions of dollars. The alternative is to piece back together the essential parts of your Information Technology environment. Without access to essential data backups, this requires a broad range of skills, top notch team management, and the ability to work non-stop until the recovery project is complete.

For two decades, Progent has provided expert IT services for companies across the United States and has earned Microsoft's Partnership certification in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's team of subject matter experts includes professionals who have earned advanced industry certifications in leading technologies like Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and major distributions of Linux. Progent's security engineers have garnered internationally-renowned industry certifications including CISM, CISSP-ISSAP, ISACA CRISC, GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (Refer to Progent's certifications). Progent also has experience in accounting and ERP software solutions. This breadth of experience affords Progent the capability to efficiently identify necessary systems and organize the surviving parts of your computer network system following a ransomware attack and configure them into a functioning network.

Progent's recovery group deploys state-of-the-art project management applications to orchestrate the sophisticated restoration process. Progent knows the urgency of working rapidly and together with a customer's management and Information Technology resources to assign priority to tasks and to get essential systems back on-line as soon as humanly possible.

Business Case Study: A Successful Ransomware Virus Restoration
A client escalated to Progent after their network system was brought down by Ryuk ransomware. Ryuk is believed to have been developed by North Korean state hackers, suspected of using approaches exposed from America's NSA organization. Ryuk goes after specific companies with limited room for operational disruption and is among the most profitable versions of ransomware. High publicized targets include Data Resolution, a California-based data warehousing and cloud computing company, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's customer is a regional manufacturer headquartered in the Chicago metro area with about 500 staff members. The Ryuk intrusion had disabled all company operations and manufacturing capabilities. Most of the client's information backups had been directly accessible at the start of the intrusion and were encrypted. The client considered paying the ransom (in excess of two hundred thousand dollars) and praying for the best, but in the end called Progent.

Progent worked together with the client to rapidly assess and prioritize the key applications that needed to be restored in order to restart departmental functions:

• Windows Active Directory
• Email
• Financials/MRP

In less than 48 hours, Progent was able to rebuild Active Directory services to its pre-virus state. Progent then assisted with setup and hard drive recovery of essential servers. All Exchange Server ties and attributes were usable, which accelerated the rebuild of Exchange. Progent was able to collect local OST data files (Outlook Email Offline Folder Files) on staff workstations in order to recover email data. A not too old off-line backup of the businesses financials/ERP software made them able to return these vital services back online for users. Although major work was left to recover totally from the Ryuk damage, core services were returned to operations rapidly:

Over the following couple of weeks critical milestones in the restoration process were achieved through tight cooperation between Progent engineers 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 messages was brought on-line and accessible to users.
• CRM/Orders/Invoices/Accounts Payable (AP)/Accounts Receivables (AR)/Inventory functions were 100 percent operational.
• A new Palo Alto Networks 850 security appliance was deployed.
• Most of the user desktops were operational.

Conclusion
A possible business extinction disaster was dodged through the efforts of dedicated experts, a broad spectrum of technical expertise, and close collaboration. Although in retrospect the crypto-ransomware virus incident described here would have been stopped with current security technology and NIST Cybersecurity Framework best practices, staff education, and properly executed security procedures for data backup and proper patching controls, the reality is that government-sponsored cybercriminals from Russia, China and elsewhere are relentless and will continue. If you do get hit by a ransomware incursion, feel confident that Progent's team of experts has substantial experience in ransomware virus defense, mitigation, and file recovery.

Download the Ransomware Recovery Case Study Datasheet
To review or download a PDF version of this case study, click:
Progent's Ryuk Virus Recovery Case Study Datasheet. (PDF - 282 KB)

Contact Progent for Ransomware Cleanup Expertise in Salinas
For ransomware cleanup expertise in the Salinas area, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or visit Contact Progent.