Southlake 24x7 Urgent Ransomware
Malware Identification and Remediation Consulting

Ransomware : Your Feared Information Technology Nightmare
Ransomware has become a modern cyber pandemic that represents an enterprise-level threat for organizations vulnerable to an attack. Different iterations of ransomware such as Reveton, Fusob, Locky, Syskey and MongoLock cryptoworms have been around for years and continue to inflict harm. Newer strains of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, Conti or Egregor, along with frequent as yet unnamed viruses, not only do encryption of on-line data but also infiltrate all accessible system protection. Data synchronized to the cloud can also be corrupted. In a poorly architected system, it can render automated restoration useless and basically sets the network back to square one.

Getting back on-line services and information following a ransomware event becomes a race against the clock as the targeted organization struggles to contain, cleanup the crypto-ransomware, and restore enterprise-critical activity. Because ransomware takes time to replicate, assaults are frequently sprung during nights and weekends, when penetrations may take more time to detect. This multiplies the difficulty of rapidly marshalling and organizing a knowledgeable response team.

Progent makes available an assortment of solutions for securing businesses from ransomware attacks. These include staff education to help identify and avoid phishing exploits, ProSight Active Security Monitoring for remote monitoring and management, plus installation of modern security solutions with artificial intelligence technology from SentinelOne to identify and extinguish day-zero cyber attacks rapidly. Progent in addition provides the assistance of expert ransomware recovery engineers with the skills and perseverance to rebuild a compromised system as rapidly as possible.

Progent's Crypto-Ransomware Recovery Help
After a ransomware invasion, sending the ransom in cryptocurrency does not guarantee that distant criminals will provide the codes to decipher any or all of your information. Kaspersky Labs estimated that 17% of ransomware victims never restored their data even after having sent off 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 be in the millions of dollars. The fallback is to setup from scratch the mission-critical parts of your IT environment. Absent access to complete data backups, this requires a broad range of skills, well-coordinated project management, and the capability to work 24x7 until the task is finished.

For twenty years, Progent has offered professional Information Technology services for businesses across the US and has achieved Microsoft's Partnership certification status in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's team of subject matter experts includes engineers who have been awarded advanced certifications in important technologies such as Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and major distributions of Linux. Progent's cyber security specialists have garnered internationally-renowned certifications including CISA, CISSP, CRISC, SANS GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (Refer to Progent's certifications). Progent also has expertise in accounting and ERP applications. This breadth of expertise provides Progent the skills to rapidly identify important systems and consolidate the remaining components of your Information Technology system after a ransomware penetration and configure them into a functioning system.

Progent's ransomware team of experts deploys powerful project management systems to orchestrate the complicated recovery process. Progent knows the importance of acting swiftly and in concert with a customer's management and Information Technology team members to prioritize tasks and to put key applications back on line as fast as humanly possible.

Customer Story: A Successful Ransomware Virus Response
A small business engaged Progent after their network was attacked by the Ryuk ransomware. Ryuk is generally considered to have been deployed by Northern Korean government sponsored hackers, suspected of adopting techniques exposed from the United States NSA organization. Ryuk goes after specific companies with little or no ability to sustain disruption and is one of the most lucrative examples of crypto-ransomware. Well Known targets include Data Resolution, a California-based data warehousing and cloud computing business, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's client is a single-location manufacturer based in Chicago with around 500 employees. The Ryuk event had frozen all business operations and manufacturing processes. The majority of the client's information backups had been directly accessible at the start of the intrusion and were eventually encrypted. The client was taking steps for paying the ransom (exceeding $200K) and praying for good luck, but in the end called Progent.

Progent worked hand in hand the customer to rapidly assess and assign priority to the mission critical services that needed to be recovered to make it possible to continue business operations:

• Microsoft Active Directory
• Electronic Messaging
• Financials/MRP

Within 2 days, Progent was able to re-build Active Directory services to its pre-virus state. Progent then assisted with rebuilding and storage recovery on critical servers. All Exchange data and configuration information were usable, which facilitated the restore of Exchange. Progent was able to collect intact OST files (Outlook Off-Line Folder Files) on user workstations and laptops in order to recover email data. A recent offline backup of the client's accounting systems made it possible to return these essential programs back online for users. Although a large amount of work was left to recover completely from the Ryuk attack, the most important services were returned to operations rapidly:

Throughout the following month important milestones in the restoration process were accomplished in tight cooperation between Progent consultants and the client:

• Self-hosted web sites were returned to operation with no loss of information.
• The MailStore Server with over four million archived messages was spun up and accessible to users.
• CRM/Customer Orders/Invoices/Accounts Payable (AP)/Accounts Receivables/Inventory modules were fully recovered.
• A new Palo Alto 850 security appliance was brought online.
• Ninety percent of the desktop computers were functioning as before the incident.

Conclusion
A potential enterprise-killing disaster was evaded due to hard-working experts, a wide range of IT skills, and close collaboration. Although in analyzing the event afterwards the ransomware penetration detailed here would have been identified and disabled with up-to-date security systems and security best practices, user education, and properly executed incident response procedures for data protection and proper patching controls, the reality remains that state-sponsored criminal cyber gangs from China, Russia, North Korea and elsewhere are tireless and will continue. If you do get hit by a ransomware virus, feel confident that Progent's roster of professionals has substantial experience in ransomware virus defense, remediation, and information systems restoration.

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

Additional Ransomware Protection Services Available from Progent
Progent can provide businesses in Southlake a variety of online monitoring and security assessment services to help you to reduce the threat from ransomware. These services include next-generation artificial intelligence technology to uncover new strains of ransomware that can get past legacy signature-based security products.

• ProSight Managed Service Packages: for Small to Mid-size Businesses
  Progent's ProSight Managed IT Service Plans make it feasible for small and mid-size businesses to deploy Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology to achieve leading-edge IT resilience. Progent takes care of the daily monitoring and maintenance for you, so your network scales easily without holding you back. For a low and predictable monthly subscription, Progent's full-service IT team can be your dependable technology safety net. Basic plans include remote monitoring and management, security, monthly patching, and reporting. As your requirements grow, you can add low-cost subscriptions to best-in-class solutions like as SaaS M365/Google Workspace backup, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), pen 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 managed service that incorporates advanced remote monitoring and management (RMM) technology to keep your IT system operating efficiently by checking the health of vital computers that drive your information system. When ProSight LAN Watch detects a problem, an alert is sent immediately to your specified IT staff and your Progent consultant so that any potential problems can be addressed before they have a chance to disrupt productivity. Find out more about ProSight LAN Watch server and desktop remote monitoring consulting.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Unified RMM for Networks, Servers, and Desktops
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software delivers a centralized, cloud-based solution for monitoring and managing your client-server infrastructure by offering tools for streamlining common time-consuming tasks. These can include health monitoring, update management, automated remediation, endpoint configuration, backup and recovery, A/V defense, secure remote access, standard and custom scripts, asset inventory, endpoint status reporting, and debugging support. If ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM spots a serious incident, it transmits an alarm to your designated IT personnel and your assigned Progent consultant so that potential problems can be taken care of before they impact your network. Learn more about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop remote monitoring services.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Infrastructure Remote Monitoring and Management
  Progent's ProSight WAN Watch is an infrastructure monitoring and management service that makes it easy and affordable for small and mid-sized businesses to map, monitor, optimize and debug their networking appliances such as switches, firewalls, and load balancers plus servers, printers, endpoints and other devices. Using state-of-the-art RMM technology, WAN Watch ensures that infrastructure topology maps are always updated, captures and manages the configuration information of virtually all devices connected to your network, tracks performance, and generates alerts when potential issues are discovered. By automating complex management and troubleshooting processes, WAN Watch can cut hours off ordinary tasks like making network diagrams, expanding your network, finding devices that need critical updates, or identifying the cause of performance issues. Find out more about ProSight WAN Watch network infrastructure monitoring and management services.

• ProSight Reporting: Real-time and In-depth Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Platforms
  ProSight Reporting is an expanding line of in-depth management reporting utilities designed to work with the industry's leading ticketing and remote network monitoring programs such as ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Automate, Customer Thermometer, Auvik, and SentinelOne. ProSight Reporting incorporates Microsoft Graph and features color coding to highlight and contextualize critical issues like inconsistent support follow-up or machines with out-of-date AVs. By exposing ticketing or network health problems concisely and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting enhances productivity, reduces management overhead, and saves money. For more information, see ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring platforms.

• ProSight Data Protection Services: Managed Backup and Disaster Recovery Services
  Progent has partnered with leading backup/restore software companies to produce ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a family of offerings that deliver backup-as-a-service. ProSight DPS services manage and monitor your data backup processes and allow transparent backup and rapid restoration of important files, apps, images, plus VMs. ProSight DPS lets your business protect against data loss resulting from equipment breakdown, natural calamities, fire, malware such as ransomware, human mistakes, ill-intentioned insiders, or software glitches. Managed services available in the ProSight Data Protection Services product family include ProSight Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight DPS ECHO Backup based on Barracuda purpose-built storage, and ProSight DPS MSP360 Hybrid Backup. Your Progent service representative can help you to identify which of these managed 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 service that incorporates the infrastructure of leading information security vendors to provide centralized control and comprehensive protection for your inbound and outbound email. The powerful structure of Email Guard managed service integrates a Cloud Protection Layer with a local security gateway appliance to provide advanced defense against spam, viruses, Dos Attacks, DHAs, and other email-based malware. The cloud filter acts as a preliminary barricade and blocks most unwanted email from making it to your security perimeter. This decreases your vulnerability to external threats and conserves network bandwidth and storage. Email Guard's on-premises gateway device provides a deeper level of analysis for incoming email. For outbound email, the local gateway offers anti-virus and anti-spam filtering, protection against data leaks, and email encryption. The on-premises gateway can also help Exchange Server to track and protect internal email that originates and ends inside your corporate firewall. For more information, visit Email Guard spam and content filtering.

• ProSight Duo Two-Factor Authentication: Access Security, Endpoint Policy Enforcement, and Secure Single Sign-on (SSO)
  Progent's Duo MFA services incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to defend against compromised passwords by using two-factor authentication. Duo supports one-tap identity confirmation on iOS, Google Android, and other personal devices. Using Duo 2FA, when you log into a protected online account and enter your password you are requested to verify who you are on a device that only you possess and that is accessed using a separate network channel. A broad selection of devices can be used as this second means of ID validation including a smartphone or wearable, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You can designate multiple verification devices. For details about Duo two-factor identity validation services, go to Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication services.

• Progent's Outsourced/Shared Call Center: Support Desk Managed Services
  Progent's Help Center managed services permit your information technology group to offload Support Desk services to Progent or divide responsibilities for Service Desk support transparently between your in-house support resources and Progent's nationwide roster of IT service technicians, engineers and subject matter experts (SMEs). Progent's Shared Service Desk offers a transparent supplement to your in-house IT support team. End user interaction with the Service Desk, delivery of support services, issue escalation, ticket creation and updates, efficiency metrics, and management of the support database are consistent whether incidents are taken care of by your internal network support organization, by Progent, or a mix of the two. Find out more about Progent's outsourced/co-managed Call Center services.

• Active Protection Against Ransomware: Machine Learning-based Ransomware Detection and Cleanup
  Progent's Active Protection Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection managed service that utilizes next generation behavior-based analysis tools to defend endpoint devices and physical and virtual servers against modern malware assaults such as ransomware and file-less exploits, which easily escape traditional signature-based anti-virus tools. Progent Active Security Monitoring services safeguard local and cloud resources and provides a single platform to manage the entire malware attack lifecycle including protection, identification, mitigation, remediation, and forensics. Top features include single-click rollback using Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and automatic system-wide immunization against newly discovered threats. Find out more about Progent's ransomware protection and recovery services.

• ProSight IT Asset Management: Network Documentation Management
  ProSight IT Asset Management service is a cloud-based IT documentation management service that makes it easy to capture, update, find and protect information about your IT infrastructure, processes, business apps, and services. You can quickly find passwords or IP addresses and be alerted automatically about upcoming expirations of SSLs ,domains or warranties. By cleaning up and organizing your IT infrastructure documentation, you can save up to half of time wasted trying to find vital information about your IT network. ProSight IT Asset Management includes a common location for storing and sharing all documents required for managing your network infrastructure such as recommended procedures and self-service instructions. ProSight IT Asset Management also supports a high level of automation for gathering and associating IT data. Whether you're making improvements, performing maintenance, or reacting to an emergency, ProSight IT Asset Management delivers the data you require the instant you need it. Find out more about Progent's ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Patch Management: Patch Management Services
  Progent's managed services for patch management provide businesses of any size a versatile and affordable solution for evaluating, validating, scheduling, applying, and documenting updates to your dynamic information system. In addition to maximizing the protection and functionality of your IT environment, Progent's software/firmware update management services permit your IT team to concentrate on more strategic projects and activities that deliver maximum business value from your network. Read more about Progent's software/firmware update management support services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted Virtual Machines at Progent's World-class Data Center
  With ProSight Virtual Hosting service, a small organization can have its key servers and applications hosted in a protected fault tolerant data center on a fast virtual machine host configured and maintained by Progent's network support experts. Under Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting service model, the client retains ownership of the data, the operating system software, and the apps. Since the system is virtualized, it can be ported easily to an alternate hosting environment without a time-consuming and technically risky reinstallation procedure. With ProSight Virtual Hosting, your business is not tied one hosting provider. Find out more about ProSight Virtual Hosting services.

• ProSight Active Security Monitoring: Endpoint Protection and Ransomware Defense
  Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring is an endpoint protection solution that incorporates SentinelOne's cutting edge behavior-based machine learning tools to guard physical and virtual endpoints against modern malware attacks such as ransomware and file-less exploits, which routinely evade legacy signature-matching anti-virus products. ProSight Active Security Monitoring protects on-premises and cloud-based resources and offers a unified platform to address the complete malware attack lifecycle including blocking, identification, mitigation, cleanup, and post-attack forensics. Key capabilities include one-click rollback using Windows VSS and automatic system-wide immunization against newly discovered attacks. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. Learn more about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring endpoint protection and ransomware recovery.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection: Endpoint Security and Exchange Email Filtering
  ProSight Enhanced Security Protection managed services offer economical multi-layer protection for physical servers and VMs, workstations, mobile devices, and Microsoft Exchange. ProSight ESP utilizes adaptive security and advanced machine learning for continuously monitoring and responding to security threats from all attack vectors. ProSight ESP delivers firewall protection, intrusion alarms, device control, and web filtering through leading-edge tools incorporated within one agent managed from a unified console. Progent's data protection and virtualization experts can assist your business to plan and configure a ProSight ESP environment that meets your company's specific requirements and that allows you demonstrate compliance with government and industry data security standards. 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 require urgent action. Progent can also help you to install and test a backup and disaster recovery system like ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) so you can recover rapidly from a potentially disastrous security attack like ransomware. Read more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection unified physical and virtual endpoint protection and Microsoft Exchange email filtering.