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Computer Virus Assessment and Restoration Services

Ransomware : Your Feared IT Nightmare
Ransomware has become a modern cyber pandemic that represents an extinction-level danger for organizations poorly prepared for an assault. Multiple generations of ransomware such as CrySIS, CryptoWall, Locky, Syskey and MongoLock cryptoworms have been running rampant for years and still inflict damage. More recent strains of ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, LockBit or Nephilim, along with frequent as yet unnamed newcomers, not only encrypt online critical data but also infiltrate most accessible system backup. Files replicated to the cloud can also be ransomed. In a poorly designed data protection solution, this can make automated restoration impossible and basically sets the datacenter back to square one.

Getting back services and information after a ransomware attack becomes a race against the clock as the targeted organization fights to stop lateral movement, eradicate the crypto-ransomware, and restore enterprise-critical activity. Since ransomware takes time to move laterally, attacks are frequently launched on weekends, when successful penetrations tend to take more time to notice. This compounds the difficulty of promptly mobilizing and orchestrating a capable response team.

Progent provides a range of help services for securing enterprises from ransomware events. These include user education to help recognize and avoid phishing attempts, ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) for remote monitoring and management, along with installation of modern security solutions with artificial intelligence capabilities from SentinelOne to discover and quarantine new cyber threats intelligently. Progent in addition offers the assistance of seasoned crypto-ransomware recovery professionals with the skills and perseverance to re-deploy a compromised system as soon as possible.

Progent's Crypto-Ransomware Restoration Help
Subsequent to a ransomware event, sending the ransom in cryptocurrency does not provide any assurance that distant criminals will provide the keys to unencrypt any of your files. Kaspersky ascertained that 17% of crypto-ransomware victims never restored their data after having paid the ransom, resulting in additional losses. The gamble is also costly. Ryuk ransoms are typically a few hundred thousand dollars. For larger organizations, the ransom can be in the millions. The other path is to re-install the mission-critical parts of your IT environment. Without the availability of full system backups, this requires a wide complement of skill sets, well-coordinated project management, and the willingness to work continuously until the recovery project is done.

For decades, Progent has offered certified expert Information Technology services for companies throughout the U.S. and has earned Microsoft's Partnership certification status in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's group of subject matter experts includes professionals who have earned high-level industry certifications in leading technologies including Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and popular distributions of Linux. Progent's cyber security specialists have earned internationally-recognized 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 gives Progent the capability to knowledgably identify necessary systems and organize the surviving parts of your IT environment following a crypto-ransomware attack and rebuild them into a functioning network.

Progent's ransomware team of experts deploys best of breed project management applications to coordinate the complex recovery process. Progent understands the urgency of working rapidly and in concert with a customer's management and IT resources to assign priority to tasks and to put critical applications back online as fast as possible.

Client Story: A Successful Ransomware Penetration Restoration
A client hired Progent after their organization was attacked by the Ryuk ransomware. Ryuk is thought to have been created by Northern Korean government sponsored criminal gangs, suspected of adopting algorithms leaked from America's National Security Agency. Ryuk goes after specific organizations with little room for operational disruption and is among the most profitable incarnations of crypto-ransomware. Well Known targets include Data Resolution, a California-based info warehousing and cloud computing firm, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's client is a single-location manufacturing business based in Chicago and has about 500 staff members. The Ryuk penetration had paralyzed all business operations and manufacturing processes. Most of the client's system backups had been on-line at the start of the intrusion and were damaged. The client considered paying the ransom demand (in excess of $200K) and praying for the best, but in the end engaged Progent.

Progent worked with the customer to rapidly assess and assign priority to the essential areas that had to be addressed to make it possible to continue company operations:

• Active Directory (AD)
• Microsoft Exchange
• Financials/MRP

In less than two days, Progent was able to re-build Active Directory services to its pre-penetration state. Progent then accomplished setup and hard drive recovery of critical servers. All Exchange Server data and configuration information were usable, which accelerated the rebuild of Exchange. Progent was also able to collect local OST data files (Outlook Off-Line Folder Files) on team workstations to recover mail data. A not too old offline backup of the client's accounting/ERP systems made it possible to restore these essential services back online for users. Although significant work still had to be done to recover totally from the Ryuk event, essential systems were returned to operations quickly:

Throughout the next couple of weeks important milestones in the restoration project were completed in close collaboration between Progent engineers and the customer:

• Self-hosted web sites were returned to operation with no loss of information.
• The MailStore Microsoft Exchange Server with over four million archived emails was brought online and available for users.
• CRM/Product Ordering/Invoicing/Accounts Payable/Accounts Receivables/Inventory Control capabilities were completely functional.
• A new Palo Alto 850 security appliance was brought online.
• Ninety percent of the user workstations were functioning as before the incident.

Conclusion
A potential business extinction disaster was avoided by top-tier experts, a wide spectrum of subject matter expertise, and close collaboration. Although in post mortem the crypto-ransomware penetration described here should have been identified and blocked with current cyber security technology and recognized best practices, user training, and well designed incident response procedures for data protection and keeping systems up to date with security patches, the reality remains that state-sponsored criminal cyber gangs from China, Russia, North Korea and elsewhere are relentless and are not going away. If you do get hit by a crypto-ransomware attack, remember that Progent's team of experts has extensive experience in ransomware virus defense, cleanup, and information systems recovery.

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

Additional Crypto-Ransomware Protection Services Available from Progent
Progent can provide businesses in Tampa a portfolio of online monitoring and security assessment services designed to help you to minimize your vulnerability to ransomware. These services utilize modern AI capability to detect zero-day variants of ransomware that can get past traditional signature-based anti-virus solutions.

• ProSight Managed Service Packages: for Small to Mid-size Businesses
  Progent's ProSight Managed IT Service Packages make it feasible for small and mid-size companies to utilize Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology to create advanced IT resilience. Progent takes care of the daily monitoring and management for you, so your network scales readily without becoming an obstacle. For a low and predictable monthly subscription, Progent's experienced IT team can be your dependable technology safety net. Entry-level packages include remote monitoring and management, security, automatic monthly patching, and documentation. As your requirements expand, you can add low-cost subscriptions to best-of-breed 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 service that incorporates state-of-the-art remote monitoring and management technology to help keep your network running efficiently by tracking the health of vital assets that drive your information system. When ProSight LAN Watch uncovers a problem, an alert is transmitted automatically to your designated IT staff and your Progent consultant so all potential issues can be addressed before they have a chance to impact your network. Learn more details about ProSight LAN Watch server and desktop monitoring services.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Unified RMM Solution for Networks, Servers, and Workstations
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software offers a centralized, cloud-driven solution for monitoring and managing your client-server infrastructure by providing an environment for streamlining common time-consuming tasks. These can include health checking, patch management, automated remediation, endpoint configuration, backup and recovery, A/V protection, secure remote access, built-in and custom scripts, resource inventory, endpoint status reporting, and troubleshooting support. If ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM uncovers a serious incident, it transmits an alarm to your specified IT management staff and your Progent consultant so emerging problems can be fixed before they impact productivity. Learn more details about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop monitoring consulting.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Infrastructure Management
  ProSight WAN Watch is an infrastructure management service that makes it simple and affordable for smaller businesses to map out, monitor, reconfigure and troubleshoot their networking hardware like switches, firewalls, and wireless controllers plus servers, printers, endpoints and other networked devices. Incorporating state-of-the-art Remote Monitoring and Management technology, WAN Watch ensures that network maps are always updated, captures and displays the configuration of almost all devices connected to your network, monitors performance, and sends alerts when problems are detected. By automating time-consuming network management processes, WAN Watch can cut hours off common tasks such as network mapping, reconfiguring your network, locating appliances that need critical updates, or resolving performance issues. Learn more details about ProSight WAN Watch 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 real-time and in-depth reporting utilities designed to work with the industry's top ticketing and network monitoring platforms including ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Automate, Customer Thermometer, Auvik, and SentinelOne. ProSight Reporting incorporates Microsoft Graph and utilizes color coding to surface and contextualize key issues like inconsistent support follow-through or machines with missing patches. By identifying ticketing or network health concerns concisely and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting improves productivity, lowers management overhead, and saves money. For more information, visit ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring applications.

• ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS): Managed Backup and Recovery Services
  Progent has partnered with advanced backup technology companies to produce ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a selection of subscription-based management outsourcing plans that deliver backup-as-a-service (BaaS). ProSight DPS services manage and track your backup processes and enable transparent backup and rapid recovery of important files, apps, images, and Hyper-V and VMware virtual machines. ProSight DPS helps your business avoid data loss caused by equipment breakdown, natural calamities, fire, malware like ransomware, user mistakes, ill-intentioned employees, or software bugs. Managed services in the ProSight DPS product family include ProSight Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight ECHO Backup based on Barracuda dedicated storage, and ProSight MSP360 Hybrid Backup. Your Progent consultant can help you to identify which of these 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 and virus filtering and email encryption service that incorporates the infrastructure of top data security companies to deliver web-based control and world-class protection for all your inbound and outbound email. The hybrid structure of Progent's Email Guard integrates cloud-based filtering with a local security gateway appliance to offer complete protection against spam, viruses, Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks, DHAs, and other email-based threats. The Cloud Protection Layer acts as a first line of defense and keeps most threats from reaching your security perimeter. This reduces your vulnerability to inbound attacks and conserves network bandwidth and storage. Email Guard's onsite gateway appliance adds a deeper layer of inspection for incoming email. For outbound email, the local security gateway provides anti-virus and anti-spam filtering, protection against data leaks, and email encryption. The on-premises security gateway can also assist Microsoft Exchange Server to track and safeguard internal email that stays within your security perimeter. For more information, see Email Guard spam and content filtering.

• ProSight Duo Multi-Factor Authentication: Access Security, Endpoint Remediation, and Secure Single Sign-on
  Progent's Duo MFA managed services incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against stolen passwords by using two-factor authentication. Duo enables one-tap identity verification on iOS, Google Android, and other out-of-band devices. With Duo 2FA, whenever you sign into a protected online account and enter your password you are requested to confirm who you are on a device that only you have and that is accessed using a different network channel. A broad range of devices can be utilized as this added means of ID validation including a smartphone or watch, a hardware token, a landline phone, etc. You may designate several validation devices. For details about Duo identity authentication services, refer to Cisco Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for access security.

• Outsourced/Co-managed Call Desk: Support Desk Managed Services
  Progent's Help Center services allow your IT group to offload Call Center services to Progent or split responsibilities for Help Desk services seamlessly between your in-house support team and Progent's nationwide pool of IT support technicians, engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's Shared Help Desk Service provides a transparent extension of your internal support staff. End user interaction with the Service Desk, provision of technical assistance, issue escalation, trouble ticket generation and updates, performance measurement, and maintenance of the service database are cohesive regardless of whether incidents are taken care of by your core IT support resources, by Progent's team, or both. Read more about Progent's outsourced/shared Service Desk services.

• Active Protection Against Ransomware: Machine Learning-based Ransomware Identification and Cleanup
  Progent's Active Defense Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection (EPP) solution that utilizes next generation behavior machine learning technology to guard endpoints and servers and VMs against new malware assaults like ransomware and file-less exploits, which routinely get by traditional signature-matching AV tools. Progent Active Security Monitoring services safeguard on-premises and cloud resources and offers a unified platform to manage the entire malware attack progression including filtering, infiltration detection, mitigation, remediation, and post-attack forensics. Top features include one-click rollback using Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and real-time system-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 an IT infrastructure documentation management service that allows you to capture, maintain, retrieve and protect information related to your network infrastructure, processes, business apps, and services. You can quickly locate passwords or serial numbers and be warned about upcoming expirations of SSL certificates or warranties. By cleaning up and managing your network documentation, you can save up to half of time spent looking for vital information about your network. ProSight IT Asset Management includes a common repository for holding and collaborating on all documents required for managing your business network such as recommended procedures and How-To's. ProSight IT Asset Management also offers a high level of automation for gathering and relating IT data. Whether you're planning improvements, doing maintenance, or responding to a crisis, ProSight IT Asset Management gets you the information you require the instant you need it. Find out more about Progent's ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Progent's Patch Management: Software/Firmware Update Management Services
  Progent's managed services for software and firmware patch management offer businesses of any size a versatile and affordable solution for evaluating, validating, scheduling, applying, and tracking updates to your dynamic information network. Besides optimizing the protection and reliability of your IT environment, Progent's patch management services allow your IT staff to focus on line-of-business initiatives and tasks that deliver the highest business value from your network. Learn more about Progent's patch management services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted Virtual Machines at Progent's World-class Data Center
  With Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting service, a small business can have its key servers and apps hosted in a secure fault tolerant data center on a high-performance virtual machine host set up and maintained by Progent's network support experts. With Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting service model, the client retains ownership of the data, the operating system platforms, and the apps. Because the environment is virtualized, it can be moved easily to a different hosting environment without requiring a time-consuming and difficult reinstallation procedure. With ProSight Virtual Hosting, your business is not tied a single hosting service. 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 solution that incorporates SentinelOne's next generation behavior-based machine learning tools to guard physical and virtual endpoint devices against modern malware assaults such as ransomware and file-less exploits, which routinely get by legacy signature-based AV tools. ProSight ASM protects on-premises and cloud resources and provides a unified platform to manage the complete malware attack progression including filtering, detection, mitigation, remediation, and post-attack forensics. Top features include single-click rollback with Windows VSS and real-time system-wide immunization against new threats. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, reseller, and integrator. Read more about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring endpoint protection and ransomware recovery.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection: Physical and Virtual Endpoint Security and Exchange Filtering
  Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection managed services offer affordable in-depth protection for physical servers and virtual machines, desktops, smartphones, and Exchange Server. ProSight ESP utilizes adaptive security and advanced heuristics for round-the-clock monitoring and reacting to cyber threats from all vectors. ProSight ESP delivers two-way firewall protection, penetration alarms, device control, and web filtering via cutting-edge technologies packaged within a single agent accessible from a single console. Progent's security and virtualization experts can assist you to plan and configure a ProSight ESP environment that meets your organization's unique needs and that allows you prove compliance with legal and industry data security regulations. Progent will help you specify and configure policies that ProSight ESP will enforce, and Progent will monitor your network and respond to alarms that require urgent attention. Progent can also assist your company to install and verify a backup and disaster recovery solution like ProSight Data Protection Services so you can recover quickly from a potentially disastrous 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.