Pittsburgh 24/7 Immediate Ransomware
Virus Identification and Repair Support

Crypto-Ransomware : Your Worst IT Disaster
Ransomware has become a too-frequent cyberplague that poses an extinction-level threat for businesses unprepared for an attack. Versions of ransomware like the Dharma, Fusob, Bad Rabbit, Syskey and MongoLock cryptoworms have been replicating for years and still inflict destruction. Modern versions of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, LockBit or Nephilim, as well as frequent unnamed viruses, not only encrypt online data but also infect all configured system restores and backups. Data synched to off-site disaster recovery sites can also be ransomed. In a poorly designed environment, this can render automatic restoration impossible and effectively knocks the network back to square one.

Recovering applications and data after a crypto-ransomware intrusion becomes a sprint against the clock as the targeted business fights to contain the damage, eradicate the ransomware, and resume enterprise-critical activity. Due to the fact that ransomware takes time to replicate, penetrations are usually launched on weekends and holidays, when attacks are likely to take longer to detect. This compounds the difficulty of quickly marshalling and coordinating a capable response team.

Progent makes available an assortment of help services for protecting businesses from 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 gateways with artificial intelligence technology from SentinelOne to discover and suppress zero-day threats quickly. Progent in addition can provide the assistance of seasoned ransomware recovery professionals with the skills and commitment to restore a breached environment as soon as possible.

Progent's Ransomware Restoration Support Services
Soon after a crypto-ransomware penetration, sending the ransom in cryptocurrency does not guarantee that merciless criminals will respond with the needed codes to decipher any of your files. Kaspersky ascertained that seventeen percent of crypto-ransomware victims never restored their files even after having sent off the ransom, resulting in more losses. The gamble is also expensive. Ryuk ransoms are often several hundred thousand dollars. For larger enterprises, the ransom demand can reach millions. The other path is to re-install the vital components of your IT environment. Without access to essential information backups, this requires a wide range of skills, professional project management, and the willingness to work 24x7 until the recovery project is over.

For decades, Progent has provided certified expert IT services for businesses throughout the US and has earned Microsoft's Partnership certification status in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's team of subject matter experts includes consultants who have been awarded high-level certifications in foundation technologies including Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and major distributions of Linux. Progent's cybersecurity specialists have earned internationally-recognized certifications including CISM, CISSP-ISSAP, ISACA CRISC, GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (See Progent's certifications). Progent in addition has experience in financial management and ERP applications. This breadth of experience provides Progent the skills to efficiently ascertain critical systems and integrate the remaining pieces of your network environment after a ransomware attack and assemble them into an operational system.

Progent's recovery group has best of breed project management tools to coordinate the sophisticated recovery process. Progent understands the importance of working swiftly and together with a customer's management and Information Technology resources to prioritize tasks and to put the most important services back on line as soon as humanly possible.

Customer Case Study: A Successful Crypto-Ransomware Intrusion Response
A small business engaged Progent after their network was brought down by the Ryuk ransomware. Ryuk is generally considered to have been launched by North Korean state sponsored hackers, suspected of adopting techniques exposed from the U.S. National Security Agency. Ryuk seeks specific businesses with limited tolerance for operational disruption and is one of the most lucrative incarnations of ransomware. Major targets include Data Resolution, a California-based data warehousing and cloud computing company, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's customer is a small manufacturer headquartered in the Chicago metro area and has around 500 employees. The Ryuk penetration had brought down all essential operations and manufacturing capabilities. Most of the client's data backups had been on-line at the start of the attack and were destroyed. The client was evaluating paying the ransom demand (exceeding two hundred thousand dollars) and praying for the best, but ultimately brought in Progent.

Progent worked together with the client to rapidly understand and assign priority to the mission critical elements that had to be addressed in order to restart company functions:

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

Within 2 days, Progent was able to recover Windows Active Directory to its pre-attack state. Progent then performed rebuilding and storage recovery of key systems. All Exchange Server data and configuration information were usable, which accelerated the restore of Exchange. Progent was also able to find intact OST data files (Microsoft Outlook Offline Folder Files) on various PCs to recover email information. A not too old off-line backup of the customer's financials/MRP systems made them able to recover these vital services back online. Although significant work still had to be done to recover fully from the Ryuk attack, critical services were restored rapidly:

Throughout the next few weeks key milestones in the recovery project were accomplished in close cooperation between Progent consultants and the client:

• In-house web sites were brought back up with no loss of data.
• The MailStore Exchange Server exceeding 4 million historical emails was spun up and accessible to users.
• CRM/Customer Orders/Invoices/Accounts Payable (AP)/Accounts Receivables (AR)/Inventory modules were 100% restored.
• A new Palo Alto Networks 850 firewall was set up and programmed.
• Nearly all of the desktop computers were back into operation.

Conclusion
A potential enterprise-killing disaster was avoided through the efforts of top-tier professionals, a wide spectrum of subject matter expertise, and tight collaboration. Although in retrospect the ransomware virus attack described here should have been disabled with advanced cyber security technology and recognized best practices, user and IT administrator training, and well thought out security procedures for information backup and proper patching controls, the fact is that government-sponsored hackers from Russia, North Korea and elsewhere are relentless and will continue. If you do get hit by a crypto-ransomware incident, feel confident that Progent's roster of experts has extensive experience in ransomware virus defense, removal, and information systems recovery.

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

Additional Ransomware Protection Services Available from Progent
Progent can provide businesses in Pittsburgh a range of remote monitoring and security evaluation services to assist you to reduce your vulnerability to ransomware. These services include next-generation machine learning capability to detect zero-day variants of ransomware that can escape detection by legacy signature-based security solutions.

• ProSight Managed Service Plans: for Small to Mid-size Businesses
  Progent's ProSight Managed IT Service Plans make it practical for small and mid-size companies to deploy Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology to create advanced IT resilience. Progent takes care of the daily monitoring and maintenance for you, so your system expands 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. Entry-level packages include remote monitoring and management (RMM), security, automatic monthly patching, and documentation. As your requirements grow, you can add low-cost subscriptions to best-in-class solutions like as SaaS M365/Google Workspace backup and restore, Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA), pen testing, or WiFi management.

• ProSight LAN Watch: Server and Desktop Monitoring and Management
  ProSight LAN Watch is Progent's server and desktop monitoring service that incorporates state-of-the-art remote monitoring and management (RMM) technology to help keep your network running at peak levels by tracking the state of vital assets that drive your business network. When ProSight LAN Watch uncovers an issue, an alert is sent automatically to your specified IT staff and your assigned Progent consultant so that any looming issues can be addressed before they have a chance to disrupt your network. Learn more details about ProSight LAN Watch server and desktop monitoring consulting.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Unified RMM for Networks, Servers, and Desktops
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software delivers a unified, cloud-driven solution for managing your network, server, and desktop devices by providing tools for performing common time-consuming jobs. These can include health monitoring, update management, automated remediation, endpoint configuration, backup and recovery, anti-virus response, secure remote access, built-in and custom scripts, resource inventory, endpoint status reporting, and troubleshooting assistance. When ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM uncovers a serious incident, it transmits an alarm to your specified IT personnel and your assigned Progent technical consultant so that emerging problems can be fixed before they impact your network. Learn more about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop remote monitoring services.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Network Infrastructure Remote Monitoring and Management
  Progent's ProSight WAN Watch is an infrastructure monitoring and management service that makes it simple and affordable for small and mid-sized organizations to map out, track, enhance and troubleshoot their networking appliances like routers, firewalls, and access points plus servers, endpoints and other networked devices. Incorporating cutting-edge Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology, WAN Watch makes sure that network maps are always updated, copies and manages the configuration information of virtually all devices on your network, tracks performance, and sends notices when issues are detected. By automating tedious management and troubleshooting activities, ProSight WAN Watch can knock hours off common chores such as network mapping, expanding your network, finding appliances that require critical updates, or resolving performance bottlenecks. Learn more about ProSight WAN Watch network infrastructure management consulting.

• ProSight Reporting: Real-time and In-depth Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Applications
  ProSight Reporting is a growing line of in-depth reporting tools designed to integrate with the top ticketing and remote network monitoring platforms such as ConnectWise Manage, ConnectWise Automate, Customer Thermometer, Auvik, and SentinelOne. ProSight Reporting uses Microsoft Graph and utilizes 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 enhances productivity, lowers management hassle, and saves money. For more information, visit ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring applications.

• ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS): Backup and Disaster Recovery Services
  Progent has worked with advanced backup technology companies to produce ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a family of subscription-based management offerings that deliver backup-as-a-service. ProSight DPS products automate and track your backup processes and allow transparent backup and rapid recovery of critical files/folders, applications, system images, and virtual machines. ProSight DPS helps you recover from data loss resulting from equipment failures, natural calamities, fire, cyber attacks like ransomware, human error, ill-intentioned employees, or software bugs. Managed backup services in the ProSight Data Protection Services portfolio include ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight ECHO Backup using Barracuda dedicated storage, and ProSight MSP360 Cloud and On-prem Backup. Your Progent expert can help you to identify which of these 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 filtering and email encryption service that incorporates the infrastructure of leading information security companies to provide web-based management and world-class protection for your inbound and outbound email. The powerful architecture of Email Guard managed service integrates cloud-based filtering with an on-premises gateway device to offer complete protection against spam, viruses, Dos Attacks, Directory Harvest Attacks, and other email-based malware. Email Guard's cloud filter serves as a preliminary barricade and keeps the vast majority of unwanted email from making it to your network firewall. This decreases your exposure to external attacks and conserves network bandwidth and storage. Email Guard's on-premises security gateway device adds a further layer of inspection for incoming email. For outbound email, the local security gateway provides anti-virus and anti-spam protection, protection against data leaks, and email encryption. The onsite security gateway can also help Microsoft Exchange Server to monitor and safeguard internal email that originates and ends inside your corporate firewall. For more information, visit ProSight Email Guard spam and content filtering.

• ProSight Duo Multi-Factor Authentication: Identity Validation, Endpoint Policy Enforcement, and Secure Single Sign-on
  Progent's Duo MFA services incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to protect against stolen passwords by using two-factor authentication (2FA). Duo supports one-tap identity verification with iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. With 2FA, whenever you log into a secured online account and enter your password you are asked to verify your identity on a unit that only you possess and that is accessed using a different network channel. A wide range of out-of-band devices can be utilized for this second form of authentication such as a smartphone or wearable, a hardware/software 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 Help Desk: Call Center Managed Services
  Progent's Call Desk managed services enable your information technology group to offload Support Desk services to Progent or divide activity for support services transparently between your internal network support team and Progent's nationwide pool of certified IT support engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's Shared Help Desk Service provides a transparent extension of your core IT support resources. User interaction with the Service Desk, delivery of support services, escalation, ticket generation and tracking, efficiency measurement, and maintenance of the support database are consistent regardless of whether incidents are resolved by your core network support resources, by Progent, or a mix of the two. Read more about Progent's outsourced/co-managed Call Center services.

• Active Defense Against Ransomware: AI-based Ransomware Identification and Cleanup
  Progent's Active Defense Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection (EPP) service that utilizes next generation behavior machine learning tools to defend endpoint devices as well as physical and virtual servers against new malware attacks like ransomware and email phishing, which easily escape traditional signature-matching AV tools. Progent Active Security Monitoring services safeguard local and cloud-based resources and offers a single platform to address the complete threat progression including filtering, infiltration detection, containment, remediation, and post-attack forensics. Key features include single-click rollback with Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service (VSS) and automatic system-wide immunization against newly discovered attacks. Learn more about Progent's ransomware protection and cleanup services.

• ProSight IT Asset Management: Network Documentation Management
  Progent's ProSight IT Asset Management service is a cloud-based IT documentation management service that allows you to create, update, retrieve and protect data related to your IT infrastructure, procedures, applications, and services. You can instantly locate passwords or IP addresses and be warned about impending expirations of SSLs ,domains or warranties. By cleaning up and organizing your network documentation, you can save up to half of time wasted searching for vital information about your IT network. ProSight IT Asset Management features a centralized repository for holding and sharing all documents related to managing your business network such as recommended procedures and How-To's. ProSight IT Asset Management also supports advanced automation for gathering and associating IT data. Whether you're making enhancements, performing regular maintenance, or reacting to an emergency, ProSight IT Asset Management gets you the information you need the instant you need it. Learn more about Progent's ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Patch Management: Patch Management Services
  Progent's managed services for software and firmware patch management provide organizations of all sizes a flexible and cost-effective alternative for evaluating, testing, scheduling, implementing, and documenting software and firmware updates to your ever-evolving information network. Besides maximizing the protection and functionality of your IT environment, Progent's patch management services permit your IT staff to focus on line-of-business initiatives and activities that deliver maximum business value from your information network. Learn more about Progent's patch management support services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted VMs at Progent's World-class Data Center
  With ProSight Virtual Hosting service, a small or mid-size organization can have its critical servers and apps hosted in a protected fault tolerant data center on a high-performance virtual host configured and managed by Progent's network support experts. With the ProSight Virtual Hosting service model, the client retains ownership of the data, the operating system platforms, and the applications. Because the environment is virtualized, it can be ported easily to a different hardware environment without a lengthy and technically risky configuration process. With ProSight Virtual Hosting, your business is not locked into a single 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 utilizes SentinelOne's next generation behavior-based analysis technology to guard physical and virtual endpoints against modern malware assaults such as ransomware and file-less exploits, which easily get by traditional signature-matching AV products. ProSight Active Security Monitoring protects on-premises and cloud-based resources and offers a single platform to address the entire malware attack progression including filtering, identification, containment, cleanup, and forensics. Top capabilities include single-click rollback with Windows VSS and real-time network-wide immunization against new threats. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Learn more about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring next-generation endpoint protection and ransomware recovery.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP): Endpoint Protection and Microsoft Exchange Filtering
  ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP) managed services deliver economical in-depth protection for physical and virtual servers, workstations, smartphones, and Exchange email. ProSight ESP uses contextual security and advanced heuristics for continuously monitoring and reacting to security threats from all attack vectors. ProSight ESP provides two-way firewall protection, penetration alarms, endpoint management, and web filtering via leading-edge technologies incorporated within a single agent managed from a unified control. Progent's data protection and virtualization consultants can help you to design and implement a ProSight ESP environment that addresses your organization's specific requirements and that allows you achieve and demonstrate compliance with legal and industry data protection regulations. Progent will assist you define and implement security policies that ProSight ESP will enforce, and Progent will monitor your network and react to alarms that call for immediate action. Progent's consultants can also help your company to install and test a backup and restore solution such as ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) so you can recover rapidly from a destructive cyber attack like ransomware. Learn more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection unified endpoint security and Exchange filtering.