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Ransomware : Your Worst IT Catastrophe
Crypto-Ransomware has become an escalating cyber pandemic that represents an enterprise-level danger for businesses vulnerable to an attack. Multiple generations of ransomware like the CrySIS, Fusob, Bad Rabbit, SamSam and MongoLock cryptoworms have been running rampant for years and still inflict destruction. Newer variants of ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, DopplePaymer, Conti or Nephilim, along with daily as yet unnamed viruses, not only do encryption of online critical data but also infiltrate all configured system backups. Information synched to the cloud can also be ransomed. In a vulnerable environment, this can make any restoration useless and effectively knocks the network back to square one.

Getting back online programs and data after a ransomware intrusion becomes a sprint against time as the targeted business fights to contain, remove the ransomware, and resume mission-critical operations. Since crypto-ransomware requires time to replicate, penetrations are usually sprung during nights and weekends, when attacks may take longer to notice. This multiplies the difficulty of promptly assembling and orchestrating an experienced response team.

Progent makes available an assortment of solutions for protecting organizations from ransomware penetrations. Among these are team training to help recognize and avoid phishing scams, ProSight Active Security Monitoring (ASM) for remote monitoring and management, plus installation of modern security appliances with AI technology from SentinelOne to discover and suppress day-zero cyber attacks quickly. Progent also can provide the assistance of expert ransomware recovery engineers with the track record and perseverance to restore a breached system as urgently as possible.

Progent's Crypto-Ransomware Recovery Help
Following a crypto-ransomware penetration, sending the ransom demands in cryptocurrency does not provide any assurance that criminal gangs will return the codes to unencrypt any of your data. Kaspersky Labs estimated that 17% of ransomware victims never recovered their files even after having paid the ransom, resulting in more losses. The risk is also expensive. Ryuk ransoms are commonly several hundred thousand dollars. For larger organizations, the ransom can be in the millions of dollars. The other path is to re-install the vital elements of your IT environment. Without the availability of full information backups, this requires a wide complement of IT skills, well-coordinated project management, and the willingness to work 24x7 until the recovery project is complete.

For twenty years, Progent has made available professional Information Technology services for companies throughout the U.S. and has achieved Microsoft's Partnership certification status in the Datacenter and Cloud Productivity competencies. Progent's pool of subject matter experts (SMEs) includes engineers who have attained top certifications in foundation technologies including Microsoft, Cisco, VMware, and major distributions of Linux. Progent's cyber security consultants have earned internationally-renowned certifications including CISA, CISSP, ISACA CRISC, GIAC, and CMMC 2.0. (Refer to Progent's certifications). Progent in addition has expertise with financial systems and ERP software solutions. This breadth of expertise gives Progent the capability to quickly ascertain important systems and consolidate the surviving components of your computer network environment following a ransomware penetration and rebuild them into a functioning system.

Progent's security group has powerful project management tools to coordinate the complicated recovery process. Progent knows the urgency of acting swiftly and in unison with a client's management and Information Technology resources to assign priority to tasks and to put key systems back on line as soon as humanly possible.

Business Case Study: A Successful Crypto-Ransomware Attack Response
A client sought out Progent after their network was penetrated by Ryuk crypto-ransomware. Ryuk is thought to have been launched by North Korean government sponsored hackers, possibly adopting techniques leaked from the U.S. National Security Agency. Ryuk goes after specific companies with little ability to sustain operational disruption and is one of the most lucrative instances of ransomware malware. Well Known organizations include Data Resolution, a California-based information warehousing and cloud computing firm, and the Chicago Tribune. Progent's customer is a regional manufacturing company located in Chicago with about 500 workers. The Ryuk event had brought down all business operations and manufacturing processes. Most of the client's system backups had been directly accessible at the beginning of the intrusion and were eventually encrypted. The client was taking steps for paying the ransom demand (exceeding two hundred thousand dollars) and hoping for good luck, but ultimately utilized Progent.

Progent worked with the client to rapidly get our arms around and prioritize the most important systems that needed to be restored in order to resume departmental functions:

• Windows Active Directory
• Microsoft Exchange Server
• MRP System

In less than 2 days, Progent was able to restore Active Directory services to its pre-virus state. Progent then charged ahead with setup and storage recovery on the most important applications. All Exchange Server ties and configuration information were usable, which accelerated the restore of Exchange. Progent was also able to find intact OST files (Outlook Off-Line Data Files) on staff desktop computers and laptops in order to recover email messages. A not too old off-line backup of the client's manufacturing software made it possible to recover these required programs back available to users. Although a large amount of work still had to be done to recover completely from the Ryuk damage, essential services were returned to operations rapidly:

During the following couple of weeks critical milestones in the restoration process were accomplished in close cooperation between Progent engineers and the client:

• In-house web sites were brought back up without losing any data.
• The MailStore Exchange Server exceeding 4 million historical emails was restored to operations and accessible to users.
• CRM/Orders/Invoices/AP/Accounts Receivables/Inventory Control capabilities were fully functional.
• A new Palo Alto 850 firewall was installed and configured.
• Nearly all of the user desktops and notebooks were fully operational.

Conclusion
A likely business-killing catastrophe was averted through the efforts of results-oriented experts, a wide array of IT skills, and tight teamwork. Although upon completion of forensics the crypto-ransomware virus incident described here should have been identified and disabled with modern cyber security technology solutions and NIST Cybersecurity Framework best practices, user training, and appropriate incident response procedures for information backup 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 tireless and are an ongoing threat. If you do get hit by a ransomware penetration, feel confident that Progent's roster of professionals has extensive experience in ransomware virus defense, removal, and information systems recovery.

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

Additional Ransomware Protection Services Available from Progent
Progent can provide companies in London a range of remote monitoring and security evaluation services to assist you to reduce your vulnerability to ransomware. These services include modern artificial intelligence capability to detect new variants of ransomware that can get past traditional signature-based anti-virus solutions.

• ProSight Managed Service Plans: for Small to Mid-size Businesses
  Progent's ProSight Managed IT Service Plans make it realistic for small and mid-size companies to utilize Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) technology to create advanced network resilience. Progent takes care of the necessary monitoring and management for you, so your system expands readily without becoming an obstacle. For an affordable and predictable monthly subscription, Progent's full-service IT group can be your complete technology safety net. Basic plans include RMM, cybersecurity, monthly patching, and reporting. As your needs grow, you can add low-cost subscriptions to advanced solutions like as SaaS M365/Google Workspace backup and restore, Multi-Factor Authentication, pen testing, or WiFi management.

• ProSight LAN Watch: Server and Desktop Remote Monitoring
  ProSight LAN Watch is Progent's server and desktop remote monitoring service that uses state-of-the-art remote monitoring and management technology to keep your IT system running at peak levels by checking the state of critical computers that drive your information system. When ProSight LAN Watch detects an issue, an alert is transmitted automatically to your designated IT management personnel and your assigned Progent consultant so any looming issues can be addressed before they have a chance to impact productivity. Learn more about ProSight LAN Watch server and desktop remote monitoring services.

• ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM: Unified RMM for Networks, Servers, and Workstations
  ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM software delivers a centralized, cloud-based solution for managing your client-server infrastructure by offering tools for streamlining common time-consuming tasks. These can include health checking, update management, automated repairs, endpoint setup, backup and restore, anti-virus defense, secure remote access, standard and custom scripts, asset inventory, endpoint profile reporting, and troubleshooting support. If ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM uncovers a serious issue, it sends an alert to your designated IT management personnel and your Progent consultant so potential issues can be fixed before they impact productivity. Find out more about ProSight LAN Watch with NinjaOne RMM server and desktop remote monitoring services.

• ProSight WAN Watch: Infrastructure Management
  ProSight WAN Watch is a network infrastructure monitoring and management service that makes it easy and inexpensive for small and mid-sized organizations to diagram, monitor, enhance and troubleshoot their networking hardware like routers and switches, firewalls, and wireless controllers as well as servers, client computers and other devices. Using state-of-the-art Remote Monitoring and Management technology, ProSight WAN Watch makes sure that network maps are always current, captures and displays the configuration of virtually all devices connected to your network, tracks performance, and generates alerts when potential issues are detected. By automating time-consuming network management processes, WAN Watch can cut hours off common tasks like network mapping, reconfiguring your network, finding appliances that require critical updates, or identifying the cause of performance bottlenecks. Find out more about ProSight WAN Watch network infrastructure monitoring and management consulting.

• ProSight Reporting: In-depth Reporting for Ticketing and Network Monitoring Applications
  ProSight Reporting is a growing family of real-time reporting utilities created to work with the industry's top ticketing and remote network monitoring programs 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 such as spotty support follow-up or endpoints with missing patches. By identifying ticketing or network health concerns concisely and in near-real time, ProSight Reporting enhances productivity, reduces management overhead, and saves money. For details, see ProSight Reporting for ticketing and network monitoring applications.

• ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS): Managed Backup and Recovery Services
  Progent has partnered with leading backup/restore technology companies to create ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS), a selection of offerings that deliver backup-as-a-service (BaaS). ProSight DPS products manage and monitor your backup operations and enable non-disruptive backup and fast recovery of critical files/folders, applications, system images, and Hyper-V and VMware virtual machines. ProSight DPS lets you protect against data loss caused by hardware failures, natural disasters, fire, cyber attacks such as ransomware, human mistakes, ill-intentioned insiders, or application bugs. Managed backup services in the ProSight Data Protection Services product line include ProSight DPS Altaro VM Backup, ProSight 365 Total Backup (formerly Altaro 365 Backup), ProSight DPS ECHO Backup using Barracuda purpose-built storage, and ProSight MSP360 Cloud and On-prem Backup. Your Progent consultant 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 technology of top data security vendors to deliver web-based control and world-class protection for all your inbound and outbound email. The hybrid structure of Email Guard combines cloud-based filtering with an on-premises security gateway appliance to offer advanced protection against spam, viruses, Denial of Service (DoS) Attacks, DHAs, and other email-based malware. The cloud filter acts as a preliminary barricade and blocks the vast majority of unwanted email from making it to your network firewall. This decreases your exposure to external threats and conserves network bandwidth and storage space. Email Guard's on-premises security gateway appliance provides a deeper level of inspection for incoming email. For outbound email, the onsite gateway provides AV and anti-spam filtering, protection against data leaks, and email encryption. The local security gateway can also assist Microsoft Exchange Server to track and protect internal email traffic that originates and ends inside your corporate firewall. For more information, see ProSight Email Guard spam and content filtering.

• ProSight Duo Two-Factor Authentication: Identity Validation, Endpoint Policy Enforcement, and Protected Single Sign-on (SSO)
  Progent's Duo MFA managed services incorporate Cisco's Duo cloud technology to defend against stolen passwords by using two-factor authentication. Duo supports single-tap identity verification on Apple iOS, Android, and other out-of-band devices. Using 2FA, when you sign into a secured application and give your password you are asked to confirm your identity on a unit that only you have and that uses a separate network channel. A wide selection of out-of-band devices can be utilized for this second form of authentication including an iPhone or Android or watch, a hardware token, a landline telephone, etc. You may designate multiple verification devices. For more information about ProSight Duo two-factor identity validation services, see Duo MFA two-factor authentication (2FA) services for access security.

• Outsourced/Co-managed Help Desk: Help Desk Managed Services
  Progent's Support Desk managed services enable your IT group to offload Help Desk services to Progent or split responsibilities for Service Desk support transparently between your in-house support team and Progent's nationwide pool of IT service technicians, engineers and subject matter experts. Progent's Co-managed Help Desk Service provides a smooth extension of your in-house network support resources. User access to the Service Desk, provision of support services, problem escalation, trouble ticket generation and updates, performance measurement, and management of the service database are cohesive whether issues are resolved by your internal support staff, by Progent, or by a combination. Find out more about Progent's outsourced/co-managed Service Desk services.

• Active Defense Against Ransomware: AI-based Ransomware Identification and Cleanup
  Progent's Active Defense Against Ransomware is an endpoint protection solution that utilizes next generation behavior-based machine learning tools to defend endpoints and physical and virtual servers against new malware assaults like ransomware and file-less exploits, which easily escape legacy signature-based AV tools. Progent Active Security Monitoring services safeguard local and cloud resources and offers a single platform to address the entire threat lifecycle including filtering, identification, containment, remediation, and post-attack forensics. Top capabilities include single-click rollback with Windows VSS and automatic system-wide immunization against new attacks. Learn more about Progent's ransomware protection and recovery 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 capture, maintain, retrieve and protect information related to your IT infrastructure, procedures, business apps, and services. You can instantly locate passwords or serial numbers and be alerted automatically about upcoming expirations of SSL certificates or warranties. By updating and managing your IT documentation, you can eliminate up to 50% of time wasted searching for critical information about your network. ProSight IT Asset Management features a common location for holding and sharing all documents related to managing your network infrastructure such as standard operating procedures (SOPs) and self-service instructions. ProSight IT Asset Management also supports a high level of automation for collecting and associating IT data. Whether you're making improvements, performing regular maintenance, or reacting to a crisis, ProSight IT Asset Management delivers the information you require the instant you need it. Learn more about ProSight IT Asset Management service.

• Progent's Patch Management: Software/Firmware Update Management Services
  Progent's managed services for patch management offer organizations of any size a versatile and affordable alternative for evaluating, testing, scheduling, implementing, and documenting software and firmware updates to your dynamic information system. In addition to optimizing the security and reliability of your computer environment, Progent's patch management services free up time for your IT team to focus on line-of-business initiatives and activities that derive maximum business value from your network. Learn more about Progent's software/firmware update management services.

• ProSight Virtual Hosting: Hosted VMs at Progent's Tier III Data Center
  With Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting service, a small or mid-size organization can have its key servers and apps hosted in a protected fault tolerant data center on a high-performance virtual machine host set up and maintained by Progent's IT support experts. With Progent's ProSight Virtual Hosting model, the customer retains ownership of the data, the operating system software, and the apps. Because the environment is virtualized, it can be ported easily to an alternate hardware solution without a lengthy and difficult reinstallation procedure. With ProSight Virtual Hosting, you are not locked into one hosting provider. Find out 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 solution that incorporates SentinelOne's cutting edge behavior analysis technology to guard physical and virtual endpoints against new malware assaults like ransomware and file-less exploits, which routinely get by legacy signature-matching AV products. ProSight Active Security Monitoring protects on-premises and cloud-based resources and provides a single platform to manage the complete malware attack progression including filtering, detection, containment, remediation, and forensics. Key features include one-click rollback with Windows Volume Shadow Copy Service and real-time system-wide immunization against new attacks. Progent is a SentinelOne Partner, dealer, and integrator. Read more about Progent's ProSight Active Security Monitoring next-generation endpoint protection and ransomware defense.

• ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP): Endpoint Protection and Microsoft Exchange Email Filtering
  ProSight Enhanced Security Protection services deliver affordable multi-layer protection for physical servers and VMs, workstations, smartphones, and Microsoft Exchange. ProSight ESP utilizes contextual security and advanced heuristics for continuously monitoring and reacting to cyber threats from all vectors. ProSight ESP offers two-way firewall protection, penetration alarms, device management, and web filtering through leading-edge tools packaged within a single agent accessible from a single control. Progent's data protection and virtualization consultants can assist your business to design and implement a ProSight ESP deployment that addresses your company's specific needs and that allows you demonstrate compliance with legal and industry information protection regulations. Progent will help you define and configure security policies that ProSight ESP will enforce, and Progent will monitor your IT environment and respond to alerts that call for urgent attention. Progent can also help your company to install and test a backup and disaster recovery solution like ProSight Data Protection Services (DPS) so you can get back in business quickly from a potentially disastrous cyber attack such as ransomware. Learn more about Progent's ProSight Enhanced Security Protection (ESP) unified physical and virtual endpoint security and Microsoft Exchange email filtering.