Webster Ransomware Protection and Recovery Consulting

Ransomware has become the weapon of choice for the major cyber-crime organizations and malicious states, representing a possibly existential threat to businesses that are victimized. Modern variations of crypto-ransomware go after everything, including backup, making even selective recovery a complex and costly process. New strains of crypto-ransomware like Ryuk, Maze, Sodinokibi, Netwalker, DopplePaymer, Conti and Nephilim have emerged, replacing Locky, TeslaCrypt, and NotPetya in notoriety, sophistication, and destructive impact.

Most ransomware breaches are the result of innocent-looking emails that include dangerous links or attachments, and a high percentage are "zero-day" attacks that can escape the defenses of legacy signature-matching antivirus filters. While user training and frontline identification are critical to protect your network against ransomware attacks, best practices dictate that you take for granted some attacks will eventually get through and that you prepare a strong backup mechanism that permits you to repair the damage quickly with little if any damage.

Progent's ProSight Ransomware Vulnerability Report is an ultra-affordable service built around an online interview with a Progent cybersecurity consultant experienced in ransomware protection and recovery. In the course of this assessment Progent will cooperate directly with your Webster IT management staff to gather critical data concerning your security posture and backup environment. Progent will utilize this data to produce a Basic Security and Best Practices Report documenting how to apply leading practices for configuring and administering your cybersecurity and backup solution to prevent or recover from a ransomware assault.

Progent's Basic Security and Best Practices Assessment highlights vital issues associated with ransomware prevention and restoration recovery. The report covers:

Cybersecurity

• Correct use of admin accounts
• Appropriate NTFS and SMB (Server Message Block) permissions
• Optimal firewall configuration
• Safe Remote Desktop Protocol configuration
• Guidance for AntiVirus filtering identification and deployment

• Split permission model for backup integrity
• Protecting required servers such as AD
• Offsite backups with cloud backup to Azure

About Ransomware
Ransomware is a form of malicious software that encrypts or deletes files so they are unusable or are publicized. Crypto-ransomware often locks the target's computer. To avoid the carnage, the victim is required to pay a certain amount of money, usually via a crypto currency such as Bitcoin, within a short period of time. It is not guaranteed that delivering the ransom will recover the damaged data or prevent its exposure to the public. Files can be encrypted or deleted throughout a network depending on the victim's write permissions, and you cannot break the strong encryption algorithms used on the hostage files. A common ransomware attack vector is booby-trapped email, in which the victim is lured into interacting with by a social engineering exploit called spear phishing. This makes the email message to look as though it came from a familiar sender. Another popular vulnerability is a poorly protected Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) port.

CryptoLocker ushered in the new age of ransomware in 2013, and the damage attributed to by the many strains of ransomware is said to be billions of dollars per year, more than doubling every other year. Notorious examples include WannaCry, and Petya. Recent headline variants like Ryuk, DoppelPaymer and TeslaCrypt are more elaborate and have wreaked more damage than earlier versions. Even if your backup/recovery processes enable your business to recover your encrypted files, you can still be hurt by so-called exfiltration, where ransomed documents are exposed to the public (known as "doxxing"). Because new variants of ransomware are launched every day, there is no guarantee that traditional signature-matching anti-virus filters will block the latest attack. If threat does appear in an email, it is critical that your end users have been taught to identify social engineering techniques. Your ultimate defense is a solid scheme for scheduling and keeping offsite backups plus the use of dependable recovery tools.

Ask Progent About the ProSight Ransomware Vulnerability Consultation in Webster
For pricing details and to learn more about how Progent's ProSight Crypto-Ransomware Readiness Assessment can bolster your defense against ransomware in Webster, call Progent at 800-462-8800 or see Contact Progent.