Cytellix Offers Continuous Monitoring Services to Identify WannaCry Vulnerabilities

ALISO VIEJO, CA--(Marketwired - May 17, 2017) - Cytellix -- a proactive compliance-based cybersecurity managed service provider and network security industry-leader -- today reinforces its position as a leading cyber watchdog, in the face of the damages caused by the global WannaCry ransomware attacks of Friday, May 12.

WannaCry, which affected more than 300,000 people in over 150 countries, has been labeled one of the largest ransomware attacks in Internet history. The ransomware, which operated by encrypting a computer's data, then demanding a payment $300 in bitcoins under the threat of deleting all files, seized entire networks at once. At particular risk were organizations, who did not update their current operating systems and those running older versions of Microsoft's Windows XP, whose systems had not been updated with security patches since 2014. As the global computer security community races to rectify the gaping vulnerabilities exposed by WannaCry, experts fear the potential of a similar attack. Cytellix is positioned to help organizations identify real-time vulnerabilities before they become a problem.

"With a proactive approach to cybersecurity, a company is able to fully understand its security posture -- from devices to data -- and make informed decisions to remediate their deficiencies before it's too late," said Brian Berger, executive vice president of commercial cybersecurity for Cytellix. "Cytellix focuses on the traditionally underserved small- and medium-sized business sector to deliver compliance-based cybersecurity that meets industry standards. Our managed service helps any organization, regardless of size, achieve cyber readiness and proactively defend against attacks like WannaCry."

Cytellix follows the 14 cyber controls published by the Department of Commerce to measure organizations' cyber health using technology and services packaged into an affordable managed service. An organization's initial assessment consists of a comprehensive organizational physical, logical and digital security review. Within this assessment, Cytellix experts scan and identify all digitally-connected devices to understand their posture, searching for variables such as software operating systems and respective versions. Other variables include the device state, network port activity and IP connectivity to good or bad actor locations. The manifest of digitally connected devices can then be inventoried to apply best practices for patching and updates. 

"The recent WannaCry attack exploited systems that were not updated or were no longer supported by their operating system vendor," said Berger. "The urgent lesson to take from all of this is one of proactive interference. With proper, ongoing monitoring and following cyber best practices an organization is primed to withstand ransomware even of this caliber."

For more information about Cytellix, visit www.cytellix.com or follow Cytellix on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn.

ABOUT CYTELLIX: Cytellix, the cybersecurity division of Information Management Resources, Inc. (IMRI), is a privately held cybersecurity managed service provider, specializing in proactive situational awareness. Cytellix has the only solution in the industry that can detect known and "unknown" threats in any enterprise environment, while providing complete network visibility and system compatibility. It analyzes the traffic and behavior of millions of IP addresses for organizations of every size in a wide range of data-rich industries -- including government, manufacturing, finance, banking, law, higher education and healthcare -- with best-in-class, real-time network scanning technology. In addition to securing network perimeters for the U.S. Army and the Missile Defense Agency, as well as leading corporations such as PricewaterhouseCoopers, Kaiser Permanente and the Walt Disney Company, Cytellix has created an affordable turnkey solution for small- and mid-size companies -- which have become one of the largest targets of cyberattacks in recent years -- and its solutions have protected over 7 million devices thus far. The brand has been recognized with numerous honors such as the 2017 American Business Award, the 2014 White House Champion of Change and the 2015 Patriot Award, and its experts are frequently tapped for media interviews and keynote addresses. For more information, visit www.cytellix.com.