Defeating Ransomware with Minimal Business Disruption

A2U solves everyday IT issues across all verticals and company sizes, providing technology solutions, professional and managed services to optimize the value of our client’s technology investments.

Overview

Ransomware has become a scenario of when not if for many enterprises, and the healthcare industry in particular has been aggressively targeted in recent years. The client, a mid-sized health services provider was one of the unfortunate victims of such an attack and had been shut down by a crypto-locker that targeted their core systems.

Problems

Given the critical nature of the services provided to patients across their facilities, resolving this issue in an accelerated fashion while maintaining strict confidentiality was of paramount concern – so they turned to one of their trusted partners.

Solution

As a trusted advisor, A2U immediately deployed a team of six people with the optimal mix of multi-disciplinary skillsets, singularly focusing on restoring business operations as quickly and safely as possible. Working with the client, A2U was able to develop a process that leveraged an uninfected backup snapshot, and in a joint effort requiring complex coordination, they were able to safely restore each device and machine while also updating with the required patches to ensure that systems were brought back online.

A2U developed, managed, and executed a multi-faceted program restoring applications based on business priority, turning over a fully-functional environment for core and client systems within 48 hours of initial engagement. In addition to minimizing the business disruption, A2U was able to help this client avoid the payment of an exorbitant ransom.

Upon successful resumption of business, A2U has continued to advise the client on the design and implementation of new operational processes, security, and technology solutions to better harden their environments, allowing for the uninterrupted delivery of essential healthcare services.