Ransomware attacks resulted in over $8 billion in damages in 2018—these attacks are becoming more common every year. Read on and learn how MicroAge Services recently supported a leading aftermarket car parts provider with ransomware attack recovery services and helped them prepare for the future after being hit with a crypto virus.
The east coast-based auto parts manufacturer started seeing potential signs of ransomware two months before the attack after an employee engaged with email messages from an unknown source. Immediately following the attack, all workstations in all five of the company’s U.S. locations were corrupted. Their IT team of five was overwhelmed, with no idea where the attack originated or where to start in assessing the damage. That’s when they reached out to MicroAge for help with ransomware attack recovery services.
MicroAge’s Mark McNally stepped in to support the client’s IT director to get the client up and running and secure. He knew they would need a thorough security assessment and extensive support work on all 30 of their servers. And they would need to build a new secure PCI-compliant network on the cloud with adequate anti-virus protection.
“This can happen anywhere,” Mark explains. “We had a quick time frame to get the client up and running to keep them in business.”
The client was looking for the latest security and data continuity, and they needed to upgrade to the latest version of their software—all of which was running on premise. Before the cyberattack, the auto parts manufacturer was already preparing to upgrade the network with Nutanix and Dell EMC. The attack created an urgent goal: to get the client back online as quickly as possible to process the high volume of daily orders and maintain profits.
The crypto virus gave the hacker backend access to the client’s Azure Cloud admin platform—exposing their backups and requiring a complete rebuild. Fortunately, however, the client’s domain controllers and main Linux-based software stayed up and running and they were able to maintain five of their existing servers.
MicroAge Services acted quickly, providing phone support with remote assistance on day one, and by the second day engineers were on site.
“We also sent in a highly technical senior engineer,” Mark recalls. “When you work through these kinds of issues, the better the engineer, the faster you go.”
He assisted the client in leasing refurbished servers, giving the organization time to clear a path for their already planned upgrades. The auto part manufacturer was in the process of upgrading their Microsoft servers from 2012 to 2016 and they needed a temporary solution.
“The good news is the ransomware attack recovery process made the client assess all of their software to get on the latest versions to prevent future cyberattacks from threatening their business,” Mark shares.
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MicroAge helped this organization get back to business after a ransomware attack. Call 800-544-8877 to speak with a MicroAge expert and protect your organization from cyberthreats.
