How we saved a local HVAC company in the mids of a ransomware virus attack
When one of our clients found a ransomware virus on their systems, they feared the worst. However, thanks to our partnership, we were able to give them back control of their files and permanently eradicate that virus from their systems.
In this instance, due to data protection and the severity of the issues faced, we must keep the client’s name and details confidential. As such, they will only be referred to as ‘the client’ for anonymity.
This client noticed that their server wasn’t running as normal, and access to even the most basic of files was impossible.
On speaking to Syn-Star, this client was relieved to learn that their anti-virus software had prevented the virus from causing too much damage to their systems. This meant it didn’t travel too far. Should they have had no anti-virus in place, then the damage could have been far more severe.
Previously, we had also ensured that not all users had administrative privileges. This also significantly helped to mitigate the damage of the virus and prevent further spread.
Firstly, we were able to use our existing backups for this client to restore the majority of their data. This meant that in the 3 hours of downtime, they only lost a minimal amount of their files. Without data backups, this would have been significantly more.
This was completed remotely using the client’s data backup from the previous day.
Thankfully for the client, this data loss occurred relatively early in the morning. If this had happened during the main course of the working day, a lot more data could have been permanently lost.
From here, it was important to identify how the virus had gained a foothold into the server to begin with. Syn-Star technicians were able to quickly find the weakness in the client’s existing security measures.
We also added additional security measures, including ransomware protection, to prevent such an issue from occurring again.
Our client was horrified at how much damage a small virus had the potential to do. While they escaped this attack with only some minor data loss, they were still frightened of this occurring again in the future.
Due to these negative emotions, this client is now far more proactive with their cyber security. They take more steps to educate themselves on the different risks, and perform nightly backups to ensure they have a means of accessing files should an infiltration take place in the future.
These backups aren’t just vital for virus protection. They can also be used to restore data after hardware failure.
Some time after the virus was eliminated from the client’s network, they struggled with their server.
When this occurred, we started with an onsite visit to assess the server and issue. It became clear that the server was no longer working. Due to this, it was brought back to the Syn-Star office for further investigation.
We had the server contents migrated over to a new chassis to ensure as little disruption to the client as possible, using those nightly backups. This had them fully operational in under five hours while the server was recovered.
It’s been a good few years since these two incidents took place.
In that time, the client has bought a new server and still partners with Syn-Star on the best working practices to keep it secure from data breaches. This allows them to maximise their uptime without needing to fear data loss.
Tech Team Leader
“The company in question reported this virus to us on the system, we restored their server from the backup we had in place and followed our bespoke disaster recovery plan to get them back up and running again as fast as possible”
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