ACME Corp. – Incident Whitepaper

Incident overview – In June 2024 ACME Corp. suffered a ransomware attack (Play ransomware). Critical systems were encrypted, causing operational downtime.

Key findings

• Attack vector: Exploited insecure Remote Desktop Protocol (RDP) settings.
• Affected assets: Financial records, customer databases, internal communications.
• Impact: Several days of lost productivity and encrypted data.

Remediation

• Immediate: Isolated infected machines, wiped them, restored from backups, hardened RDP.
• Long‑term: Rebuilt Active Directory, revoked all admin accounts, deployed advanced threat detection.

Background

Secure remote access is essential for ACME Corp.’s operations. A breach of this nature threatens both client data and business continuity.

Scope & Objectives

The whitepaper documents the ransomware event, analyses its impact, and provides actionable recommendations to prevent recurrence.

Timeline (selected events)

(All internal IPs have been replaced with <NETWORK_ID> for privacy.)

Attack Vector

The adversary leveraged weak RDP configurations and the lack of multi‑factor authentication (MFA) to gain foothold, then moved laterally using tools such as netscan.exe, PSEXESVC.exe, and custom scripts.

Affected Systems

• Financial records
• Customer databases
• Internal communications

Detection & Reporting

Unusual RDP activity triggered alerts in Bitdefender. Employees reported locked screens and ransom notes. Law‑enforcement and the client’s cyber‑insurance were notified.

Containment & Eradication

• Isolated compromised hosts.
• Disabled RDP externally and enforced MFA.
• Deployed anti‑malware across the environment; blocked all malicious binaries.

Recovery

• Restored servers from verified backups.
• Performed integrity checks on restored data.
• Enabled continuous monitoring via Bitdefender MDR/XDR.

Post‑incident Actions

• Forced password resets for all privileged accounts.
• Integrated RDP portal with Office 365, requiring corporate email + MFA.
• Began proactive threat‑intel monitoring for Play ransomware mentions of the client.

Issue	Explanation
Weak RDP	Open to the internet, no MFA.
Insufficient Monitoring	Lack of real‑time alerts on privileged logons.
Network Segmentation Gaps	Lateral movement was possible once inside.

• Data loss: No exfiltration detected; encryption impacted financial and customer data.
• Financial cost: Ransom demand (unpaid), restoration effort, forensic investigation.
• Operational downtime: ~2 days of halted business, delayed payroll and reporting.

• Strengths: Rapid detection, swift isolation, effective backup strategy.
• Weaknesses: Insecure RDP, missing MFA, limited segmentation.

Short‑Term

1. Harden RDP: enforce MFA, restrict source IPs, route through a VPN tunnel.
2. Conduct a comprehensive security audit.
3. Deliver ransomware‑awareness training to staff.

Long‑Term

• Deploy a zero‑trust architecture.
• Invest in advanced EDR/MDR solutions (e.g., Bitdefender MDR).
• Regularly test backup restoration procedures.

Infrastructure

Replace Cisco Meraki firewalls with Fortinet FortiGate (already supports Play ransomware signatures).

The Play ransomware incident exposed critical gaps in remote‑access security. Prompt incident response limited data loss and restored operations quickly. Implementing the recommended controls will significantly reduce the risk of future attacks.

• Built a custom Bitdefender policy to harden the client network.
• Rotated all privileged credentials.
• Integrated RDP portal with Office 365 MFA.
• Performed continuous Dark‑Web monitoring of Play‑ransomware forums and marketplaces to confirm that no ACME Corp. data had been posted or sold.
• Established continuous threat‑intel monitoring for Play ransomware activity.

Technical Details (excerpt)

2024‑06‑27 03:32:07Z Remote Desktop Services: Session logon succeeded.
<HOSTNAME>-VM-01\\<PRIVILEGED_ACCOUNT> (address: <NETWORK_ID>.4)

2024‑06‑27 03:35:45Z Service installed: %SystemRoot%\PSEXESVC.exe
...
        

Glossary

• MFA – Multi‑Factor Authentication.
• EDR – Endpoint Detection & Response.
• MDR – Managed Detection & Response.
• Zero‑Trust – Security model assuming no implicit trust.

References

• Play ransomware overview – securityweek.com
• Ransomware attack vectors – cybersecurity‑insiders.com
• Securing RDP – cisecurity.org