When the Thanksgiving rush is on, the last thing you want is ransomware carving up your systems. If you’re hit, stay calm and work the plan—fast, clear steps can limit damage and speed recovery.
The First Hour (Containment)
- Isolate immediately. Pull network cables, disable Wi-Fi/VPN, and remove affected machines from the network.
- Do not delete or pay. Don’t wipe files, pay the ransom, or chat with attackers. Preserve the note and any IDs.
- Preserve evidence. Photograph ransom screens, capture logs, and snapshot impacted VMs (if safe) for forensics.
- Switch to out-of-band comms. Use phones or a secure chat not tied to your SSO/email.
The First Day (Stabilize & Assess)
- Assemble the response team. IT/IR lead, security, legal/privacy counsel, execs, PR/comms, and insurance.
- Scope the blast radius. Identify patient zero, affected systems, data types (PII/PHI/PCI), and lateral movement.
- Cut attacker access. Disable compromised accounts, rotate credentials (admins first), revoke tokens/SSO sessions, block C2 IOCs.
- Notify as required. Follow counsel’s guidance on customer, partner, and regulator notifications.
- Decide restore path. Prefer clean restore from immutable/offline backups or fail over to a known-good environment.
Recovery (Clean Rebuild, Then Failback)
- Restore from trusted backups only; scan and validate before reconnecting.
- Stage services by business priority (RTO/RPO), monitor closely for re-infection.
- Harden before failback: patch systems, enforce MFA, tighten privileges, and increase EDR/XDR sensitivity.
Don’t Forget the “Human Layer” (Holiday Edition)
Did you know insiders are the most common entry point—usually by accident? Holiday shopping emails and “urgent” shipping notices make phishing extra convincing.
- Run simulated phishing and bite-size training to keep staff alert.
- Reinforce safe behaviors: verify senders, avoid unexpected attachments/links, and report suspicious prompts.
- Keep personal use off work devices and require MFA everywhere.
Quick Printable Checklist
- Isolate affected systems and switch to out-of-band comms
- Preserve evidence; contact IR/forensics and cyber insurer
- Disable accounts/rotate creds; block IOCs
- Assess scope; prioritize business-critical restores
- Restore from clean, immutable backups; validate before reconnect
- Execute comms plan (internal/external) with legal guidance
- Post-incident review: patch gaps, tighten access, train, and tabletop
Bottom line: A cool head, a clear playbook, and disciplined recovery keep ransomware off your Thanksgiving table—and your business on track.
Want help building/testing your response plan or rolling out phishing simulations before the holidays? Contact F8 Consulting for a free consultation.