IT Crisis Recovery & Security Modernization
A South Florida law firm locked out of its own systems — TrustPoint recovered access, modernized the infrastructure, and led full incident response after a preventable ransomware breach.
Executive Summary
When a South Florida law firm's entire IT team departed without leaving documented credentials, the firm found itself locked out of its own domain infrastructure. TrustPoint Cyber was engaged immediately to perform an authorized ethical hack, regain administrative access, and take full ownership of the IT environment. Over the following months, TrustPoint modernized the firm's aging infrastructure — replacing legacy servers, refreshing networking hardware, and laying the architectural groundwork for Zero Trust Network Access and multi-factor authentication. Despite TrustPoint's strong recommendations, the firm delayed adopting the recommended security controls. That delay proved costly: a ransomware attack encrypted critical systems, halting operations. TrustPoint led the incident response, orchestrated full recovery, and — with the firm's full cooperation this time — implemented the hardened security posture that should have been in place from the start. The engagement evolved into a long-term managed security relationship.
Engagement Phases
Emergency IT Takeover
The firm's IT team departed abruptly, leaving no documented credentials, no runbooks, and no administrative access to core systems. The firm was effectively locked out of its own domain controller. TrustPoint was engaged to perform a fully authorized ethical hack — methodically regaining access to the domain infrastructure and establishing secure administrative control. Once access was restored, TrustPoint assumed full responsibility for the firm's IT environment, conducting a comprehensive audit to understand what existed, what was vulnerable, and what needed to be rebuilt.
Infrastructure Modernization
The audit revealed a fragile, aging infrastructure that posed significant operational and security risk. TrustPoint replaced legacy servers with modern hardware, refreshed the networking layer, and significantly improved backup systems to ensure business continuity. Architectural plans were developed for Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and multi-factor authentication (MFA) — foundational controls that TrustPoint strongly recommended the firm adopt promptly. Though the firm acknowledged the importance of these improvements, implementation was deferred.
Ransomware Incident & Response
The consequences of deferring security controls became real: threat actors exploited the unprotected environment and launched a ransomware attack that encrypted critical systems and disrupted firm operations. TrustPoint immediately activated incident response protocols — isolating affected systems, conducting forensic analysis to determine the scope and entry point of the breach, and locating verified clean backups. The response was swift and methodical, and TrustPoint led the firm through full operational recovery while simultaneously preparing to deploy the security controls that had been recommended months prior.
Security Hardening & Ongoing Protection
With the firm now fully aligned on the urgency of proper security controls, TrustPoint deployed ZTNA, enforced MFA across all users and systems, and implemented advanced endpoint detection and response (EDR) solutions. A structured, ongoing managed security program was established — providing continuous monitoring, threat detection, patch management, and a clear security roadmap. The firm emerged from the incident with a meaningfully stronger security posture and a long-term trusted partner in TrustPoint Cyber.
Key Outcomes
- Full operational recovery following ransomware incident with zero permanent data loss
- Regained domain access and complete administrative control through authorized ethical hack
- Modernized server, networking, and backup infrastructure replacing years of technical debt
- Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) and MFA enforced across all users and endpoints
- Advanced endpoint detection and response (EDR) deployed firm-wide
- Compliance-ready security posture established for legal sector requirements
- Ongoing managed security relationship providing continuous monitoring and protection
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