Regional Retail Chain Faces Operational Disruption Following Cyber Breach of Governance Systems

The Challenge

NorthWind Retail, a regional retail chain in Canada, experienced a ransomware attack targeting its governance and compliance systems. The attack encrypted critical operational files and internal communications, resulting in temporary shutdown of store operations and executive decision-making tools. While no customer financial data was accessed, the disruption caused delays in:

Procurement

Payroll

inventory management

The incident underscored weaknesses in IT governance, risk oversight, and preparedness for business-interruption scenarios.

Our Solution

Our Risk and Compliance Governance team assisted NorthWind Retail by:

Conducting a full risk assessment of governance and compliance systems.

Implementing incident containment and recovery protocols.

Reviewing and strengthening internal policies, roles, and responsibilities for cyber incident management.

Providing executive advisory support to enhance oversight and decision-making during incidents.

Developing a roadmap for improved operational resilience and business continuity.

The Value

Restored operational functionality within 48 hours, reducing financial loss due to business interruption.

Strengthened IT governance and compliance oversight to prevent future incidents.

Increased executive confidence in cyber risk management and decision-making capabilities.

Enhanced organizational resilience through improved policies and incident response plans.

Implementation Roadmap

Incident Containment: Isolate affected systems to prevent further encryption.

System Recovery: Restore governance and compliance systems from secure backups.

Risk Assessment: Identify weaknesses in governance processes and technology.

Policy Enhancement: Update roles, responsibilities, and incident response protocols.

Executive Advisory: Provide guidance to leadership on oversight and monitoring.

Continuous Improvement: Develop roadmap for long-term operational resilience and compliance.

Info Sheet

Necessary Action Type and Steps: Incident containment, system recovery, governance risk assessment, policy enhancement, executive advisory.

Sector: Retail Trade

Applicable Legislation: PIPEDA, Canadian cybersecurity regulations.

Third Parties: IT security consultants, backup service providers, governance advisors.