Retailer Forced to Shift to Backup SOC After Managed Services Provider Hit by Ransomware

The Challenge

NorthStar Retail, a national retail chain in Canada, relied on a managed security services provider (MSSP) to monitor its network and handle security incidents. A sudden ransomware attack on the MSSP caused the primary Security Operations Center (SOC) to go offline, leaving NorthStar exposed to potential cyberattacks and operational disruptions. Without immediate monitoring, the retailer risked:

Downtime

Financial losses

Exposure of sensitive customer data

The incident highlighted weaknesses in reliance on a single third-party provider for critical security operations.

Our Solution

Our Managed Services and Operations team assisted NorthStar Retail by:

Quickly activating a pre-established backup SOC to restore monitoring and incident response capabilities.

Conducting a full assessment of MSSP security posture, identifying vulnerabilities and dependencies.

Implementing multi-provider redundancy to prevent single points of failure in SOC operations.

Enhancing incident response plans, including escalation protocols and communication strategies.

Providing executive briefings and risk reporting to quantify potential operational impact.

The Value

Restored real-time monitoring and incident response within 4 hours, minimizing potential downtime.

Reduced reliance on a single MSSP, increasing resilience against future service interruptions.

Mitigated potential financial and reputational losses from ransomware attack exposure.

Provided executives with actionable insight into operational risk and continuity planning.

Implementation Roadmap

Backup SOC Activation: Switch monitoring and incident response to secondary SOC.

MSSP Assessment: Evaluate provider weaknesses and dependencies.

Redundancy Implementation: Establish multi-provider SOC strategy.

Incident Response Enhancement: Update playbooks, escalation paths, and communications.

Executive Reporting: Deliver operational risk assessments and status updates.

Continuous Monitoring: Maintain oversight and periodic testing of SOC redundancy.

Info Sheet

Necessary Action Type and Steps: Backup SOC activation, MSSP assessment, redundancy planning, incident response enhancement, executive reporting.

Sector: Retail Trade

Applicable Legislation: PIPEDA, Canadian cybersecurity regulations.

Third Parties: MSSP providers, backup SOC operators, IT security consultants.