Private Equity
Project IRONCLAD: Pre-Acquisition Threat Neutralization
[REDACTED] Global Private Equity Firm
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Mission Log: [REDACTED] Pan-European Investment Group/ Private Equity
Project FIREBREAK: Portfolio Contagion Containment
Tactical Interventions
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Post-Merger Remediation
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Zero Trust Architecture
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Incident Response
Mission Impact
1 of 5 (Contained)
Sites Infected
Zero
Data Lost
4 Hours
Downtime
MISSION REPORT: OPERATION FIREBREAK
Target Entity: Healthcare Services Group (Buy & Build Strategy)
Risk Scenario: Cross-Portfolio Infection (Ransomware Propagation)
Asset Value: 120M EUR (Group Valuation)
The Strategic Context
Our client was executing a rapid "Roll-up" strategy, acquiring smaller regional clinics to form a national healthcare group. The IT strategy was to connect all clinics to a central Headquarters data center for efficiency.
However, one of the newly acquired clinics in Southern Europe had poor cyber hygiene and a dormant "Trojan" infection hidden in its imaging server. The moment the VPN tunnel to HQ was established, the malware woke up and attempted to encrypt the central patient database.
The Intervention: Active Defense
Intarmour monitors the "Inter-Site" traffic of our PE clients specifically for this scenario.
Phase 1: Automated Isolation Our detection sensors flagged an anomalous SMB (File Sharing) scan originating from the new clinic. Our orchestration engine immediately triggered the "Firebreak Protocol." The VPN tunnels connecting the 5 clinics were logically severed instantly. The Group was fractured into isolated islands to stop the spread.
Phase 2: Hunter-Killer Team With the network segmented, our Incident Response team entered the infected clinic's network. We identified the "Patient Zero" (a compromised MRI control PC) and isolated it. We discovered the attacker was manually attempting to escalate privileges to Domain Admin. We evicted the attacker and patched the entry vulnerability.
Phase 3: Zero Trust Re-architecture We rebuilt the Group's architecture. Instead of a "Flat Network" where everyone trusts everyone, we implemented a Zero Trust Network Access (ZTNA) model. Now, a clinic cannot access the central server without strict, request-by-request authentication.
The Operational Outcome
- Contagion Stopped: The infection was limited to a single endpoint in a single clinic. The other 4 sites and the HQ remained 100% operational.
- Reputation Saved: No patient data was exfiltrated. The Group avoided a GDPR breach notification that would have destroyed trust in the new brand.
Strategic Lesson: In a Buy & Build strategy, never trust the new asset. Quarantine before connection.
Threat Profile
"A PE firm executed a 'Buy & Build' strategy, integrating 5 small healthcare providers into one group. One of the acquired clinics had a dormant ransomware infection. When they connected the networks, the malware attempted to spread laterally to the entire group."
Countermeasures
Intarmour detected the lateral movement within 14 minutes. We triggered an automated 'Kill Switch' that severed the inter-site VPNs. We then deployed a 'Zero Trust' overlay, allowing the clinics to operate independently while we sterilized the infected node.
Related Operations
Other missions executed within the Private Equity theater.
