MANUFACTURING
Digital forensics after ransomware in a factory environment
A manufacturing site needed root-cause analysis, malware validation and safer recovery across servers, SAP, thin clients, IP cameras, HMI systems and printers.
THE CHALLENGE
What needed to change
A factory experienced ransomware on a server and needed to understand the original entry point before bringing systems back into normal operation. The environment included SAP, thin clients, IP cameras, HMI systems and IP printers, so recovery had to consider both business systems and operational technology.
THE APPROACH
How Cybergaar responded
Cybergaar preserved evidence, reviewed affected servers, checked persistence mechanisms, investigated authentication and remote-access paths, validated whether malware remained in the environment and prioritised containment before restoration.
THE OUTCOME
The result
The client received a clear root-cause narrative, a practical remediation plan and a safer recovery path that reduced the chance of reinfection across factory IT and connected operational devices.
THE CHALLENGE
What created the risk
Mixed IT and OT estate
The incident affected a factory environment where SAP and servers sat close to thin clients, HMI systems, cameras and printers.
Root cause uncertainty
Restoring from backups without understanding the initial access path could have reintroduced the same ransomware risk.
Malware confidence gap
The business needed assurance that no active malware, persistence or suspicious remote access remained before returning to normal operations.
THE SOLUTION
What changed in the architecture
Forensic evidence review
Collected and reviewed relevant logs, affected server artifacts, user activity, remote-access indicators and suspicious execution paths.
Factory asset validation
Checked the wider environment including SAP-connected systems, thin clients, IP cameras, HMI hosts and IP printers for signs of compromise.
Containment and hardening
Prioritised account resets, access control changes, patching, segmentation improvements and recovery sequencing around production impact.
TECHNICAL HURDLES & MITIGATIONS
Issues handled during the engagement
Issue
Production Availability: factory systems could not simply be taken offline for a broad rebuild without affecting operations.
Architecture fix
Used staged containment and validation so the highest-risk systems were handled first while minimising disruption to production workflows.
Issue
OT Visibility: HMI systems, cameras and printers often had limited logging compared with normal servers.
Architecture fix
Combined network-level review, asset inventory checks and targeted device validation to look for signs of persistence or lateral movement.
Issue
Reinfection Risk: restoring a server without closing the original access path could restart the incident.
Architecture fix
Focused the investigation on initial access, credential exposure, persistence and remote-access paths before declaring systems ready for recovery.
STORY STATUS