The Baker McMillen Company
The smell of sawdust has been in the air for over 145 years at The Baker McMillen Company. The company began operations in 1874 as a manufacturer of fine wood turnings and continues to supply major national retailers with precision wood products such as tool handles, architectural millwork and furniture components. However, this long history of production came to a standstill one recent morning due to an unseen cybersecurity threat.
It was a moment of pure panic
The day started like any other until Baker McMillen’s IT Manager got a frantic phone call saying the company was unable to receive or fulfill customer orders. “They started encrypting our servers in a matter of seconds” and he soon realized they had been hit with a ransomware attack. The hackers demanded an $80,000 Bitcoin payment to allow Baker McMillen to resume operations. Like many small and midsize businesses, Baker McMillen does not have a large IT staff. It was up to the IT Manager to get the company back up and running fast. He was under a tremendous amount of pressure, and that’s when he turned to Binary Defense for help.
Binary Defense Managed Detection & Response creates same day cybersecurity
Since he had a small department, the IT Manager knew he needed a security partner that would be a true extension of his team. He selected the Binary Defense Managed Detection and Response (MDR) solution and without adding costly hardware, resource intensive software, or extra personnel he was able to install the nano agents the same day on all of his desktops, laptops and servers.
This new layer of security from Binary Defense allowed Baker McMillen to quickly resume operations in under 24 hours while providing around-the-clock protection via the Binary Defense Security Operations Center (SOC). The SOC team actively monitors Baker McMillen’s network to detect and respond to threats as they happen, stopping malicious attacks before they become a major breach. This technology and service combination expanded the company’s protection to a level impossible without the dedicated team of SOC analysts who investigate suspicious activity and security incidents. It was the Binary Defense SOC team that ultimately helped prevent them from having another very bad day.
A hidden threat left behind
Luckily, not all of Baker McMillen’s servers were encrypted by the ransomware. Or were they? The day after the endpoint solution was deployed, the Binary Defense SOC team jumped into action when a suspicious alert was triggered.
What was originally thought to be a server that was clumsily overlooked turned out to actually be a sophisticated trap planted by the hackers. The hackers had hidden malicious software that if undetected would have spread like wildfire; encrypting their systems and again shutting down Baker McMillen’s business. Compounding the issue was a likely huge additional Bitcoin payment demand. Thanks to the Binary Defense MDR solution, the company was able to detect and evade the secondary attack and ultimately remove the threat quickly without any harmful consequences.
Delivering clear value with expert and trusted cybersecurity
Binary Defense provides Baker McMillen with confidence that their workstations and servers are protected. Within days of implementation, they have already proved the worth of partnering with a cybersecurity provider. It’s understood that cybercrime is not going away, but now Baker McMillen has the power to combat threats by quickly identifying suspicious behaviors and taking proactive measures to keep their brand and business safe.
Bill Kimmerle, Baker McMillen’s CEO, summed up that Binary Defense cybersecurity coverage delivered turnkey protection that is beyond what he could have implemented with his in-house resources. He was so satisfied that he doubled down and also purchased protection for one of his companies on the West Coast. “The value that Binary Defense MDR brings is that we can now sleep soundly! I’m not worried about anybody sneaking onto our network and encrypting our servers.” That peace of mind is the true impact of Binary Defense’s expert and trusted cybersecurity solutions.