The UncommonX Factor - School Patch Vulnerability

The X Factor File #102

School District (Patching)

ISSUE: Server Patching Left Vulnerabilities, Illegitimate Access, Data Breach

SOLUTION: UncommonX MDR/XDR with Instant Scans of the Server Environment, Complete Visibility, Proper Policies Development, and 24/7 SOC to Help Monitor Everything.

TAKEAWAY: A comprehensive solution like UncommonX and its 24/7 SOC provide protection when patching and updates can inadvertently open opportunities for bad actors to access information that could be damaging.

The Challenge:

A school district patching Windows servers left an opening on the server when the patching was completed.
Curious middle school-aged kids found the hole and began downloading social security numbers from the server.
In all, roughly 2,500 social security numbers were found on the student’s computer.

The X Factor:

UncommonX technology detected that this particular user was not authorized to be downloading data from the server.
The SOC team immediately contacted security and IT management at the school district.
Collectively, UncommonX and the school were able to prevent this student from taking the data offsite.

Outcome:

Once the issue was contained, the UncommonX SOC and the client IT team put in place proper policies and protection to grant legitimate access to the servers.
UncommonX also provided instant scans across the server environment and identified other opportunities to close access to their critical server environment.
UncommonX and its 24/7 SOC continue to provide comprehensive protection from potential incidents as part of our managed services offering.

Takeaways:

As in many cases, many organizations have multiple stakeholders, making proper planning and communication essential for creating a safe and secure IT and networked environment.
A comprehensive solution like UncommonX and its 24/7 SOC provide protection when patching and updates can inadvertently open opportunities for bad actors to access information that could be damaging for a school community.
UncommonX and its 24/7 SOC provide continued protection from future incidents.