A Texas school district had seen firsthand what ransomware can do, and it needed a faster way back. Weaver and Dell Technologies built a school district ransomware recovery platform with an isolated vault, faster daily backups and a tested failover plan. Now the district can recover in hours instead of weeks.
The challenge: ransomware risk and slow recovery
This Texas public school district serves students and staff across multiple campuses and administrative sites. Like many Texas districts, it had seen firsthand what ransomware can do. That experience showed how much teaching and administration depend on secure, available student and staff data.
Under the old approach, recovery after an attack could take weeks. So the district needed a real cyber resiliency and data protection solution. It had to keep critical data safe, bring it back quickly after an attack and keep classrooms running.
Our approach to school district ransomware recovery
Weaver partnered with Dell Technologies to design a solution around the district’s needs. Our team brings experience with city and state government agencies, commercial clients and schools. We paired that cybersecurity expertise with a collaborative, client-focused process.
First, we reviewed the district’s cybersecurity needs in detail. Next, we planned and deployed the Dell platform and configured the network. Then, we put full backup and recovery in place. Finally, we tested the setup thoroughly, including a successful failover test with 400 users on the backup ISP.
What Weaver delivered
- Dell PowerProtect Cyber Recovery. We deployed an isolated recovery environment that keeps clean copies of critical data out of an attacker’s reach.
- Daily backup. We installed Dell PowerProtect DP series appliances and the Dell Data Protection Suite with Avamar.
- Hyperconverged foundation. Dell VxRail now supports the district environment.
- Virtual desktops. Omnissa Horizon delivers virtual desktop infrastructure across the district.
- Tested failover. We moved 400 users to the backup ISP in a successful test.
Results: school district ransomware recovery in hours
Today, the district can recover from a ransomware attack in hours rather than weeks. In addition, daily backups run more smoothly and usually finish in two hours or less.
The IT team can also restore lost files quickly, which keeps disruption to classrooms and administration low. As a result, school district ransomware recovery is now a tested process rather than an open question.
A common challenge in Texas K-12
School districts hold large amounts of sensitive student and staff data, which makes them frequent ransomware targets. Prevention matters. Still, the ability to recover clean data quickly is what keeps classrooms running after an incident. An isolated vault such as PowerProtect Cyber Recovery from Dell Technologies gives school district ransomware recovery a clean starting point.
How fast could you recover today?
Weaver can review your backup and recovery environment and help you build a plan to recover with confidence. Talk with our team, or browse more case studies.
