Incident Response Services in Durham, NC
When a ransomware attack locks your Durham biotech lab’s research database at 2 a.m. or a data breach exposes patient records at a Duke-area medical practice, every minute counts. Petronella Technology Group, Inc. provides rapid cyber incident response for Durham organizations — containment, forensic investigation, recovery, and regulatory notification — with a team that has handled hundreds of security incidents across the Triangle since 2002.
Licensed Digital Forensic Examiner • CMMC Certified Registered Practitioner • 30+ Years Experience • Zero Breaches Among Clients Following Our Security Program
Why Durham Organizations Trust Us for Incident Response
Ransomware, data breaches, insider threats, and business email compromise attacks demand immediate, expert action — not a callback in 24 hours.
Rapid Containment
The first hours of a cyber incident determine whether the damage is contained or catastrophic. Our team begins remote triage within minutes of your call, isolating compromised systems, preserving forensic evidence, and stopping lateral movement before attackers can reach additional assets in your Durham network.
Forensic Investigation
Craig Petronella is a licensed digital forensic examiner. We conduct court-admissible forensic analysis to determine exactly how the breach occurred, what data was accessed or exfiltrated, the timeline of attacker activity, and the full scope of compromise — evidence your legal team and regulators will require.
Regulatory Compliance Support
Durham healthcare organizations face HIPAA breach notification requirements with strict 60-day timelines. Biotech firms may have FDA reporting obligations. We guide you through every regulatory notification requirement, prepare documentation for HHS, state attorneys general, and affected individuals, and coordinate with your legal counsel throughout the process.
Full Recovery & Hardening
Containment is only the beginning. We rebuild compromised systems from clean backups, eliminate the attacker’s persistence mechanisms, patch the vulnerabilities that allowed the breach, and harden your Durham environment to prevent recurrence. Post-incident, we deliver a detailed lessons-learned report with specific security improvements.
Why Durham Organizations Are High-Value Targets
Durham sits at the intersection of healthcare, biotechnology, and academic research — three sectors that cybercriminals target relentlessly. Duke University and Duke Health manage massive repositories of protected health information, clinical trial data, and research intellectual property. The biotech firms lining Highway 54 and the NC-147 corridor hold proprietary compound formulas, genomic data, and FDA submission materials worth millions. Even Durham’s growing fintech and SaaS startup community handles sensitive financial and customer data that attracts sophisticated threat actors.
Ransomware groups have increasingly targeted healthcare and research organizations because they know these victims face enormous pressure to pay — a locked EHR system means patients cannot receive care, and encrypted research data can represent years of irreplaceable work. Business email compromise schemes target Durham firms during funding rounds, real estate transactions, and vendor payments, redirecting wire transfers worth hundreds of thousands of dollars.
When an incident occurs, organizations that have a response plan and an experienced partner on call recover faster, lose less data, and face lower regulatory penalties. Petronella Technology Group, Inc. provides both proactive incident response planning and emergency response services for Durham businesses. Our cybersecurity services and penetration testing can help prevent incidents before they occur, while our IR team stands ready when prevention is not enough.
Incident Response Questions from Durham Organizations
What should we do first if we suspect a cyber incident at our Durham office?
Call us immediately. Do not power off systems, do not attempt to remove malware yourself, and do not communicate about the incident over potentially compromised email. We will guide you through initial containment steps while our team begins remote triage to assess the scope and severity of the incident.
Do you handle HIPAA breach notifications for Durham healthcare organizations?
Yes. We guide Durham healthcare organizations through the complete HIPAA breach notification process — risk assessment to determine if notification is required, preparation of notification letters, filing with HHS, coordinating with state attorneys general, and managing the 60-day notification timeline. We work alongside your legal counsel to ensure full compliance.
Can you help with ransomware recovery without paying the ransom?
In the majority of cases, yes. If your Durham organization has proper backups in place, we can restore systems from clean backup images without paying attackers. We assess the ransomware variant, check for available decryptors, verify backup integrity, and execute a recovery plan. For organizations without backups, we evaluate all available options and advise on the best path forward in coordination with legal counsel and, when appropriate, law enforcement.
Do you offer incident response retainers for Durham businesses?
Yes. Our IR retainer ensures guaranteed response times, pre-positioned access credentials, and familiarity with your Durham environment before an incident occurs. Retainer clients also receive proactive incident response planning, tabletop exercises, and playbook development so your team knows exactly what to do when a security event is detected.
Cyber Incident? Call Now.
If your Durham organization is experiencing a security incident, call us immediately. For proactive incident response planning, schedule a consultation to discuss IR retainers, tabletop exercises, and security posture improvements that reduce the likelihood and impact of future incidents.
Petronella Technology Group, Inc. • 919-348-4912 • Raleigh, NC 27606 • Licensed Digital Forensic Examiner • Founded 2002