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Case Study: City of Watertown

A historical Massachusetts city protects itself with ransomware containment

About the customer

Official seal of the City of Watertown

The City of Watertown, outside Boston, Massachusetts, has a long history with archeological evidence suggesting it was inhabited for thousands of years by Native Americans before settlers arrived in 1630, making it one of the first Massachusetts Bay Colony settlements organized by the Puritans. Today, the population has grown to over 35,000 constituents and is known for the Perkins School for the Blind, the Armenian Museum of America, and the historic Watertown Arsenal, which produced military armaments from 1816 through World War II. With its deep roots, the city continues to modernize through technology — and data security is a top priority.

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“Deploying RansomCare was our ‘crown jewel’ approach. While no one is immune to an attack, we’re using RansomCare as a fortress to protect our vital architecture and prevent a worst-case scenario.”

– Christopher McClure

CIO, City of Watertown

Challenge

photo of a town hall

  • Peace of mind that the city’s data is properly secured

  • Finalized the technology stack for the city’s local government cybersecurity strategy

  • Better visibility into systems’ endpoint protection, risks and threats

  • Ability to focus on future, innovative IT initiatives for constituents

Christopher McClure, Chief Information Officer for the City of Watertown, was missing a key technology for the city’s overall local government cybersecurity plan — something to defend government information from ransomware attacks. McClure’s team has grown to six staff members and manages IT for city departments, public safety, libraries, and the department of public works. Pervasive ransomware attempts against government agencies were skyrocketing, making this top of mind for McClure. With limited resources, a rapidly changing technology environment, and shrewd hackers, McClure needed to find the right balance of security measures to meet impending threats. The question prevailed — how much security is enough?

Solution

“RansomCare has given us the confidence to start thinking about more exciting and tangible IT initiatives that benefit our constituents and improve internal efficiency, communication, and transparency.”

– Christopher McClure, CIO, City of Watertown

  • Combined upgrades, replacement plans, and modernization of hardware and software

  • Created a multi-layered approach to cybersecurity to protect the city’s data

  • Deployed RansomCare powered by BullWall, which stops ransomware after it gets in by isolating and containing malicious encryption at the source

Cybersecurity in local government is a continuous process that requires ongoing evaluation and optimization. Prior to implementing RansomCare powered by BullWall, McClure had received grants for security policy development and cybersecurity training, applied multi-authentication encryption, updated patch management, and upgraded the city’s anti-virus software, ESET PROTECT.

The City of Watertown utilizes a diversified hybrid technology environment, allowing flexibility in building its cybersecurity strategy. As an already trusted government partner, we were in a prime position to offer its cybersecurity services. McClure attended a Ricoh webinar and quickly saw the value of adding RansomCare to the city’s cybersecurity strategy through its ransomware detection, alerts, containment, and reporting. Procurement was easy and McClure instituted a leisurely learning or “burn-in” period with aggressive monitoring and vigilance.

The RansomCare deployment was intentionally slow with its “burn-in” phase to avoid potential false positives from the system. McClure pointed RansomCare to the root of each file share instead of individual file shares, which is a more comprehensive way to manage security. This ensures that any breach attempts will be caught, even if individual file shares change or new technology is added. “Vigilance is key to protecting data, especially as your organization grows,” said McClure. “RansomCare completed our cybersecurity strategy.”

Results

  • Peace of mind that the city’s data is properly secured

  • Finalized the technology stack for the city’s local government cybersecurity strategy

  • Better visibility into systems’ endpoint protection, risks and threats

  • Ability to focus on future, innovative IT initiatives for constituents

A year after using RansomCare, McClure signed a three-year contract to continue its protection. The solution was sophisticated, yet simple enough for non-technical people to realize its value. “The main benefit is that RansomCare gives us peace of mind and takes the pressure off,” explained McClure. “Our security is fortified and makes us well-positioned to thwart off attacks.”

Additionally, RansomCare has given the IT team the confidence to start thinking about more exciting and tangible IT initiatives that benefit their constituents. “Now we're looking at how we can put technology to work, be a better government, and improve internal efficiency, communication, and transparency,” said McClure.

The City of Watertown can focus on IT priorities like digital equity and literacy, community technology capabilities, computer upcycling, needs assessment, cybersecurity literacy for both residents and city workers, public safety document automation, learning management, and much more. The city continues to invest in its security, safety, and people, with its community at the forefront of progress.

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