If you suspect an active attack on your business, call our emergency hotline at: 612-399-9680
If you suspect an active attack on your business, call our emergency hotline at: 612-399-9680
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If you suspect an active attack on your business, call our emergency hotline at: 612-399-9680
If you suspect an active attack on your business, call our emergency hotline at: 612-399-9680
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SPEAK WITH AN EXPERT

INDUSTRY: Construction

Construction Firm Narrowly Avoids Costly Email Scam

Service: BEC Incident Response

120+

Employees

0

Systems Breached

$100K

Attempted Theft

THE STORY

A construction company with 120 employees narrowly avoided a $100,000 financial loss due to a sophisticated Business Email Compromise (BEC) attack. After noticing suspicious email activity, the company’s leadership engaged Blue Team Alpha to investigate. 

Our team uncovered hidden email forwarding rules that had gone undetected and traced the origin of the spoofed communication. Through swift remediation and a thorough system investigation, we confirmed the attack was isolated to email and prevented any further compromise. This case highlights the importance of expert-led response and email security hardening.

Challenges

The construction company encountered a deceptive Business Email Compromise (BEC) attack that nearly resulted in a $100,000 loss. The company president noticed missing emails, particularly those involving finances, prompting an initial investigation by their MSP. While some suspicious email forwarding rules were removed, others—carefully disguised to appear legitimate—were missed. Weeks later, a client attempted to wire funds using fraudulent instructions, exposing the deeper extent of the compromise and raising concerns about broader system access.

SOLUTIONS

Blue Team Alpha quickly stepped in to uncover and eliminate all hidden forwarding rules, ensuring the attacker’s access was fully cut off. We traced the spoofed email to a breached third-party mail server and coordinated with the impacted client to clarify the situation. To strengthen defenses, we implemented multi-factor authentication across all email accounts and conducted a full investigation of the company’s systems. This confirmed the incident was limited to email and provided reassurance that no other parts of the network were compromised.

  • Hidden Threats Removed
  • Email Security Hardened
  • Full System Security Assurance

Benefits & outcomes

1.

THREAT IDENTIFICATION & REMOVAL

  • Uncovered and eliminated hidden email forwarding rules missed in a prior investigation
  • Prevented a $100K fraudulent wire transfer attempt by cutting off attacker access

2.

SYSTEM-WIDE SECURITY ASSURANCE

  • Performed a deep-dive investigation of on-premise devices, servers, and network
  • Verified the compromise was isolated to email, bringing peace of mind to leadership

3.

STRENGTHENED EMAIL SECURITY

  • Implemented MFA and hardened the organization’s email environment
  • Advised on ongoing best practices to reduce risk of future BEC attacks

About Blue Team Alpha

Blue Team Alpha is a veteran-owned, comprehensive cybersecurity force on a mission to secure and defend America’s critical infrastructure.

We offer advisory, offensive and technical services with deep roots and a specialty in incident management.

Learn More About Us
  • Over 50 security certifications
  • Talent hand-selected from NSA, CIA, DoD, & more
  • Decades of industry experience
  • Recover systems 80% faster than average
  • Experience in all 16 critical infrastructure sectors

Get the Help You Need. Fast.

Our clients can typically resume normal business operations in an average of just 4 days

GET HELP NOW
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