When cybersecurity vendor CrowdStrike deployed a flawed software update in the early morning hours of July 19, WashU IT’s internal processes led to early detection. Quick action initiated via Teams and our distributed IT partners minimized the campus wide impact.
Members of our IT teams then worked side-by-side with BJC IT teams to implement mitigation measures. This coordinated effort led to swift resolution, safeguarding patient data, enabling tech, and allowing researchers and clinicians to continue their important work.
Suzanne Pusa, Manager of Technical Services in the WashU School of Medicine’s Information Technology Support Services, will help share this special ImpacT story. “We were extremely grateful for the exceptional dedication and unwavering commitment to our team,” she said. “The efforts to restore patient care alongside our BJC partners was amazing. Together we’ve made a significant impact on our patients and community, demonstrating the power of unity and collaboration.”
Yvette Kudlinski, Assistant Manager of the BJC Core Lab in the Institute of Health “praised” the work of Vincent Nguyen, ITSS Technical Support Specialist, who assisted the Core Lab with restoring computers during the major incident. “We had about 35 computers that needed to be restored in a lab that is the size of a football field and in our Point of Care area that is outside our lab.”
She added, “Vincent was fast! He worked on two computers at a time and he moved in a very systematic way, which I appreciate being that laboratorians are very comfortable with this type of process. He took us from limping along to fully functional in about 2 hours.
Kudlinski continued, “It was a hard and long day for all of us and Vincent displayed professionalism and patience while he pushed past his 8-hour day restoring the lab’s computers. I felt very lucky to have Vincent working with us.”
Katherine Krajcovic, Executive Director of the Department of Pediatrics for the Washington University School of Medicine, noted of the support her department received from WashU IT, “Your responsiveness and willingness to go above and beyond for the Department of Peds is amazing. We appreciate your partnership and so does St. Louis Children’s Hospital.”
