Learning about the exposure of Personal Data
In early 2025, a Philippines Entertainment Resort (Victim) received an anonymous tip alleging that sensitive high-value customer data had been leaked on the Dark Web. The tip came without any demands. The Victim’s Managed Detect and Response (MDR) provider confirmed the leak of sensitive information into the Dark Web.
The exposed dataset included thousands of records tied to high-net-worth individuals: names, home addresses, phone numbers, emails, cash inflow/outflow, game types, and play history. The immediate fear was that the establishment’s network had been compromised by cyber intruders still active in the environment, capable of stealing and exposing even more sensitive customer data or carrying out other nefarious activities.
Given the nature of the possible breach involving personally identifiable information (PII), the situation required immediate investigation under Philippine data protection laws. The incident potentially fell under the scope of the Philippines National Privacy Commission (NPC), which mandates prompt breach notification, risk assessment, and containment in cases involving the compromise of personal data.
Blackpanda IR-1 Incident Response in Action
Being an existing subscriber of Blackpanda’s IR-1 product, the Victim activated their IR-1 incident response subscription to investigate and confirm (or deny) the breach, ensure swift containment, and determine if and how the intruders entered the network.
Within four hours of activation, Blackpanda’s senior L3 responders provided the investigation plan and launched a full forensic sweep, gathering EDR telemetry from every server and workstation and parsing SIEM logs — application events and authentication records — to reconstruct a precise activity timeline and hunt for hidden threats. Disk images and process artifacts were examined in parallel to uncover any covert tools or malware.
The team then turned to the client’s hybrid estate, reviewing AWS and Azure audit trails, configuration snapshots and on-premises VM and hypervisor logs before validating Microsoft 365 user sessions and file operations.
“What looked like a breach turned out to be a false alarm — but thanks to IR-1, it was proven in days, not weeks.”
Despite challenges such as gaps in historical telemetry and lack of visibility into unmanaged systems, the investigation covered all available vectors.
The final result:
- No evidence of unauthorized access
- No signs of data exfiltration or compromise
What could have been without Blackpanda IR-1
Traditional IRR firms would have charged at least 10x or more of what the Victim paid for IR-1 subscription services. Apart from cost-savings, the Victim had access to a wide team of industry-recognized L3 expert incident responders. Blackpanda provided instant speed, effectiveness and discretion to the Victim during this situation, all key requirements to successfully resolve an ongoing cyber security crisis and to give peace of mind.
The investigation gave Blackpanda full visibility across the client’s security stack: SIEM, endpoint controls, and both cloud and on-premises infrastructure. While the team thoroughly addressed the incident itself, they went beyond incident containment by delivering tactical recommendations and long-term operational improvements:
- Security enhancements: Actionable advice to strengthen the client’s overall security posture.
- Cost optimizations: Identification of cloud misconfigurations that were inflating monthly bills by thousands of dollars.
Through targeted remediation and cloud optimization, Blackpanda helped the client eliminate hidden risk, restore trust, and realize long-term savings, delivering value far beyond incident response.
For IR-1 Customers
As a reminder, you enjoy the peace of mind of being a Blackpanda IR-1 customer as well. Rest well knowing that the best cyber incident responders in Asia are standing by 24/7 to respond at a moment’s notice when the worst occurs and the attackers are able to make it past even the most well-prepared cyber and IT defenses.
As a Lloyd’s of London-backed insurance underwriting entity, Blackpanda uniquely has productized digital forensics and incident response services into an assurance product delivered via SaaS subscription, complimentary Attack Surface Management technology, and discounted and optimized Blackpanda comprehensive cyber insurance offerings to provide the most cost-effective solution in the event of cyber emergencies.
Reach out via your IR-1 platform access to view your ASM results. To gain an automated price quote on cyber insurance from us, email us at customercare@blackpanda.com and we will promptly get back to you.
Thank you for your continued trust in having Blackpanda ensure you have prompt access to cyber emergency response when the worst happens.
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