Helena-based Anderson ZurMuehlen tells clients of cybersecurity attack | Local

Donny Reichert, office vice president with Anderson ZurMuehlen Technology Services (AZTS), said in a recent email to clients that it appeared to be part of a choreographed attack that “targeted clients large and small.”

“As soon as our Security Operations Center and engineering team discovered the attack, we immediately worked to isolate systems and remove connectivity to the internet,” he said in the email. “We established a cyber security response team consisting of third-party insurance, threat mitigation and response, and legal advisory members.”

The team was able to provide initial attack vectors, identify compromised systems, and identify potential threat actors.

"Utilizing this information, we made the difficult decision to keep all PwrCloud systems offline until we could be sure there were no threat actors or access left in the system," Reichert said. 

Reichert said the core platform systems were the target.

“We continue to see no evidence that any of our client’s data was exposed during the attack. All indications are the threat actors’ goal was to take our systems offline. If that information changes, we will notify you promptly,” Reichert wrote.

AZTS will also do a post-event analysis, he said. It was not clear in the email when the attack occurred.

“With any event, there are areas that we can improve. We’ll be looking at policies, processes, and procedures to make improvements,” Reichert wrote. “We are committed to continuous improvement and delivering as secure and highly-available systems as possible.”

Robert Culpon, chief information officer with ZurMuehlen, said the email went out to affected clients. 

“Cyber attacks are, unfortunately, a common occurrence for businesses operating in this internet-connected world,” he wrote in a Sept. 2 email to the Helena Independent Record, adding that the company responds quickly and aggressively to cyber attacks when they occur.

“Our team responded to the attack aggressively, protected the data, and restored services as quickly and safely as possible,” Culpon stated.

He declined further comment.

Anderson ZurMuehlen is the largest Montana-based CPA and business services firm with 217 personnel in offices in Billings, Bozeman, Butte, Great Falls, Havre, Helena and Missoula. The company, founded in 1957, has provided tax, audit, accounting, advisory and technology services for more than half a century, its website states.

The company said last week it is merging with Kansas-based Pinion on Jan. 1, and taking the Pinion name to provide business advisory and accounting services.