In rural northeastern Vermont, where resources are limited and teams wear multiple hats, Northeastern Vermont Regional Hospital (NVRH) faced a familiar cybersecurity challenge: too much noise and inadequate protection. To address this, they turned to managed xdr solutions.
“Before XDR, I was up every night,” said Michael DeCota, NVRH’s Senior Infrastructure Architect & Security Analyst. “I spent hours trying to get things to work and worrying if our servers were protected.”
That changed in 2024 when NVRH upgraded to Fortified’s Managed Extended Detection and Response (XDR) service, taking their cybersecurity to the next level with managed xdr capabilities.
From Sleepless Nights to Strategic Focus
Fortified’s Managed XDR was purpose-built for healthcare, combining 24/7 threat monitoring with fully managed endpoint protection and centralized log analysis. From day one, the service helped reduce alert fatigue and improve response time—without overwhelming NVRH’s lean IT team.
The deployment included:
- Round-the-clock monitoring from Fortified’s healthcare-focused Security Operations Center (SOC)
- Real-time threat detection and endpoint response
- Centralized correlation of logs for faster root cause analysis
- Asset discovery, including unmanaged and legacy devices
- Ongoing tuning and engineering support
The results were immediate and measurable.
“We’re now addressing critical issues in minutes, not hours,” DeCota shared. “And we’re not just seeing alerts; we’re getting the context behind them.”
Fewer False Positives, Greater Confidence
One of the biggest improvements has been alert quality. With Fortified’s healthcare-specific detection logic in place, NVRH now receives cleaner, more actionable alerts.
“We trust what we’re seeing. That wasn’t always the case before,” said DeCota. “It’s saved us hours of chasing non-issues.”
During a recent red team assessment, Fortified’s XDR solution instantly detected the simulated threats. It validated not just the technology—but the partnership itself.
Cybersecurity That Doesn’t Interrupt Care
In healthcare, every second matters when it comes to downtime during a security breach because you are dealing with patients’ lives. That’s why Fortified’s approach to XDR goes beyond technology. It’s about operational resilience.
With Fortified managing updates, tuning, and exclusions proactively, NVRH’s team no longer has to worry about system disruptions or maintenance headaches. Coverage extends to remote workers, vendor-managed systems, and even aging devices that can’t support modern endpoint agents.
Security is stronger, but workflows remain uninterrupted.
Managed XDR: A Service & Strategic Advantage
For DeCota, the most significant benefit comes down to something you can’t measure in log files or dashboards: time.
“I get time back, and I don’t have to worry,” he said. “I’m not spending every night chasing alerts. I can finally focus on strategic projects and spend time with my family.”
That kind of breathing room is rare in healthcare cybersecurity. But with Fortified’s help, it’s now part of the everyday reality at NVRH.
As cyber threats evolve, proactive partnerships like this will become even more critical. Healthcare organizations, like NVRH, can’t afford to stand still as the threat landscape changes so quickly. Partners, like Fortified, with healthcare-specific expertise are key to responding to this urgency because hospitals need a long-term cybersecurity strategy that can adapt without compromising care.
Managed XDR Advice for Healthcare Organizations
“If you’re a small team or wearing multiple hats, this is a no-brainer,” DeCota advised. “Fortified’s XDR solution gives you peace of mind, real-time support, and the freedom to do more with less.”
Time, clarity, and confidence are vital in today’s threat landscape, with ransomware actors increasingly targeting healthcare. Fortified’s Managed XDR brings all three.
“Fortified’s Managed XDR gives us time back and peace of mind—two things every hospital cybersecurity team needs more of,” says DeCota.
Read more about NVRH’s experience with Fortified here.
Are you looking to upgrade your cyber defense? Contact Fortified today and learn how to take the first step.
