What Happens When Healthcare Systems Go Dark

Mar 26, 2026

• What happens inside a healthcare system when ransomware takes down Active Directory and authentication fails? In this episode, Josh Howell sits down with Nelson, Executive Healthcare Strategist at CDW, to explore real-world cyber incidents and the architectural shifts required to recover safely.

🎧 You’ll learn:

  • Why disaster recovery plans fail during ransomware
  • What tier zero infrastructure really means
  • How isolated recovery environments work
  • Why communication continuity is critical
  • How healthcare organizations reconnect endpoints safely
  • What prolonged downtime teaches leaders about resilience

YouTube Chapters
[00:00] Welcome to Building Cyber Resilience in Healthcare
[00:54] Meet Nelson Carreira and the Role of Healthcare Strategists
[03:38] A Ransomware Incident Begins
[05:00] Active Directory Goes Down
[07:01] Communication When Systems Fail
[10:27] Why Traditional Disaster Recovery Doesn’t Work
[11:05] Isolated Recovery Environments Explained
[15:01] Inside a Cyber Recovery Architecture
[17:02] Testing Recovery and Building Muscle Memory
[19:17] Who Gets Access First During Recovery
[21:35] Rebuilding Endpoints After an Attack
[23:21] Final Lessons for Healthcare Leaders

👉 You can explore the resilience framework discussed in this episode and access the supporting asset here: https://www.rubrik.com/lp/white-papers/building-cyber-resilience-a-healthcare-leaders-guide

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