Could a Cyberattack on Your Vendor Destroy Your Business?

When most companies think about cybersecurity, they focus inward: firewalls, patches, anti-malware, employee training. But what if the real threat isn’t your own systems? 

What if the weakest link is your vendor? 

That’s not a hypothetical. It’s already happened. 

The CloudNordic Disaster: When a Vendor Becomes the Victim 

In August 2023, Danish cloud provider CloudNordic suffered a catastrophic ransomware attack. Hackers encrypted not just production systems, but also every single backup. The company refused to pay ransom and as a result of the attack, all customer data was lost. 

The fallout was devastating: 

• Websites went dark overnight 

• Critical business data became unrecoverable 

• Clients faced operational paralysis with no recourse 

• CloudNordic itself effectively collapsed, leaving customers stranded 

Here’s the frightening part: CloudNordic’s customers had done everything right. They had strong security measures in place internally. But it didn’t matter – because the attack hit their vendor. 

Why This Should Terrify Every Business 

Even if you’re diligent with your own security, you’re still exposed to the risks of every vendor you depend on – your SaaS providers, hosting companies, booking platforms, payment processors. 

If a provider is hacked, collapses, or even simply refuses to provide service, your business could face: 

• Permanent data loss 

• Critical downtime during peak operations 

• Regulatory and compliance failures 

• Lost revenue and customer trust 

• And unlike your own systems, you often have no control over your vendor’s resilience. 

The Solution: Software Escrow & SaaS Escrow 

This is where The Escrow Company comes in. 

We specialise in protecting businesses against the fallout of vendor failure, whether from cyberattacks, insolvency, or service refusal. 

SaaS Escrow 

Protecting cloud-based platforms requires more than source code – it requires the full environment and client data. Our SaaS Escrow agreements capture everything either the end user, software vendor or The Escrow Company would need to recover or redeploy the service: 

• Source code, deployment pipelines, database backups, and infrastructure-as-code for AWS, Azure, or Google Cloud. 

• SaaS Access Continuity, a commonly used model, where verified admin credentials to the vendor’s production environment are escrowed to assist with business continuity. This won’t, however, help in the event of a production ransomware attack but can with supplier failure. 

• Our SaaS Recovery and Managed SaaS Continuity Escrow services provides complete peace-of-mind with a fully redundant environment that can be spun up and handed over to you or managed by us if release is triggered. 

• Verification services that test your recovery plan and validate that the escrowed materials are redeployable and could run when needed. 

With SaaS Escrow and verification, you don’t just tick compliance boxes – you get a plan that works when the worst happens. 

Beyond Software Escrow: Advanced Risk Protection 

• Vendor financial monitoring gives you early warning if your provider shows signs of financial instability and missed cloud vendor invoices. 

• Our solutions are backed by global operations across London, Atlanta, and Sydney. 

• We’re trusted by regulated firms worldwide to assist with their efforts to meet compliance standards such as DORA, PRA SS2/21, and OCC & FFIEC. 

Why The Escrow Company? 

• Trusted by enterprises worldwide to protect access to mission-critical systems 

• Independently audited security and processes 

• Flexible software and SaaS escrow agreements tailored to your needs 

• Deep technical expertise in both on-premise application software escrow and SaaS continuity 

With The Escrow Company, you can assure your board, your regulators, and your customers that you have a true continuity plan in place. 

Final Thought 

CloudNordic’s customers didn’t think it would happen to them. But one vendor attack was enough to wipe out their operations. 

The real question is: if your vendor was cyber-attacked tomorrow, would your business survive? 

With The Escrow Company, you can make sure the answer is yes. 

Frequently Asked Questions