VE-Log

The starting point

The existing website ran on Joomla and was not maintained by us. It had been compromised, and the client faced the question everyone faces in that situation: how do we get back to something presentable, quickly?

Cleaning up the old installation would have been laborious – an unfamiliar system, an unfamiliar history, extensions that had grown in unclear ways. And one circumstance made the decision considerably easier: the client wanted a relaunch anyway.

What we did

• Secured a copy of the old installation before anything was changed on it
• Decided against cleaning up the legacy system in favour of a clean restart
• A static interim site with the content customers and applicants actually need: services, areas of operation, contacts
• Built with AI assistance – the only way the two days were achievable at all
• The interim status is stated on the site itself – nobody should mistake it for the finished presence

What we did not do

We did not investigate the incident forensically. We cannot say which gap someone came in through, how long they were inside, or whether data was taken. That is specialist work and we are not specialists. Anyone who needs those questions answered – because of reporting duties, for instance – needs someone other than us.

What we could do: make sure the company was reachable and able to answer questions again quickly, without anyone continuing to work on a compromised installation.

The interesting part: circumstance did half the work

Honestly, part of this story is that the circumstances were favourable. The client was planning a relaunch anyway. That made the interim site not a throwaway but an early first step – and nobody had to spend money repairing a system that was due to be replaced.

Had the case been different – a grown site, no relaunch plans, a lot of content – the same decision would have been wrong. Two days on this project is not a promise for the next one; it was the result of a manageable amount of content and a client who decided quickly.