Tech Rage IT's Matt Rose Provides Cybersecurity Analysis on FOX 35 Following Coca-Cola Fairlife Ransomware Attack

As businesses across the country followed reports of the ransomware attack that disrupted production at Coca-Cola's Fairlife facilities, Tech Rage IT CXO Matt Rose joined FOX 35 Orlando to help viewers understand what happened, why it matters, and what organizations can learn from the incident.

During the live interview, Rose explained that modern ransomware attacks are no longer limited to encrypting files or stealing information. Increasingly, they are designed to disrupt business operations, forcing organizations to halt production, suspend services, or operate manually while recovery efforts are underway.

"The headlines often focus on the ransom demand, but the real cost is the disruption," said Rose. "When a manufacturer has to stop producing product, every hour offline affects employees, customers, suppliers, and revenue. That's why cybersecurity has become a business continuity issue, not just an IT issue."

Rose noted that one of the most common misconceptions surrounding ransomware is that recovery simply involves restoring data from backup.

"In reality, attackers frequently spend weeks or even months inside an organization's network before they launch ransomware," Rose explained. "If a company restores systems before identifying how the attackers gained access and removing that foothold, they can find themselves right back where they started. Recovery isn't just about restoring data. It's about restoring trust in your environment."

The interview also highlighted the unique cybersecurity challenges facing manufacturers. Unlike many office environments, production facilities often rely on specialized operational technology, legacy software, and equipment that cannot easily be updated or replaced. That creates a difficult balance between maintaining production and reducing cyber risk.

"Manufacturers often depend on systems that have been running reliably for years, sometimes decades," Rose said. "Unfortunately, those same systems can become attractive targets because they weren't designed for today's threat landscape. Organizations have to balance operational uptime with cybersecurity, and that's not always an easy decision."

While the Fairlife incident involved a global brand, Rose emphasized that ransomware affects organizations of every size.

"Cybercriminals don't only target Fortune 500 companies," he said. "We've seen attacks against healthcare organizations, manufacturers, professional service firms, nonprofits, and small businesses. The question isn't whether your organization is large enough to be targeted. It's whether you're prepared to respond if it happens."

Rose encouraged business leaders to view cybersecurity through the lens of resilience rather than fear. Organizations should regularly test backups, maintain an incident response plan, implement security awareness training, keep systems updated whenever possible, and rehearse recovery procedures before they're needed.

"The organizations that recover the fastest are usually the ones that planned for the possibility long before the attack occurred," Rose said. "Preparation makes all the difference."

Tech Rage IT regularly provides cybersecurity insight to television, radio, and print media, helping translate complex cyber events into practical guidance for business leaders and the public.

The full segment can be viewed here:

https://www.fox35orlando.com/video/fmc-bc7vss2fygo2tzkf

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For more information, please contact:

For Tech Rage IT: Matt Rose, 407-278-5664, Matt@TechRageIT.com.

About Tech Rage IT: Tech Rage IT is a woman-owned technology firm providing managed IT services, VoIP phone services, IT consulting and more to the frustrated, defeated and disappointed businesses craving more from their technology investment.  

Tech Rage IT’s registered tagline “We Prevent Tech Rage” speaks to their laser focus of being a recognized leader in reducing the raging-headaches that employers and their employees face every single day due to technology problems, such as inconsistent or high IT support costs, unreliable or outdated technology, faulty or slow devices, and ransomware or lost files.  Tech Rage IT, headquartered in Longwood, has been serving the area since 2015.  Find more information about how Tech Rage IT is preventing Tech Rage at www.TechRageIT.com.