Case Study: Iowa Workforce Development achieves rapid sensitive‑data visibility and fast ransomware recovery with Rubrik Sonar and Radar

Iowa Workforce Development Uses Rubrik Sonar and Radar to Mitigate Data Risk during Covid-19 Pandemic

Iowa Workforce Development, the state agency that delivers unemployment and employment services across Iowa, faced a sudden surge of sensitive data during the COVID-19 pandemic — roughly a 500% increase in daily unemployment claims and rapid onboarding of 150 temporary workers and third-party agencies. That growth exposed large volumes of PII and federal tax information (FTI), heightened audit risk (IRS, State of Iowa, Department of Labor), and revealed gaps in data classification while legacy solutions proved too costly and complex.

The agency deployed Rubrik Sonar for automated data classification and immediate visibility, and Rubrik Radar plus built-in immutability for fast ransomware recovery. Sonar identified PII in shared folders within a day and enabled policies with legal to secure FTI, simplifying audits; Radar provides one-click recovery and a ransomware playbook. The result: instant time-to-value with no extra infrastructure or learning curve, automated FTI classification, scaled visibility into risks, and reliable, low-impact recovery capabilities.

Iowa Workforce Development

Mike Spurgin

Infrastructure Bureau Chief