03 May 2019 2nd Quarter State of your IT: Specific ways to protect your data

Recently I was working on some equipment and servers for a client and I thought to myself “I wonder what this Server is really worth”? The replacement cost of the server hardware is relatively cheap – $15,000 perhaps? But what’s the true worth of the Data on the server?

In the past few years there has been so many mergers and acquisitions in many different industries. Businesses are almost all data driven these days. So it would be argued that the data a business is holding could bear a lot of weight as to the worth of a company.

So, what if a company is estimated to be worth $25Million? What influences the valuation? Perhaps its impeccable systems and operations within the business. Or perhaps it’s some proprietary, patented software.  Or maybe it’s the book of business and clientele. In all these scenarios, data is heart and soul.

So that made me think, geez, this piece of hardware I am holding right now might be worth $Multi-Millions, not a few $grand.

Hopkins International Airport last week was hit by cyber-attacks and ransomware. The city of Albany, NY was hit with a ransomware cyber-attack in April as well, with a ransom demand of $50,000. Last year, the city of Atlanta was held hostage and lost millions of dollars because they didn’t have proper backup and disaster plans in place. If these huge entity’s are having trouble solidifying their Cyber-Security, what chance do us small businesses really have?

Source: https://www.datto.com/blog/ransomware-news-cleveland-airport-hit-with-ransomware-attack

As your IT partner, we are constantly training on the best ways to protect businesses from Cyber-attacks and data loss.

Here is your checklist for securing your own IT.  Some of the ways we do this :

1. Enterprise grade Firewall
2. Managed Antivirus and in some cases add-on zero day malware protection based on algorithm’s and machine learning/AI.
3. Office 365 and Google Gsuite 2-Factor Authentication – Lock down your email
4. Office 365 and Google Gsuite Cloud to Cloud mirror backups – Backup your email
5. Backup Continuity Disaster Recovery solutions – Backup and protect your servers
6. Utilizing a enterprise file sync and share platform, such as Workplace
7. End user Security Awareness Training, because at the end of the day you can have every protection in place but statistically speaking, end users are the primary cause of cyber-attacks and ransomware, albeit a total accident or in some cases gross negligence.
8. Cyber-Insurance is becoming more common in all industries and is something you should talk to your insurance agent about.

Alarming Research: More often then not, once a server, email, or network has been compromised, the attackers will not act right away. In fact, they spend on average 200+ days before they are discovered. They learn about the business, waiting for the right time to strike. Source: https://www.infosecurity-magazine.com/news/hackers-spend-over-200-days-inside/

I hope you find this helpful. We try to help you determine where you stand on all of the above to see what holes may need filled. Also, if you need any references for cyber-insurance I know a good agency with experience.

Cyber-Security and data protection are almost always disregarded until an attack happens. Then studies show that businesses overspend on securing their data and networks. My recommendation is don’t wait – get the right protection in place now, before we fall victim.