Cyber Security: Part II

Cyber Security is the latest IT-related buzz word. As is often the case, this covers a huge range of topics, but our focus is always the small- to medium-sized businesses and their IT needs, so that’s where I’ll start.

In Part I of this article, we covered the misperception that small businesses are ‘too small’ to be a target; the human side of this risk; and the need to continue to educate and remind your staff that they play a critical part in protecting the company from these attacks. Now let’s look at the second part of this topic.

The other critical computer-related component is your backup. All backup solutions are NOT created equal! Be sure it is image-based with regular incremental updates. Don’t skimp on what is backed up – if it’s just the data, that means the entire computer has to be re-built and software installed before the data can be copied back, and you have to have the right software (and version) installed; very time-consuming. If you were infected yesterday or the day before, pulling the last backup might not be good enough because it may have been infected, too.

For cloud-only solutions, consider how long it would take to download all that data. One company downloaded only the critical accounting data after an attack, and although it was all there, three (3) days later they were still waiting for it to finish! There are many options here, so think through the recovery process (plan with the end in mind), as well as the backup process.

Does this feel overwhelming? That’s why you need to have a trusted professional IT group as a partner (like us!). They can help you navigate this changing landscape and educate your staff. Even within the last two years, many things have changed, so lean on them to take care of your computers so you can take care of your customers!

Last month we ran Part I of this news article. Check out the entire article as presented in the Business Ledger newspaper on our website under News, or check out our October (Part I) and November (Part II) 2017 Newsletters. – CMW