Cybersecurity is one of the most important aspects of computer usage today. Security has always been important, but the bad actors are so advanced now that we need to stay at least one step ahead of them. Ransomware attacks that encrypt your data are a real problem. Email Phishing schemes are always trying to compromise your passwords. These hackers are successfully stealing money from companies. The local antivirus software is no longer sufficient to protect you.
We suggest multiple layers of security to protect your business. Are you protected by a UTM firewall? (A unified threat management [UTM] provides multiple security features and services in a single device or service on the network, protecting users from security threats in a simplified way. UTM includes functions such as anti-virus, anti-spam, content filtering and web filtering.) Do you have a company security policy? Are your employees receiving security awareness training? Is your computer consultant properly protecting you against these current security threats? Some companies are required to meet certain security compliance by their customers or contractors. Now is the time to have a conversation with your computer expert about security. Start with a simple “How well am I protected?” and “What do I need to do to properly protect my company?” type of questions. Only after this talk can you plan and budget to implement a security solution.
Today, your servers may be hosted in a cloud, locally in your office or you may not even have a server. No matter where your data is located, it is at risk. It can be stolen, encrypted or deleted. The bad guys will hold it for ransom or blackmail you by threatening to publish it on a public website. At a minimum, they could cause you embarrassment so you lose credibility with your customers or, worse yet, they could lock up your data and keep you from operating your business. You do have a good backup of your data that is stored offsite in case of a disaster, right? Of course, your backup has been tested by performing an actual restore to make sure it can be recovered. It could still take days to recover from this. In the meantime, your productivity can suffer. Remember the time to plan for and protect yourself from a disaster is before it happens. Do not put it off any longer. Start planning and protect yourself today. Here are some of the areas that we look at first when developing a security plan:
■ Local physical security: building, server room, computers.
■ Company policies: security, hiring, procedures and disaster recovery.
■ Training: employee computer training and security awareness training.
■ Local network security: a UTM firewall.
■ Server security, including data backup and disaster recovery.
■ Computer security: endpoint security protection.
A good computer security consultant should offer you a free consultation on this. They will help you setup a plan. A thorough security assessment should be performed, reports generated and then reviewed.
Steve LaPha, Vice President, a thirty-plus year veteran of the computer industry, started with Dytech Group 18 years ago as a Network Engineer. He came from the government computer sales and service industry where he owned his own business for 15 years supplying personal computers to NASA at the Kennedy Space Center. He was promoted to Service Manager, General Manager and now Vice President of the company. He works along with Dennis Bell, President, running the business and supervising thirteen employees. The IT service business employs eight full time Network Service Engineers. The primary business is providing Computer Network Service and Managed Services to small and medium size businesses in Orlando and the Central Florida area under the DytechONE brand.
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