Protecting your IT infrastructure isn’t as easy as locking up your business doors at the end of the day. The truth is, there’s no distance too far where a hacker can’t try to infiltrate your network. If they are successful, there’s no telling how much damage they will do…or when. There is simply no reason why you should ever skimp out on technology and solutions meant to protect your business’s network. Too many people are out there who are more than willing to steal or hold your own data and information for ransom against you.
No matter what size your business is, there will come a time where a hacker or group of hackers will try to exploit any vulnerabilities in means to take control of your system. You need to have a plan, and you need to have it now.
What it Means to Skimp out on IT Solutions
We love the opportunity to outfit their office with the latest PC specs and equipment (even if we don’t really need that 3D printer, it’s cool to have) but when it comes to IT security, many will second guess it. The thought behind it is, nothing can go wrong if I don’t click on any suspicious links or download unwanted programs. What’s the point of paying a monthly or yearly cost for protection if I use logic to stay safe online?
Far too often we see businesses with this exact mindset, trying to cut corners on their network security just to save a few bucks. It makes no sense to do so. Is it really worth it to save $50/year for a protection plan just to risk the integrity of your ENTIRE network? Hackers are very sneaky, and they have an entire book of ways to outsmart unsuspecting users. They’ll send fake promotion emails, a link to a mirror website that’s actually malicious, even force your browser to perform a drive-by-download. Some may even go as far as do research on your business, then spoof a very convincing customer email with a file attachment. So, even if you think you’re one of the most careful people to tread the internet, just one click can change everything for the worse.
Hackers won’t pause what they’re doing to give you time to prepare for their arrival. They put to the test over half of all business security systems across the world every year. If they find a vulnerability, they’re going to exploit it as much as possible. When this happens, it will cost you a large amount of time, money, resources and clients. Not only is your data compromised, the hacker could potentially copy, steal or lock you out of your data. Your clients will question their decision to have trusted you with their information. Not only will you lose your client’s trust and their money, they may even sue you. Worse off, you’re stuck spending a ton of resources in an effort to regain control. The results can be so horrendous, over half of all small businesses that fall victim to a cyberattack will fold within 6 months.
Prioritize IT Security Solutions
Don’t let this be you. Now is the time to protect your business from worse-case scenarios. Here are 3 IT investments you should not be skimping out on.
1. Network Security
This is an absolute must in the fight against hackers. Without it, you’re basically begging hackers to let themselves into your network. Now these hackers aren’t just going around manually checking every site for vulnerabilities. In reality, they create an insurmountable number of bots that crawl the Internet in search of security holes in both websites and networks. With a solid IT security system, alongside an experienced team of IT specialists, these bots will have no chance at ever finding any exploits in the first place. Bulking up your network security will not only protect your business assets, but you’ll also give your clients another reason to keep coming back to you for your services.
2. Backups
Every business needs a backup of their data and information. Many businesses are more than happy to store all of their data in one central location and that’s it. Sure, you can do everything possible to protect that information, but what happens when the hard disk or server fails? It’s just as bad as having to deal with ransomware, as you no longer have access to anything – client information, invoices, phone numbers, etc. Make sure you invest in a backup on-site or perhaps in the cloud to provide yourself an out should a worst-case scenario occur, or your primary data storage gives out. You can even take an extra leap and have a backup for the backup. Have both an on-site solution and a cloud-based solution so even if one backup doesn’t respond, the other is readily available.
Of course, you’re going to need a system in place to ensure the data is synonymous across your backups. Invest in a backup service, and have your IT configure it correctly to make sure your data backs up weekly, if not daily.
3. Updates
It’s time to look at the current hardware and the software you’re running on that hardware. Are they up to date? Technology is finicky, because what was once the most revolutionary piece of technology can be obsolete in just a few years. If you let your technology too far behind the times it can cause some trouble. As time goes on, developers stop providing security patches to outdated hardware and software, resulting in security vulnerabilities. Sometimes, even Google won’t be able to help you if you have to troubleshoot old pieces of technology, and if there’s no one to call for help, you’re out of luck. There’s also the risk of compatibility issues by pairing new and old hardware and software together. It’s always important that you keep both up-to-date, even replace them if you have to with newer specs to ensure you don’t run into any problems.
Biztek Solutions
Investing in IT security may not be on the top of your list of things to do, but it is definitely one of the most important ones. Instead of cutting corners, be sure you put money into quality security, backups and updates. You’ll end up paying money one way or another, so the least you can do is protect your data and keep it out of the hands of bad guys or losing it forever on a broken hard disk.
For more information or to help you with your IT needs, give us a call today at (951) 638-0502 or contact us online.
