Each day numerous organisations around the world fall victim to a virus, phishing scams or simply click on an email attachment that should not have been opened resulting in lost productivity or worse…data. It’s extremely difficult to eradicate all threats in this ever changing IT landscape which is why it’s very important to implement a layered defence system along with continual user education.
Traditionally (late 90’s early 2000’s) businesses have been able to somewhat navigate the internet landscape over the years with an Endpoint security solution on their desktop/server which would scan for files when downloaded protecting from nasty attachments or block websites with known vulnerabilities. Unfortunately now the rapid pace of new threats it’s now beyond any one vendor to entirely protect your business. This is exactly why a layered defence system such as an Endpoint security solution on your desktop computer as well as antivirus engines on your firewall scanning all files and even blocking dangerous URL’s is a must for businesses. The next best addition to the aforementioned security solutions is user training. No matter the security in place if a user is persistent enough in their quest to infect their PC by visiting dangerous websites or happily clicking (for example) on a brand new FedEx email that arrived they probably stand a reasonable chance of infecting their system. On the other hand when users are well aware of tell tail signs and simply work by the mantra “if you’re not sure, delete” they’ll enjoy a much more productive computer system which is much less likely to fall victim to threats.
The last item which is often underrated by small businesses is multiple backups. Not only should you have on premise backup available for fast backup/restore but also detached offsite backup such as an online cloud solution which keeps your entire business data in a different location which is also not permanently connected to the office so that in the event of disaster or virus its unaffected. With layered defence, user training and offsite backup you’ll save yourself a huge amount of stress long term in running a business that is connected to the internet. Please be well aware that staff may one day take down your entire operating by simply clicking on something they shouldn’t have and if you haven’t the appropriate systems in place your business could be in serious trouble.