Information Technology Blog - - How to avoid business downtime when navigating digital transformation - Information Technology Blog
Successful digital transformation programs can see businesses enjoying a whole host of benefits, from a boost in productivity to improvement in their bottom lines too.
However, it’s important to understand the risks involved in making use of advances in technology. It will pay off, to build your knowledge prior to investing in a costly and time-consuming program of digital transformation. Business owners need to understand that they are increasing their business’ cyber-attack surface. In the event that a cyber-attack is successful, the downtime could spell financial disaster for an organization. With cyber-attacks against UK organizations increasing in 2019, businesses can’t afford to take risks.
Read our guide below, as we explain how to exercise the right amount of caution to help keep your business data as secure as possible when adopting new technologies.
Anti-ransomware solutions offer your business data protection
With the introduction of GDPR legislation, hackers know that encrypted or stolen data could land a business in hot water with the Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO), which could lead to fines in the tens of millions. They’ll use this to their advantage to extort ransom payments out of you. It’s never advisable to pay the cybercriminals, as it’s rare you’ll get your data back. Additionally, hackers will identify your business as a guaranteed pay-out and will continue to target you.
With ransomware attacks increasing exponentially in recent years, security organizations have created solutions that specifically protect your systems and data from ransomware. Intelligent solutions like Intercept X will prevent ransomware at the point of infiltration. Or, if your business has already fallen victim to this file-encrypting malware, it’ll reverse the damage. You’ll also get access to features like root cause analysis, which identifies how the ransomware got into your business so you can bolster your systems going forward.
Putting together a business continuity plan is vital
If, like many businesses, you host all of your critical resources on one server, an attack or failure on this system could bring your business down. For years, organizations have been backing up their files and data either on physical devices or into the cloud. But now it’s not enough to simply back up data.
Forward-thinking business continuity and disaster recovery solutions will not only back up your data but back up your entire IT estate, whether that’s physical, virtual or in the cloud. Say, for example, a key server in your business goes down – that could be due to a malicious attack, an electrical failure or a flood. You can use your business continuity solution to spin up your server virtually and be back up-and-running in no time.
Invest in educating your staff on business data security
Even with the advent of innovative technologies, your biggest attack surface is still your employees. Email is by far the most popular vector to launch a cyber-attack, with an estimated 91% of cyber-attacks starting with an email designed to harvest login credentials (PhishMe research).
The phishing emails of the 2010s are significantly more targeted and harder to spot than old-school email scams. Hackers are impersonating the business software you use (including purporting to be Microsoft to get your email credentials), your suppliers and even your colleagues, and they’re more convincing than ever.
Ensuring your staff are not only educated but continually upskilled in spotting suspicious content, is essential to keeping your business safe. Additionally, you can use tools that simulate phishing attacks to benchmark the existing knowledge amongst your employees and track progress against your training.
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