10 tips to prevent this happening to you

Just the other day I bumped into a public accountant who runs a small public accounting practice in Western Sydney. During our conversation he explained “my network was hacked by the Russian Mafia and they encrypted all of my data. I had no choice but to pay the $5,000 ransom after being off air for weeks and my IT guy deserting me”.
The hackers disabled the server and the anti-virus and backup software, encrypted all the files then deleted and wrote over the originals. .. the hackers did the same to the attached backup devices to prevent file recovery.
The accountant had no choice but to pay the $5,000 ransom after being off air for weeks and his IT provider deserting him.

And he’s not the only one...

http://www.abc.net.au/news/2012-12-10/hackers-target-gold-coast-medical-centre/4418676

This story is happening more and more.
These hackers aren’t always targeting you personally, they randomly trawl the internet looking for internet connections that have low security.

What’s your internet security protection like? How long can your business survive if this happened to you? How understanding would your customers really be when they find out?

So what can you do to protect your business and your reputation?

Prevention is better than the cure. Here are 10 real tips to help you protect your network:
1. Perform a security audit NOW or get a professional to help
2. Change your passwords NOW
3. Get yourself a real business firewall that does:
a. stateful packet inspections
b. can handle Denial of Service Attacks
c. automatically drops suspect traffic
4. Regularly install updates and patches for your servers and firewalls as needed
5. Regularly review your security practices
6. Ensure your IT Guy proactively discusses these issues with you and knows how to boost your defences.
7. Review how you backup your entire servers :
a. ensure you can quickly and easily perform a full server restore with no loss of data
b. ensure backups are stored offsite
c. ensure backups have password encryption
8. Ensure your wireless network is secure
9. Ensure your smartphone/tablet has security enabled (so your passwords aren’t stolen) in case it is lost or stolen
10. Always disable ex-employees network logins as soon as they leave

Kevin Spanner
CEO Sensible Business Solutions