If you have any illusions that your company is safe from cyber-attack in 2017, consider just a few findings stated in a recent report by the Herjavec Group, a global information security firm:

Every second, 12 people online become a victim of cybercrime.
Ransomware attacks rose more than an astonishing 300% in 2016.
The world’s cyber-attack surface will grow an order of magnitude larger between now and 2021.
The US has declared a national emergency to deal with the cyber threat.
There is no effective law enforcement for financial cybercrime today.

Clearly, your company’s information and financial well-being are at greater risk than ever in 2017. And you cannot count on the federal or state government or local police to protect your interests. That’s why I STRONGLY SUGGEST that you implement the following resolutions starting TODAY.

Resolution #1: Tune up your backup and recovery system. The #1 antidote to a ransomware attack is an up-to-date backup copy of all your data and software. Yet, managing backups takes more than just storing a daily copy of your data. For one thing, if your business is at all typical, the amount of data you store grows by 35% or more PER YEAR. If your data management budget doesn’t expand likewise, expect trouble.

Resolution #2: Harness the power of the cloud. Huge productivity gains and reduced costs can be achieved by making full use of the cloud. Any oversight in security practices can lead to a breach. Here are two things you can do to harness the cloud safely:

Determine which data matters. Some data sets are more crucial to your business than others.
Select cloud providers carefully. Cloud vendors know that data security is vital to your business and promote that fact. Yet not all cloud vendors are the same. You can’t control what happens to your data once it’s in the cloud, but you can control who’s managing it for you.

Resolution #3: Set and enforce a strict Mobile Device Policy. As BYOD becomes the norm, mobile devices open gaping holes in your network’s defenses. Don’t miss any of these three crucial steps:

Require that users agree with acceptable-use terms before connecting to your network.
Install a Mobile Device Management System on all connected devices. A good system creates a virtual wall between personal and company data. It lets you impose security measures, and it protects user privacy by limiting company access to work data only.
Establish a strong protocol for when a connected device is lost or stolen.

Free Network And Security Audit Resolves Your Biggest Data Security Problems and Makes Your Systems Run Like A Fancy Swiss Watch

Ever asked yourself why some business owners and CEOs seem so blithely unconcerned about data protection? Don’t let their ignorance lull you into a false sense of security. Contact us today at 215-997-2740 or [email protected] and we’ll send one of our top network security experts over for a FREE Network and Security Audit. It’s your best first step to a safe and prosperous 2017.