Viruses used to be annoying nuisances, but with the advent of a new category of viruses called ransomware in late 2013, the game changed. IT security in 2021 requires a multi-layered approach.
“Every minute, we are seeing about half a million attack attempts that are happening in cyber space.”
Here’s a brief overview of our “7 Layer Burrito” approach to protecting your network and data:
We can't emphasize this enough. When all else fails, you must have the option of last resort available, which is to restore impacted data (encrypted, destroyed, lost due to failure, stolen, etc.) from backup. Not all backup is created equal. We recommend image backup, which allows you to restore all data, even to different hardware. Also, backups must be verified for successful completion and tested!
Unfortunately, standalone anti-virus protection no longer provides adequate protection for today's highly sophisticated malicious software (viruses, malware, trojans, etc.). In addition to an Endpoint Detection & Response (EDR) application (think Anti-Virus 2.0), your solution should be monitored and send alerts so that appropriate action can be taken if a system is compromised. Our preferred EDR solution includes a "rollback" feature in the event of a ransomware infection as well as data insurance.
Many times if a virus makes it through to a computer on your network, it's already too late. By adding anti-virus at the firewall/router level, viruses can be blocked before entering your network. Typically this service includes additional features, such as intrusion prevention, web and DNS filtering.
By implementing these policies on your network, known launch patterns for viruses can be blocked from executing, but still allow the use of legitimate software.
Updates are released on a routine basis, so your systems need to be updated on a routine basis. Certain updates (those with Critical status), should be installed immediately.
In the past, IT security has largely held a "defensive" posture. We prefer to stay on offense rather than defense - prevent the infection before it takes hold. With our advanced threat detection tool, we can do just that in many cases.
It's important for your team to be educated on safe computing practices. We offer training sessions for our customers to help identify what to look out for in order to avoid infection.
One of the most common questions we’re asked is “Why do people do this?”. The answer is unfortunately quite simple – it’s very profitable.
Cybercrime is the modern version of organized crime. Let us help make sure you’re protected today.