Have a Solid Framework and Foundation

Written by: 

Joel Caskey 
Cybersecurity Manager & Partner 
NET Xperts LLC

Greetings, Cybersecurity Superheroes!

Picture this for a moment – you’re relaxing in your Cybersecurity House, and you’ve implemented a lot of the concepts that we’ve already talked about. You feel safe and secure. Suddenly you’re attacked in your kitchen by a family of hornets. These hornets are just out to get you – they’re attacking because they want to take over your space. You call in an exterminator to get rid of them (remediation), but they’ve already done the damage – hornet stings and other painful ventures that you need to recover from. The damage is done and can be costly. But how did they get in?

You walk around the outside of your house to examine the perimeter. You find that there is a gap (vulnerability) in your outside wall (firewall) that allowed the intruders to gain access to your house. You do what is needed to plug the hole, and continue with your day – but again, the damage is already done. You’ve been stung, a nest has been built, and there is recovery time needed to either heal from the stings or to remediate the issue. 

Could this event have been prevented? Yes, with a little bit of preventative maintenance. In the spring and fall, check out the house and look for gaps or cracks in the foundation. Check to make sure that the smoke alarms are working and change the batteries. Check to make sure that the windows and doors have good seals, and that the locks are in working order. These are all things that you’re doing at home already, right?

Well, the same concept applies to your network – preventative maintenance builds a solid framework and foundation for a good cybersecurity posture. Can you guarantee that your workstations are up-to-date with the latest patches? Are they all running Antivirus or EDR and running the latest protection? Is your firewall vulnerable to known attacks that are patched in a newer software version? Are your backups working and tested regularly? If you’re not testing your backup regularly to make sure that you can restore from it, then you essentially have no backup.

Taking a preventative approach will save you a lot of headaches down the road. You wouldn’t buy a car and choose to not change the oil, right? Or check the brakes and fluids? You want your car (or your house) to last a long time – it’s a large investment. Your network is also a large investment – it’s the heart of keeping your business moving. Give it some love!

We have the solution for this – our NET X Alert! Managed Services programs take a proactive approach to making sure that your network runs smoothly. We check and test your backups, we watch your equipment to mitigate unexpected downtime events, and we make sure that we are filling the gaps in the foundation to make it harder for intruders to get in. Our experienced team of Xperts watches your network 24/7 to keep your business functioning smoothly and safely.

Remember the average cost of a breach for a small business? It can range from $120,000 all the way up to $1.24 million. Taking a proactive approach to managing your network is a fraction of that cost and helps to reduce costly downtime from non-security events as well!

Reach out to our team today and we can help get you on that proactive approach to strengthen that foundation for your business to stand tall!

Until next time, Cybersecurity Superheroes – stay safe out there!