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IT companies in Houston help safeguard businesses against ransomware. If you’re not familiar, ransomware is a kind of viral programming which is used to lock you out of your files unless you pay a ransom. It usually comes in the form of an email, hiding a Trojan program of some variety. Phishing scams can also become ransomware threats as hackers log into systems and restrict primary users from using them unless those users pay a fee. Even more frightening are ransomware attacks which are successful regardless of user error due to an exploitation of inbuilt vulnerabilities, such as backdoors through SMB ports which were used to ransom companies across 150+ countries due to the WannaCry attack. With that in mind, four steps your company can take, and which an IT provider can help you to employ, include:
1. Training Users
IT companies in Houston understand the risks and common entry points which characterize most ransomware attacks. You can work with such MSP organizations to help train your employees so that they don’t accidentally compromise your business due to online activity. Checking emails for signs of phishing and other red flags is key here. Only use secure or approved WiFi networks. The right tech agency can seriously help you reduce operational risk in this regard.
2. Management Of Patches
WannaCry was mentioned, and you’ll find a lot of writing about this on the web because it represents such a valuable case study. The truth is, many businesses that were undermined by WannaCry would have been entirely safe if they had simply instituted a practice of automatic patching. You want an IT provider that can provide such security solutions, and you should employ them. This is one of the surest ways to safeguard your business against ransomware in a comprehensive manner.
4. Business Continuity And Disaster Recovery Solutions
You’ve got to have a plan in place if the worst case scenario manifest. Furthermore, that plan will best be designed if you an IT provider to get it “up to speed”. Basically, you want something that can maintain operations when systems are compromised, such as a mirrored data solution as provided through the cloud. You also want recovery tactics that can be swiftly deployed in the wake of a disaster. An IT provider is absolutely fundamental to properly design either contingency.
4. Planning Against Known Risks
There are exigencies you can’t predict, but those, you can. Help users avoid known questionable networks and practices. Having certain firewalls in place which restrict certain websites is advisable. There are many things which are avoidable and foreseeable. You want to barricade against those first, education is a great way to do so. From there, you want to work with an IT provider to design protections against that which can’t be predicted.
A Comprehensive Support Package
ICS is one of the best IT companies in Houston that can help you plan against known and unknown risks through comprehensive support solutions which train users, help them avoid known areas of compromise, employ patches, and design disaster recovery solutions for when all else fails. Contact us now and let us protect your business from a ransomware attack.
Further reading
ICS is a Texas-based 40-year-old technology company specializing in Managed IT, VoIP, Video Conferencing and Video Surveillance solutions for US and International businesses. ICS has over 4000 regional installations and specializes in multi-site businesses between 25 and 2500 employees. ICS’s customers enjoy the experience of ICS’s Total Care program which provides clients flat fee services with obsolescence and growth protection. Whether a customer elects to deploy their IT, Video Conferencing or VoIP in the cloud or on the customer’s premise, ICS can provide a full turn-key solution for our clients under one flat monthly fee.