Earlier this month, nearly half the East Coast’s fuel supply was crippled due to an incident that highlighted the vulnerability of critical infrastructure to online attacks.  The incident resulted in Colonial Pipeline being forced to pay $4.4 million to hacker gang DarkSide, to get the pipeline’s systems restored 

Could security measures have prevented the pipeline attack?  The Department of Homeland Security thinks yes, and as a result is issuing a more robust set of mandatory rules for how pipeline companies must safeguard their systems against cyberattacks.

Here are 4 simple things all companies should implement to protect systems from potential hackers:

Awareness Training Program
Employees are the weakest link in the data security chain.  Ongoing training should be part of onboarding and continue with every member of your team.  A good program will teach staff what to look for and provide employers with reportable data.  We highly recommend KnowBe4 – to learn more, watch this 3-minute video on how to best protect your organization from an attack.

Data Backup
Backing up your data is one of the safest ways to ensure that you’re being proactive about your data’s security. This way, if disaster strikes, you can rest easy and know your information still exists elsewhere.  Data backup should happen on an hourly basis.

Patching
Keeping software up to date with the latest security patches is essential for businesses in a time when cyberthreats are as rampant as they are today. Patch management ensures that all your software is up to date and known vulnerabilities have been remediated.

it consulting njPerch Security Services
Perch provides enhanced security services.  This added protection automates IT security, offering the following enhancements:

  • Real-time threat detection
  • Threat intelligence centralization, automation and log file management
  • First-tier threat analysis with 24×7 escalation to IT support staff
  • Access to view and participate in the process as much as desired via secure web application

Let BMT safeguard your systems against cyberattacks.  With over 28 years of experience we understand what needs to be done to ensure companies are protected from threats.  Contact us today and let us take the worry out of security for you!