Eliminate Threats by Regularly Backing Up Your Data

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Backing Up Your Data

Are you doing regular data backups? You can eliminate a lot of threats by backing up your data. Many companies neglect to back up their data often enough. Unfortunately, many of them have already suffered the consequences. Let’s look at some of the reasons why regular backups are important.

Viruses and Malware Affecting Your Data

Let’s face it. Hackers want your data, and they’ll try as hard as they can to get it. The most dangerous of them all are ransomware hackers. These hackers install malicious code that slowly encrypts your data without your knowledge. They then deny you access to your files until you pay a ransom. Since they have the decryption key, it’s impossible to retrieve your information unless you pay up. Many companies, hospitals, and even law enforcement and sheriff’s offices have been forced to give in — only because they didn’t have a backup of their files on hand.

System Failures

What will you do if your computer, network, server, or system suddenly crashes? This happens all the time, and you’ll need a backup file to restore everything back to normal.

Natural Disasters

Power outages, storms, hurricanes, tornadoes, earthquakes — these are all natural disasters that can ravage your offices and ruin your files. You have no control over these occurrences, so you need to be prepared.

It’s not enough to just back up your data; you need to back it up the right way. One of the wrong ways of backing up is by keeping some sort of connection between your computers and your backup files — if hackers gain access to your computers, they can gain access to your backup files as well. Contact us for professional and automatic backup solutions, so that you can set it and forget it.

Why Your Company Needs Data Encryption

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Data Encryption

Are you doing enough to safeguard your company’s data from cyber threats? According to a report published by Panda Labs, approximately 18 million new malware threats were identified in Q3 2016, which translates into roughly 200,000 threats per day.

Of course, you can protect your data from hacking and other cyber threats with encryption services. It’s often viewed as the single most effective way to protect data. So, what is it and how does it work?

What is Data Encryption?

Encryption is the process of encoding information so that it’s only “readable” by the intended user or users. This doesn’t prevent unauthorized users from accessing the data — nor is that the intention. Rather, it prevents users from reading the data unless they have the corresponding key.

Encryption works by using an algorithm to convert the data into a special code. Once encrypted, only users with the associated key can decrypt and read it.

Benefits

The single most common reason cited for data encryption is protected from cyber threats. Firewalls, spam blockers, and anti-malware/virus software are all effective safeguards to protect data from unauthorized use, but encrypting it adds another layer that companies can use to further strengthen their internal security.

While there’s no law specifically requiring you to encrypt data, it’s often used to reinforce compliance, such as in the case of the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996. HIPAA Security Rules require doctors and other covered entities to implement technical safeguards to protect their data from disclosure — and there’s no stronger technical safeguard than encryption.

To learn more about data encryption and how it can safeguard your business from disaster, contact us today.