Small businesses with limited resources find it easier to manage when they outsource specific tasks. Not every business is able to employ an in-house team to manage its IT infrastructure. An internal professional can be costly and an IT team can still have limitations. That is where managed IT services come in. Managed IT service providers offer comprehensive solutions that allow businesses to focus on their core competencies while leaving the management of their IT infrastructure to specialists. By outsourcing your IT needs, you will gain access to experienced professionals who will keep your systems running smoothly so you can concentrate on what you do best – running your business!
In a recent case study, a company of more than one hundred staff in five locations approached us because their internal IT person was leaving. We discussed the value a managed service can offer, and how it compares to simply replacing the departing staff member. The following considerations were discussed:
Cost savings: A managed service can be more cost-effective than hiring a new employee, especially if you factor in the costs of recruiting, training, and onboarding.
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Increased efficiency: With a dedicated team managing your IT infrastructure, you can expect increased efficiency and fewer disruptions to your business operations.
Expertise: Managed service providers have expertise in IT systems and can provide solutions that meet your specific needs. A managed service provider will have specialists in critical areas such as cloud, security,databases, automation, and networking.
Monthly Reporting: As part of the service, most managed service providers provide clients with a monthly report. Their specialised tools allow them to analyse your systems and provide powerful insights into your business, buffered by friendly service offerings which vary according to the client’s needs.
Automation: Small and mid-sized companies often do not have the systems in place to take advantage of automation opportunities. Key Technologies’ IT audit and reports can help you identify and implement strategic automation to allow your staff to concentrate on other tasks that can grow your business.
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Scalability: Your needs may change over time – a managed service will help your business to scale up or down depending on your requirements.
24/7 support: Managed service providers offer round-the-clock support so you can rest assured that issues will be dealt with promptly.
Peace of mind: By outsourcing your IT management to an experienced team, you can relax knowing that everything is securely and professionally managed.
There are an average of 30,000 websites hacked daily! Hackers use automated tools to find vulnerabilities to exploit. Their tools can:
Guess easy website login credentials
Hack in through another website on the same server (shared server)
Detect bugs and vulnerabilitieswithin website plugins, themes, and extensions
Signs of a Hack
Often, hackers gain access to a website without being noticed and by the time they have achieved their goal, it is too late.
Signs of a website hack vary depending on the type of hack, the hacker’s agenda and how vulnerable the website is. Some tell-tale signs could include:
A defaced website
Popups
Redirection to other websites
Google and Bing alerts in search results
Webpages loading very slow
Unable to log in to your website
More traffic to your website from other countries where you are not focussed
Weird code injections in pages
Strange activities on your website
Of course, there are loads more characteristics to identify a hacked website rather than focus on them, lets focus on prevention and what to do if you get hacked.
Prevention
Ideally, it is best to prevent a website hack. A website is where your customers can get to know your business so their experience on your website is vital. If your website gets hacked, it will provide them with a bad experience, possibly leak their personally identifiable information and even affect their devices!
The best method of prevention is regularly website maintenance. The following tasks are performed as part of KeyTech’s website maintenance to prevent website vulnerabilities:
A Full Website and Database backup, stored in a separate and secure location
Security & Malware Scans
Platform, Theme, Plugin & Extension Updates
Web Server updates
Secure your website with HTTPS with an SSL certificate
In addition to website maintenance, ensure that your web hosting has security features such as:
DDOS Protection
Fortinet firewall
24/7 Malware scanning
an encrypted network.
Just like your hosting, your website should have a reputable firewall and security scanner installed to provide another wall of defence against threats.
Creating and storing complex passwords for user logins will also assist in a more secure website. There are some great free password managers available to help with generating and storing complex passwords.
What to Do If Your Website Is Hacked
If your website has been compromised, you must act quickly to prevent further damage. Spread awareness about the incident. Inform other businesses and your clients of the situation you are facing and the problems that might occur as a result.
If your website collects personally identifiable information, you must notify those involved about the breach, as per the Australian Privacy Act 1988.
Contact your webmaster so they can either regain access to your website or restore your website from a recent backup. They will reset user accounts, run an in-depth security scan, and implement additional security and/or security procedures to avoid another hack from recurring.
With an attack every 39 seconds, the statistics are frightening! A successful hack can not only cost businesses time and money, but it can also damage a business’s reputation.
If you want to learn more about this topic or chat with us about our website maintenance services, please reach out to us at your earliest convenience.
Send Us A Message
Interested in driving growth? Have a general question? We're just an email away.
Businesses are struggling at the moment due to the aftermath of the pandemic, staff and supply shortages and the cost of living increasing. Here at KeyTech, we want to relieve some of your business burdens with our technical expertise and reward you for introducing us to your associates.
By referring us to your business connections, we can unite and support each other in the local business community during these challenging times.
Terms and Conditions
*Referring business must be a current client of KeyTech and on a current contract with KeyTech
*Referred businesses will receive a 20% discount off their first month’s invoice
*20% discount will be applied to the referring business’ monthly invoice on the following month after their referral has converted to a sale
*There are no limits to how many referrals you make, each successful conversion adds 20% off. For example, if you refer 2 contacts and both take on services for 12 months, you receive 40% off your next month’s invoice and each of your referrals receives 20% off their first month.
81% of security breaches occur as a result of simple passwords – 36% of those breaches are via phishing attacks. Cybercrime is at a record high, so we are hoping these tips will help you keep your data safe online.
Due to increasing identity fraud and cyber-attacks, we aim to inform you about what a great password should look like and how you can keep your credentials secure. Applying these tips will increase your online security and reduce the risk of a data breach.
Use a combination of characters.
Use a variety of UPPERCASE and lowercase letters, at least one number (for example 0-9) AND one character (for example !@#$%).
Don’t re-use your passwords.
More than one account will be at risk if your password is compromised.
When updating your passwords, ensure they are distinctly original because a slight change will not make them more secure.
Avoid using personal information in your passwords.
Using personal information in your passwords, such as your date of birth, pet and children’s names can make it easier for someone to hack into your account.
The longer the better!
Long passwords that contain a variety of characters will be more secure.
Change your password regularly*
*Changing to a new password every three months can limit breaches to multiple accounts and help your data stay secure online. Ensure your passwords are completely different and do not use a variation of the previous password.
Use a password manager.
There are a number of password managers available to individuals and businesses. A password manager gives you a central location to store all of your passwords. Password managers can generate secure passwords too!
Businesses use information technology to quickly and effectively process information. Employees use electronic mail and Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) telephone systems to communicate. Electronic data interchange (EDI) is used to transmit data including orders and payments from one company to another.
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What happens when this data is lost due to a flood or error?
Share your experiences
We encourage you to leave your comments below. Have you been affected by floods or natural disasters which left you without your data?
