On October 15, Bloomberg reported that “almost 2000 Robinhood Markets accounts were compromised in a recent hacking spree that siphoned off customer funds.” Robinhood Markets had already announced that “customers had been struck by cyber-criminals who gained access by breaching personal email accounts outside of Robinhood.” Such a crazy time right now. For business owners, cybersecurity vigilance should be at the top of your list for the next several weeks.

Why Now? What Has Changed?

I have preached forever about how hackers never stop trying so all businesses should have top-tier cyber defenses. But in the IT industry, we have had warnings for months now about increased levels of threats as bad actors jump to take advantage of our emotional and challenging circumstances. It is happening. Aptica has been responding to new kinds of attacks and attempts to invade company data systems. Now is a good time to have employee refreshers on how to recognize phishing emails and what to do if you think your system is compromised. A simple click on an attachment from the wrong email and a business day can come to a halt. Worse than that, nothing seems to change—but inside your network malware is encrypting your data to set up a ransom demand. You should at least bring up email and password topics in your company meetings. Your employees can be your weakest defense link.

Sounds Like A Mission Impossible Movie And Not Like Upper Midwest USA?

There is no target too small. There are no establishments that are sacred. It’s about stealing money and it’s also about destabilization. A small-town dry cleaner can get hacked, get back up and running, and then get hacked again. Churches collect money and hackers know this. All of this is unpleasant to think about, but so is a tornado. It could happen, so how will you prepare for it to minimize loss? Start with knowing what your catastrophe plan is, whether you have an IT management company or not. How and how often is your precious data backed up? Where is it stored? When can you recover it? Who will respond if you get hit? Key questions if your business uses computers.

Take Time Now To Know In Detail Your Protection And Recovery Strategy

Chances are that if you get attacked, so will others around you. Accept that you may not recognize you’ve been hacked right away. The average time to realize a breach in 2019 was 206 days (according to IBM.) By the time you know it, you will not want to waste hours trying to remember what to do next. You pay taxes to have firefighters and EMTs on call. It is worth your time to research the cost to have an IT management company that already knows what you have, how you use it, and how quickly they can reinstall everything you need to get back up and running.

Know your catastrophe plan. If you don’t have one, start with a call to Aptica. We can talk to you about how to begin.

Jason Newburg, 260.243.5100, ext 2101, is the founder and owner of Aptica LLC. This IT management and support company has been serving small to medium-sized businesses for 19 years in the region that includes Angola, South Bend, and Fort Wayne, IN, Battle Creek, MI, and Toledo OH.