LeadingIT October Online Newsletter

NEXT Generation Technology Support

October 2019

No Ransom Payment Necessary WeeklyST #Community Corner LeadingIT Culture: Celebrations Keeping Up-to-Date with Cyber Security Education and Awareness Happy National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM)!

Refer & Receive $500

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(815) 496-6300

@leadingit

@leadingit-solutions

No Ransom Payment Necessary

No Ransom Payment Necessary You have seen more than a few headlines lately about public ransomware attacks.

In one week alone, over twenty-two Texas municipalities had their own networks held hostage with a $2.5 million ransom.

Stories of more than 40 organizations that have been the victims of cyber attacks this year. From major cities such as Baltimore, Albany, to smaller towns including Lake City, FL. They actually paid a ransom demand of about $460,000 and later fired their IT Director. He later voiced his side of the story that their board denied his budget request for "an expensive, cloud-based backup system that might have averted the need to pay a ransom".

All organizations are vulnerable to these cyber attacks.

The number one vulnerability? People. (bold) That's right. Your team gets an email, clicks. And boom, your systems are locked down.

What can businesses do to prevent having to pay a ransom? Here are THREE cyber security plans to implement NOW to avert having to pay a ransom:

1

Enable security best practices Enforce password policies and two-factor authentication. Limit or deny RDP access.

Keep systems, software, and Windows up to date. Implement multiple layers of security (i.e. web filtering, DNS filtering, anti-virus with EDR, UTM firewalls, SPAM filtering). This is a lot of tech jargon that weigh so much in the operations of a business when facing protection.

2 3

Cyber security education and training A ransomware prevention program teaches users of company email or hardware about the dangers of social engineering and phishing and explains good security practices about email attachments (and wire transfers).

Continual education and training is vital to keep your business safe.

Total data protection Backups, backups, backups. Implement an all-encompassing backup and disaster recovery solution- not an online backup (i.e.

Google Drive) or not a copy of the files. Then IF you fall victim to ransomware, you can simply ‘turn back the clock’ to a snapshot before the attack happened. Often times if one is at ransom- the cyber attacker may not even return access to their information even if the ransom was paid.

Is your current IT provider doing the above for your business? As always, this cyber security landscape will change and it's important to stay one step ahead.

Written by: Stephen Taylor, Originally Published on LinkedIn.com

WEEKLYST Stephen Taylor’s weekly video series.

CEO, Stephen Taylor, launched a weekly video series on YouTube 6 months ago. WeeklyST gives a behind-the-scenes look at our growing, Chicagoland IT support company, business talk, lifestyle, and personal updates like ST's tiny house! The series has received international support and Stephen continues to move, move, move!

Catch the latest episode of WeeklyST here: GoLeadingIT.com/WeeklyST/.

#Community Corner Did you know we host an annual 24 hour game-a-thon to support sick children? Yes, we actually play games (and live stream via Twitch) for 24 hours! This year we are raising for Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago. Our next fundraiser is coming up on November 2, 2019.

Will you help us? You can donate at any amount, share our page and even join in on the gaming fun here: GoLeadingIT.com/extralife. 100% of the proceeds go straight to Lurie Children's. Thank you for your support for this great cause!

LEADINGIT CULTURE

Martin Blair

Ethan Notolli

CELEBRATIONS

October 16th

October 29th

Happy Birthday!

1st Anniversary

Keeping Up-to-Date with Cyber Security Education and Awareness

Happy National Cybersecurity Awareness Month (NCSAM)!

Did you know that October is National Cyber Security Awareness Month? With ever-changing cybersecurity, it is important for individuals and businesses to stay informed on educational bits to be proactive in keeping your information safe. Be sure to follow our social networks this month as we are posting new articles and tips every day to inform you of what best cybersecurity practices are.

Think you are not victim to cyber security issues because your business is not as large as JP Morgan Chase or Bank of America? This is a total myth.

If your business uses a computer, you may be victim to a cyber security breach, ransomware attack, which both can lead to loss of money and possibly, a shutdown of your business.

Education and awareness are key. One has to be informed on the latest on how you can keep safe. Keep up with LeadingIT's various ways for more easy-to-read, educational pieces on cyber security.

#1. LeadingIT Blog : GoLeadingIT.com/blog/ #2. The Network (our monthly newsletter): GoLeadingIT.com/newsletter/

#3. Our social networks-where more information, articles and tips & tricks are shared:

linkedin.com/company/leadingit-solutions/ facebook.com/leadingit/ instagram.com/goleadingit/ #4. Stephen Taylor's Behind-the-Scenes Video Series, WeeklyST. Stephen shares more education and awareness as well as more of our workplace culture: GoLeadingIT.com/WeeklyST. This article is Part 3 of our 3 part series: 3 Things Every Business Needs to Accomplish in the Next 6 Months.

Read parts 1 and 2 here: GoLeadingIT.com/blog/.

Written by: Stephen Taylor, Originally Published on GoLeadingIT.com/blog/.

Refer & Receive $500 As we are continually growing, we would love your help in giving us referrals. To show our appreciation, we will give you a $500 AMEX gift card for every good referral you send us.

What would you do with an extra $500?!

Do you know a company with 20+ employees in need of fast+ friendly, all-inclusive IT support? Lead them over to us by calling 815-308-2095 or email Stephen at Stephen@GoLeadingIT.com with your referral's info today!