FAQ

A data breach occurs when an intruder gains unauthorized access to your information, such as customer records and personal information, intellectual property, or company secrets. It is frequently a PR nightmare to inform customers and suppliers that you, and possibly their data, have been stolen.

Malware is derived from the phrase "malicious software," which refers to software that has been installed on your computer or network without your knowledge and attempts to disrupt your business. It could be executable code, computer viruses, worms, trojans, bots, spyware, ransomware, or another type of malicious software. Frequently picked up when installing or clicking on links that you or an employee should not have clicked on.

It's not always obvious, but some common signs that you've been hacked include an inability to log in to an account, unknown programs opening when you start your computer, pop-up windows, a lot of spam emails, social media posts that you didn't write, or your computer isn't performing as well as it should (slowed down or crashes more frequently).

Ransomware is a specific type of cyberattack where the attacker forces you to pay a ransom fee to regain access to your system or files. Common types of ransomware attacks include scareware, lock-screen ransomware, and encryption ransomware.

It all comes down to education, processes, and technology. Businesses need to invest in educating employees on cybersecurity best practices. Additionally, businesses need to effectively secure the data they’ve been entrusted with.

Users, internal and external, should make more informed decisions when interacting with technology.

You might believe that larger companies with more endpoints are more susceptible than smaller companies. Or organizations with valuable data, like those in the financial services sector or the healthcare sector, would be simple targets. Although they do hold a tons of data, it's not always the case. It would be like attempting to take the gold vault of the Federal Reserve as opposed to robbing a normal Joe on the street. Typically, larger companies or those that handle sensitive data have the technology, rules, and procedures to defend themselves against cyberattacks.

Your organization should have a cyberattack remediation process in place. If you’re unsure, ask your IT provider or someone in your internal IT department—it could save your business money and its reputation if a cyberattack occurs.

As much as we’d love to throw a perfectly round number out there, it’s tough. Cybersecurity solutions really depend on your organization’s individual needs. Once we determine your specific security requirements, we can help design the perfect multilayered solution to help keep your business safe.

There are multiple ways to back-up your data, the easiest is to copy everything to a USB stick or burn to a CD or DVD but it’s not always practical with large amounts of data. You can back up using cloud storage services like Google Drive and Dropbox, but they’re more to sync files across devices than a pure back-up especially if you need to save terabytes of stuff. Experts often recommend the 3-2-1 rule: three copies of your data, two local (on different devices) and one off-site. For most people, this means the original data on your computer, a backup on an external hard drive, and another on a cloud backup service.

Scareware is similar to ransomware, this time threatening to swamp you with annoying notifications, reveal your online behaviour (real and not real) or threaten you with consequences, like a tax audit.