Ransomware attacks are the existential boogeyman of modern business. And if it's on your mind constantly, it might be time for a new data hosting partner.
The threat of ransomware or any cyber-attack is top of mind for many business leaders, with a majority describing it as something that “keeps them up at night.”
For companies that deploy their business applications in an external data center, this concern can loom even larger. There’s a lot of trust inherent in the assumption that your hosting provider has implemented best practice security protocols from physical to operational security standards. But what happens when your hosting partner fails to keep your data protected? Or you neglect to validate their security protocols?
In late December, that nightmare came true for businesses utilizing Data Resolution, a large Dynamics GP hosting provider. It is unclear how many businesses were affected, but reports indicate that the hosting provider supports over 30,000 businesses with their services. So, what can you do to protect your business from a cyber security nightmare? The answer lies squarely in your choice of the right hosting partner, who is committed to deploying the right people, tools and processes into the design and development of your secured solution.
At Columbus, our cloud and infrastructure management services utilizes Microsoft’s Azure Cloud, a five year Gartner Magic Quadrant leader in Infrastructure as a Service. Microsoft addresses security at every phase of Azure product development and is the only public cloud platform that offers continuous security-health monitoring. To that solid base, we add several layers of our own security, including: enterprise grade endpoint protection, monitoring, monthly vulnerability scans, and Data Loss Prevention (DLP) tools that further protect your data and cloud environment, and so much more. We also reduce your overall risk by delivering a fully managed cloud environment that, includes: support, application updates and patches, monthly maintenance of your cloud servers and continuous system monitoring for uptime and performance.
More importantly, we ensure that your environment is securely backed up with a business continuity plan designed to limit disruption to your business. The only way to ensure your recovery from a ransomware attack is to have viable backups that predate the infection. Columbus monitors your backups to confirm successful completion of all backup jobs. Our team also takes the extra step of performing scheduled restore tests since a backup is only as good as your ability to restore it. By validating your backups/restores, we can reduce recovery time and meet your businesses Recovery Time Objectives (RTO).
If you haven’t experienced a ransomware attack, it’s never too soon to consider a more secure infrastructure solution. If you have experienced an attack, you already know the pain associated with it, and the risk of using an inferior hosting solution. Our team of specialists is here to assist and be your trusted partner. Take the steps today to secure your enterprise and reduce your vulnerability to cyberattack. As some unfortunate businesses learned recently, the risk is too great to ignore.
