Author: Stuart Crawford

No longer are cyber thieves content to steal individuals’ financial information off unencrypted hard drives or through spam or phishing schemes. Increasingly, these criminals are going after bigger targets – they are targeting corporations with ever more complex threats like SQL injections, advanced persistent threats and Zero-Day exploits. These criminals are ruthless and have begun targeting healthcare providers.

According to Robert Herjavec, ransomware attacks on hospitals may increase fivefold over the next five years. Why, you may ask, all this interest in hospitals and the healthcare industry?

• Financial gain. Medical records are far more valuable than credit card data. Medical records can sell for up to $50 each on the Dark Web compared to the meager $1 that Social Security and credit card data brings.
• Easier to hack. Banks and other financial institutions are becoming more difficult to crack for cyber thieves. These institutions have invested heavily in cybersecurity to protect their data, while healthcare’s investment in sophisticated cybersecurity is lagging.
• Medical identity theft is more difficult to detect. Consumers can purchase plans to help protect them again identity fraud and track their financial statements to detect fraud. But both patients and healthcare providers are unlikely to recognize a security breach immediately.

Large hospitals and other large healthcare organizations are not the only targets. Smaller private medical practices are also being targeted. According to Healthcare Informatics, 45 percent of all ransomware attacks in 2017 were in the healthcare field.

Regardless of the size of the organization, ransomware attacks can cause significant financial loss. Some organizations chose to pay the ransom because of the urgent need to resume patient care. However, there are more considerable economic consequences too.

• Disruption of services. During the ransomware attack, the healthcare provider cannot provide a wide array of medical services causing loss of income by interruption of the business’s operations.
• Loss of reputation. Patients often choose a medical practice, hospital or same-day surgery center based on the facility’s reputation. Loss of trust in a facility’s ability to safeguard patients’ medical records could potentially lead to business failure.

The CIO in any healthcare organization must communicate with the facility’s board of directors and management that cybersecurity is not an issue that can be tabled until next year. Clearly, everyone should develop a deep understanding of the serious consequences if their facility is attacked by ransomware. When the magnitude of potential damage is fully appreciated, cybersecurity will cease to be an expense. Cybersecurity will become an investment to protect the business from catastrophic cyber-attacks.

The healthcare industry is unique – bound by HIPAA for patient privacy and security – unlike credit cards which can be canceled and reissued – medical records uniquely belong to the patient and could be at risk for the life of the patient.

Why is the healthcare industry at increased risk for ransomware attacks?

Cybersecurity companies like Herjavec Group and Cybersecurity Ventures issued a report in 2016 that ransomware damages would be in the range of $1 billion for the year. Let’s look at some of the reasons the healthcare field is now the #1 target for ransomware.

• IoT growing in healthcare. The Internet of Things is exploding. Global healthcare entities will spend upward of $270 billion on IoT devices by 2023. Imaging devices connected to the internet are a tantalizing target. Add in equipment maintenance software that requires periodic updates, and we can begin to see the opportunities for cybersecurity breaches. The critical needs of patient care demand that imaging devices are available 24/7 with no scheduled downtime – leaving updates to patch weaknesses not always performed on a timely basis.
• Healthcare executives seem less aware of the risks than in other industries. Unfortunately, many healthcare executives seem less aware of the potential dangers from ransomware than management in different vertical industries. Hospitals, ambulatory clinics, imaging facilities and private practices are playing catchup to secure their networks.
• Insider threats. Insider threats generally come in two forms. An obvious insider threat is the disgruntled employee or former employee. Less obvious threats may come from third-party contractors or outside consultants. And lastly, lack of employee training may cause careless or inadvertent mistakes.

What types of problems does ransomware cause?

Understanding the potentially catastrophic dangers that ransomware is the first step in realizing how important cybersecurity is the healthcare field.

• Patient’s health and well-being. IoT connected devices include Wi-Fi heart pumps and smart beds in the surgical suite. If these devices become compromised through security, a fatality could result. Altering a patient’s records by changing their blood type could result in an adverse reaction after a blood transfusion.
• Hollywood Presbyterian Medical Center. The Locky strain of ransomware infected this Los Angeles hospital in 2016. The hospital paid over $16,000 in ransom. More damaging was the news that the breach put the hospital on lock-down because employees couldn’t access their computers. Their radiology and oncology departments couldn’t use their equipment.
• Hancock Health, Greenfield, Indiana. Officials paid over $55,000 to get decryption keys to regaining access to over 1,400 files. Although the hospital had backups, officials did not want to risk days or possibly weeks before they regained access to their data.
• 16 Hospitals Shut Down in the United Kingdom. In 2017, ransomware known as WannaCry creating chaos for hospital administrators, employees and patients. The ransomware even affected their telephone systems forcing employees to use their personal mobile phones. Citizens were advised to use these facilities for emergencies only.
• MedStar Network, D.C. and Maryland. The largest healthcare provider in the area, with 10 hospitals and 200 outpatient locations, was hit by a ransomware attack in the spring of 2016. Patient records were locked, and some patients had to be turned away.
• 2018 and no end in sight. Almost 50 major breaches have been reported by Healthcare IT News.

The Challenges Hospitals Face

First of all, the FBI will continue to monitor ransomware attacks through their Cyber Division. The FBI discourages hospitals and other organizations from paying ransoms – recommending a proactive approach – data backup and a business recovery plan instead.

Challenges include outdated systems and too few experienced cybersecurity personnel. The data is high value on the open market so ransomware intrusions will continue to occur.

Hospitals, rightly so, focus on patient care. But more attention and budget must be directed toward cybersecurity over the next five years. Lagging wages for IT personnel in the hospital industry are a contributing factor.

Many hospitals work on outdated platforms, and they utilize more off-the-shelf software too. Sadly, many hospitals lack the backups they need to protect themselves. Stricter adherence to back up recommendations could stem healthcare facilities from being forced to pay ransoms.

Protect your organization against ransomware attacks by acknowledging the risk, putting a plan in place and then allocating the budget for cybersecurity.

In July 2018, after much speculation throughout the business and technology sectors, Microsoft revealed the highly anticipated Surface Go tablet. The 10-inch device was the first Surface-branded tablet to be released since the non-Pro Surface 3 was introduced across Canada in May 2015. With the release of Surface Go, business owners were able to perform intricate tasks on-the-go, while simultaneously enjoying all of the benefits that the new tablet provided. Now, four months later, Microsoft has released the Surface Go tablet with LTE throughout Canada.

Surface Go Attributes

The Microsoft Surface Go is an Intel-powered tablet that offers a wide variety of features, advances, and benefits. For example, the Surface Go is automatically equipped with Windows 10. It also features immediate access to all of the apps within the Windows Store. However, it is important to note that the Surface Go tablet is automatically locked to “S Mode” for both consumer and commercial models. Unlocking the “S Mode” is a relatively straightforward process that will enable the tablet to access a variety of other apps.

Like many of the Microsoft products, the Surface Go tablet features a multitude of productivity-enhancing apps. It also has standard web browsing and advanced video conferencing capabilities. The addition of Microsoft Office enables businesses to use the Surface Go tablet in the office and at out of office presentations. Speaking of, the addition of LTE, now ensures that tablet users will have access to the Internet anywhere that they go.

Surface Go with LTE in Canada

In today’s digitally driven world, where important messages can’t be missed and deals can be completed in a blink of the eye, having 24/7 access to the Internet can mean the difference between business success or failure. The recent release of the Microsoft Surface Go with LTE enables Canadian business owners (and employees) to access the Internet via their tablet from practically anywhere. Additional features and benefits include:

• The easily stored and accessible 10-inch size makes the tablet the perfect travel device.
• An extended battery life ensures that the tablet can be used throughout long meetings and during train or air travel.
• The dual-core 6W TDP processor is strategically designed to use the minimum amount of power when completing light productivity tasks.
• The Surface Go with LTE can easily be paired with the Microsoft TypeCover and used with the Surface Pen to increase productivity.
• An extended warranty is available with the Surface Go commercial model.

In addition to the above features and benefits, the Surface Go with LTE consumer model is equipped with 8GB of RAM, 128GB SSD, and an Intel 4415Y processor. The latter attributes allow the tablet to complete more complex tasks, which is especially beneficial to Canadian business owners who need to review presentations, leverage interactive apps, complete video conference calls, and a wide variety of other time-consuming activities. The commercial version of the Surface Go with LTE features an even more robust Windows 10 Pro operating system that is essential for the on-the-go employee or business executive.

Canadian Business Owners Can Leverage The Benefits Of The Surface Go With LTE

Did you know that the Surface Go with LTE was strategically designed to inspire employees to work more naturally? From its people-centric design to its flexibility to its accessibility, the Surface Go is meant to boost the work experience for entire organizations. In fact, a recent survey of more than 1,000 employees from global companies, found that the Microsoft line of Surface tablets can achieve the following ROI enhancing business benefits.

• 75 percent of employees said that Surface devices increased their productivity levels.
• Up to nine hours are saved when mobile or remote workers are completing everyday tasks.
• IT manageability is improved by ensuring that security and compliance protocols are followed (even when employees or business executives are working on the road or from home).
• Teamwork, creativity, and mobility are enhanced.

The moral of the story is simple, the Microsoft Surface Go tablet with LTE can help Canadian businesses thrive in the modern digital age. When clients expect companies to respond instantaneously, and more employees are interested in working remotely, the Surface Go with LTE offers the ideal solution to increase productivity levels, enhancing mobility, and generating ROI-enhancing results for Canadian business owners.

Businesses of all types and sizes today must navigate a complex matrix of vendors and partners. In many cases, there is frequent sharing of data, including sensitive and proprietary information, that could be problematic if hacked or stolen.

The advent of new technologies, including the Internet of Things, automation and cloud systems, make for the collection and sharing of information more accessible than ever before. However, the increased volume, accessibility and transfer of data creates problems and added risk for companies. To help companies protect information and minimize the risk of data theft, here are 6 answers to common third-party security questions.

1. How Can I Assess My Company’s Data Security?

The place to start is with an internal audit of your system. Which vendors have access to which data? How are they connecting to your networks and what can they access?

It’s smart to map your third-party partners, understanding who they are, how they access data and what data they can access. Make sure third parties only can reach information that is necessary. Often these audits can detect access that was given long ago to third parties that no longer should or need to have access.

2. What Can I Do to Assess My Third-Party Partners?

There are basic things you can do to ensure that third parties have the right safeguards in place when using your data. Asking for copies of their data security policies and audit results is an excellent place to start. If there are practices or results of concern, you can ask for more details. Some companies require their vendors to undergo a thorough security audit with detailed questionnaires or independent verification of processes and systems.

The practice is not just good business sense. Many new regulatory mandates, including the European Union’s General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR), require companies to ensure that third-party vendors are also compliant with the appropriate requirements.

3. What Foundation Do I Need to Data Security and Third Parties?

Be sure your organization has clear policies and procedures that govern data access and security related to third parties. Policies should be evaluated regularly to reflect new technologies or practices.

4. Who Is Responsible for Data Security?

Often, risk ownership can be a gray area as companies exchange data, update it and enter it into each other’s systems. A risk assessment matrix should be created that defines and tracks data within your corporate ecosystem. The matrix should include:

• Vendors, partners, customers and subcontractors throughout your supply chain
• Classifications of each third party based on how they interact with the organization
• Risk types mapped to each third party
• Risk levels assigned to each vendors’ assigned risk types

This exercise allows you to build a comprehensive risk assessment model to inform decisions, policies and access.

5. What Technologies Can I Use to Help With Security?

Ultimately, control rests with your organization. You can control the parties with access, the types of access, and the assets that can be accessed. Here are some tools to deploy to assist with that control:

• Encryption is effective in protecting data stored in your systems and transmitted to other parties. Encryption need not be applied to everything, but high-risk information merits investment in encryption tools.
• Two-factor authentication is another consideration. If you use multi-factor verification tools for internal access, you most certainly should do the same for external access.
• Risk-based authentication goes a step further. Rule-based access, such as only allowing access from a particular domain, can be incorporated into your security plan. If an access request does not meet the pre-defined rules, additional authentication layers are applied.
• Monitoring networks is a wise move. Monitoring what is accessed and by whom allows for a better understanding of information transfer. Firewalls that inspect data packets and issue alerts when unauthorized data are in play help prevent unwanted extrusion.

6. What Documentation Does My Company Need?

When you’ve determined your guidelines, policies and rules, be sure to put it in writing. Make it a part of your new contracts and insist on amendments to any existing agreements with third parties. Contractual guidelines help to protect companies from litigation as more plaintiffs go after multiple parties in the case of a data breach.

Not all contracts need to be the same when it comes to data access provisions, although it is good practice to establish a baseline of minimum requirements in all applicable third-party agreements.

With the growing threat of cyber attacks, an active approach to data security is a way for organizations to mitigate risk and ensure that data stay in the right hands.

Running a business is an expensive proposition, and it only starts with paying your vendors and employees. The tax codes can be a quagmire of confusion for many business owners, especially when it comes to more complex concepts such as the depreciation laws around technology. The good news is that there have been some meaningful changes around Section 179 for 2018, meaning you may be able to recognize compelling savings if you quickly take action before the end of the year. Here is how you can take advantage of this advanced tax savings while fitting in that technology spend before budgets reset in January.

Upgrade Your Tech, Earn a Tax Credit

While the Internal Revenue Code’s Section 179 sounds complicated, the net effect is quite simple. If you upgrade your technology during the year, you’re eligible to reduce your tax liability for that year by depreciating the equipment — even if you made the purchase on December 31, 2018. This accelerated deduction allows you to write off the entire cost of your technology upgrade, up to 1 million dollars for 2018 on purchases of up to $2.5 million in technology products. This effectively represents a 100% bonus depreciation for both new and used equipment. The government hopes that this extensive benefit will help support the growth and infrastructure investment of businesses throughout the country — which is quite likely considering the full breadth of the discount you can expect to see by taking full advantage of the tax credit.

What Are the Benefits of Accelerated Depreciation?

The accelerated depreciation that is a part of Section 179 of the tax code allows you to see immediate reductions to your tax bill. Applying for the tax credit is relatively straightforward, and there is a high degree of flexibility available in how the credit is utilized throughout the year. The savings can be substantial, especially if you decide to lease or finance your equipment for several years. Your tax professional may be able to help you properly structure a financing agreement that allows you to add software and equipment to your business without a net cash impact for the year.

What Are IRS Section 179 Guidelines for 2018?

The benefits that you can derive from Section 179 will change from year to year, so it’s essential to ensure that you have the most up-to-date information about this exceptional savings opportunity. For 2018, you can find the latest information on Section179.org, including details on timing, calculators to determine how the deduction will impact your organization, answers to frequently asked questions and more. The types of equipment that are included in Section 179 are:

• Construction equipment
• Farm equipment
• Medical equipment
• Printing equipment
• Vehicles
• Tools
• Office supplies
• Office furniture
• Computers
• Mobile devices
• Other electronics
• Software

Of all of the technology solutions that can be covered by Section 179, software is the most popular — but some limitations are involved with receiving your full tax credit on software.

Does IRS Section 179 Have Any Limitations?

Along with the total dollar cap, IRS section 179 does have some limitations. There are a few types of equipment that are excluded, but the tax credit is valid for most types of software and equipment. This credit is simple to use and can provide a significant boost to your bottom line — along with providing your business with some exciting new tech to start the new year. The purchase of software is one of the most popular ways for companies to utilize their Section 179 tax credit, but there are some considerations. The software must be available to the general public and must not be custom-designed for your business. The software must also have a determinable useful life of more than one year, be used for an income-producing activity and be financed with a specific type of qualifying lease or loan. Missing any of these requirements can negate your ability to utilize Section 179.

Currently, the following types of software are not eligible for Section 179 tax credits:

• Websites — although this may change in 2019
• Databases that are not part of the public domain
• Software that is highly customized for your organization

Want to learn more about IRS Section 179 and how your organization can leverage this savings opportunity? The official Section179.org website should be your first stop for any questions, but there is also a great deal of useful information on Investopedia.com. While it may be a little more difficult to wade through, you can always get your information straight from the source at the IRS.gov website, where they detail Section 179 deduction information, special depreciation allowances, MACRS and more. Need assistance working through how Section 179 can benefit your particular organization and the value that you can gain from new technology?

Watch our Section 179 training video.

Understanding your past financial data is essential to forecasting for the future. Without analysing the data, your emotions or your opinion of what you’d like to happen with your business in the future are likely to colour your forecast. One easy way to use your past data to predict your business future is to build a financial prediction using Microsoft Excel.

1. Select your past sales data in Excel. The first step in creating your financial business forecast is to select the previous sales data that you wish to use. In most cases, you’ll choose the past three to five years. However, if a singular event, like the Stanley Cup Finals or the Winter Olympics being in town, dramatically impacted your sales and is likely to repeat in the future, your forecast will be more accurate if you leave that year (or at least that period) out of the data you use for your projections.

2. Click on Forecast Sheet on the Data tab. The next step is to click on “forecast sheet” located on the tab marked “data”. It’s located at the top of the page on the left side.

3. Enter the required information and hit Create. Next, you’ll need to enter the necessary information, such as the time period you’d like to forecast and, finally, hit create. You’ll have a forecast report projecting the sales and/or income into the period you selected.

How to use your forecast report to make smart business decisions

What can your forecast report be used for? If you know what your sales and income are likely to be for the next quarter or next year, you can make sure that you have the inventory, raw materials, staff and marketing that you need to support that level of sales. You can also use this report to discuss funding with your bank or another lender.

Data breaches never fail to stay at the top of news headlines, and these are news headlines that should be highly regarded if you are a business owner. According to the ID Theft Center, there were at least 1,579 breaches, which was a 44.7 percent increase from the year before.

A Look at Early November 2018 Data Breaches

The astounding uptick in data breaches is expected to continue as a trend for 2018, and the first half of November 2018 has already shown multiple problems. Take a look at some of the breaches that have occurred already in November for 2018.

Ontario Cannabis Store/Canada Post

The legalization of cannabis across the country in Canada brought about a lot of prickly, unfamiliar situations for consumers and business owners. However, to worsen matters, their new and booming industry took a hard hit because of a massive data breach during the first part of November. The data breach was in the form of a hacker who managed to get into Canada Post’s delivery tracking tool.

Customers who had purchased cannabis for mail delivery from Ontario’s Cannabis Store had their information exposed. This data risk is considered severe because those in the up-and-coming cannabis business in the country could face concerns with consumers about the privacy of their personal information. This data breach affected as many as 4,500 customers.

HSBC Bank USA

Domestically, a significant data breach with one of the top names in banking left financial institutions and consumers alike a bit fearful. HSBC Bank had multiple customer accounts compromised. To date, the number of accounts compromised and customers affected has not been disclosed. Nevertheless, this has been considered a severe data breach because the data taken can be severely damaging to consumers who hold accounts at the institution.

The risk to related businesses because of this kind of breach is pretty massive. Banking customers place money in their accounts because they trust the institution will keep it secure. This kind of data breach with one of the world largest banks does not fare well in the minds of consumers; it only lessens their overall faith in banking systems as a whole. So far this year, financial institutions have taken a hard hit.

Other Data Breach News Around the Globe for November

Pakistan had an epic fail in November with hackers managing to get the account information of at least 8,000 banking customers. This data breach didn’t just affect one bank; it actually affected customers from ten different banks across the country. The stolen data has already shown up on the Dark Web as records for sale for prices between $100 to $160 per record. So far, the cybercrime division in Pakistan has found more than 11,000 records.

Noteworthy Data Breaches So Far in 2018

The new November 2018 data breaches are added to a growing list of breaches that have already occurred for the year. Facebook was perhaps one of the most publicized data breaches for the year. In April of 2018, at least 87 million records were breached, and it’s most probable that there were far more. Orbitz also had a considerable catastrophe when travel booking accounts were hacked, leaving something like 880,000 customers’ payment cards exposed.

Data Breaches in 2017

Numerous businesses in the past have had problems with data being compromised, especially in 2017. There were at least 16 data breaches for major retailers, according to Business Insider, including Macy’s and Adidas, to name a few. Sears even had a data breach in April that affected at least 100,000 customers who had their credit card information compromised. Restaurants were also hit with data breaches in 2017. Sonic and Panera Bread were two of the most noteworthy.

So far this year, the numbers of data breaches have exceeded those in 2017 by a long shot, which just shows how much of a risk data breaches are continuing to be in spite of considerable efforts to stop them. All business owners should amp up their security efforts and keep a close eye on data, so it is rightly protected.

How Managed IT Services can Improve Cyber Security

According to BusinessWire, 4.5 billion records were compromised during the first part of 2018. Every type of organization from healthcare to banking is susceptible to a security breach. Even small businesses are no longer immune from the threat of hackers or malware. Cybersecurity is a priority for nearly every organization and finding ways to reduce the risk can be both time consuming and costly. There are several ways a managed IT service can improve a company’s cybersecurity and lessen the chance of a significant breach.

Conduct Regular Assessments

An outsourced IT team can conduct an initial assessment to see where there are any weaknesses in the system. Until a professional evaluation is done, a company won’t know where their shortcomings may be. After the initial assessment, regular checks can be made to keep all computers and devices working as effectively as possible. Ongoing vulnerability scans will keep a company aware of their weak points and one step ahead of security threats.

Monitor and Secure Networks

Most businesses have a firewall to protect their networks. This is just a first step and isn’t enough to keep a company safe. To keep the networks as secure as possible ongoing monitoring is necessary. Keeping a network secure involves monitoring several specific aspects of a system.

• Malware Protection – An IT team can provide the most up-to-date software and security tools to reduce or eliminate malware.
• Endpoint Protection – This means that every access point on a network, including phones, tablets, and laptops, is kept secure.
• Real-Time Alerts – A managed IT service can give a business around the clock alerts regarding the health of their hardware and software.

Maintain Compliance

Keeping all data secure and meeting compliance standards is crucial when running a business. Staying compliant means following all government regulations as well as state and federal laws that specifically affect the company. An outside source will often have expertise regarding the many compliance issues that pertain to technology. Not staying compliant can often mean paying hefty fines. Many businesses have even faced bankruptcy when failing to abide by federal and state laws.

Provide Skilled Staff

Too many businesses rely on an IT person who is the “computer whiz” in the company. No matter how skilled this individual or group of individuals may be, they almost certainly won’t have the experience that an IT services company can bring to the table. A managed services team can provide technical expertise and high-quality support for any type of company that relies on computers and the internet to do business.

Provide Backup and Recovery Services

No matter how secure a system is, disasters do occur. Everything from power outages to computer crashes can mean lost data and potentially long periods of downtime. If a company happened to lose data due to a computer crash or a security breach, an outsourced IT team would have the expertise to recover all the lost data as quickly and efficiently as possible. Managed services can provide an offsite storage solution for all of a company’s data. Offsite cloud storage not only can improve security but is cost-effective and offers easy accessibility.

Constant Email Monitoring

The average employee receives hundreds of emails each week. A business that isn’t providing extensive scanning for all emails is putting itself at risk. A managed IT service can provide the sophisticated tools to adequately monitor emails. An experienced team of professionals can offer a company spam filtering, email encryption, and archiving.

Available 24/7

A computer system is vulnerable around the clock to hackers, viruses, and malware. To prevent a security breach a business needs a professional IT team that can monitor and protect their system without any downtime. Having 24-hour IT service also means the company can immediately contact a professional when anything suspicious occurs. Waiting for the IT person to come into work might mean the difference between solving a potential problem quickly and suffering a significant security breach.

A managed IT service can offer a company everything from malware protection and email monitoring to backup and recovery services. As breaches and data loss continue to be critical concerns for business leaders, professional IT providers can offer a company comprehensive service to improve cybersecurity.

You would never open a restaurant without investing in the proper insurance policies. Before you ever light the grill, you’d make sure that you had every bit of liability coverage you could imagine. Before hiring your first employee, you’d make sure that your policy would protect your business’s interests in the event of an injury or accident. You would never allow a customer to sit down and enjoy a meal without knowing that you were covered, should the worst happen.

Regardless of the type of industry that you are working in, the first step is always self-preservation. Before you take two steps forward with your business, you do what you need to ensure that you won’t have to take three giant steps back. Insurance and liability coverage is more than fundamental—it is the expectation. In many parts of the world, it is even mandated. But for some reason, this basic concept of protecting your business interests, as fundamental as it may be in other aspects of your corporate venture, isn’t nearly as standard when it comes to protecting digital interests.

Every company utilizes some level of digital software, whether it is for internal processing, staffing purposes, or financial purposes. While a restaurant may run based on the goods in the kitchen and the friendly service of the staff, the business itself is only able to operate when everything behind the scenes—from inventory management to payroll—is functioning correctly. A ransomware attack on any company can have drastic negative consequences. Take for example the recent experience of a prominent Canadian restaurant chain, who after suffering a ransomware attack experienced a partial network outage and had to actually close several locations until the issue was resolved.

Protecting your company from accidents that may happen day to day is important. But malware isn’t an accident—it is malicious and intentional, and it can happen to anyone. You will never realize that you are a target until it is too late, and if you aren’t careful, you could end up with the attacker gaining access to incredibly sensitive information about your finances and business plans.

It is time to make digital protection a fundamental aspect of protecting your company. A simple malware protection software can alert you if anything suspicious is downloaded onto your computer, and will act as the first line of defense in keeping dangerous software and viruses off of your hard drive and away from your personal information.

When the malware attack shut down the offices of more than half a dozen prominent restaurant chains in Canada, including Harvey’s, Swiss Chalet, and Montana’s, it led to significant disruptions in service and profit margins. Phone calls had to go unanswered, the doors had to remain locked, and employees were sent home without paychecks. This is a massive disruption and one that can be entirely prevented with minimal effort thanks to advanced ransomware protection services.

Don’t take any unnecessary risks with your corporate interests. Talk with an expert about the best malware protection services available that can help keep your restaurant’s doors open and your profit margins healthy.