Is It Safe to Use Cloud Services for Your Business?

The news right now is not pretty and, unless you’ve lived under a rock, you’ve heard all about it and asked the question: Is it safe to use cloud services for my business?

Over the past few months, companies such as Verizon, Bell Canada, Virgin America, universities such as Oxford, Cambridge, and NYU, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (or NOAA), have all seen attacks and information stolen by hackers. And it doesn’t stop there.

In May and June of this year, respectively, the governments, hospitals, and businesses of some countries were brought down by Wannacry and Petya ransomware. These institutions had to either pay the ransom to get decryption key to decipher their files, or lose everything and start over.

One of the bigger names in the news, HBO, was hacked at the end of July. While it wasn’t ransomware, the hackers are demanding HBO pay them $7.5 million to stop leaking sensitive information, such as upcoming Game of Throne episodes and, most recently, the personal phone numbers of the show’s stars. So again, while it’s not technically ransomware in that HBO’s files are encrypted for money, it is more of an extortion.

There’s a good chance you’re sitting at your desk while reading this, thinking now is absolutely not the time to move your company into the direction of cloud services. While it’s true the news hasn’t been good lately, it’s important to separate a few things, as cloud services can’t be thrown into one big pile along with other things that have been hacked. In short, it is safe to use cloud services.

Should This Cause Concern for Businesses?

The problem with these hackers – and to an even bigger extent, the victims – is that as long as money can be made off of these attacks, they will always be there. And there is money to be had.

In the case of ransomware attacks, most companies will pay the ransom to get access to their files. This is usually because the ransom isn’t an outlandish figure for most of these companies, and starting over from scratch would end up costing them a lot more in the long run. So, they give the hackers the demanded sum of bitcoin, the preferred untraceable, cryptocurrency for hackers, in return for the decryption key.

Because these payments continue to happen, hackers know they can continue to push the envelope, sending out more and more attacks in an attempt to collect money. Once businesses stop paying these hackers – or they protect themselves so hackers can’t get access to their files – these attacks will stop.

“I Own a Small Business, So It’ll Never Happen to Me”

This statement is a total fallacy. While there are hackers who focus primarily on big-name targets, such as HBO, Verizon, and the like, a majority of hackers are still the ones sitting behind a computer who use automated attacks to spend out malware to businesses both big and small.

These attacks are not specifically directed – anyone can be a target. They’re simply trying to attack and get any information. It’s completely indiscriminate, because any information they can get can then be turned around and used for a more targeted attack.

If a hacker decided to send out a massive attack throughout all of Frederick – big business, small business, everybody – and they can get ahold of information out of someone’s email account that allows them then to attack a specific target, that’s a success to them. It’s a numbers game.

Basically, everyone’s data is at risk because the hackers do not care about the data they get. In their eyes, it doesn’t matter if it’s just personal information or a bunch of emails, anything they can get is leverage they can use for another attack.

While you might think your company is safe because you’re not hosting medical or financial information, you are still hosting potentially what might seem mundane but valuable information for hackers, such as personnel information and information about your customers.

Relax, It’s Not as Bleak as it Seems

While there is no absolute, full-proof way to prevent hackers from attacking and sometimes even penetrating your company’s defenses, you don’t have to worry if it’s safe to use cloud services.

Cloud services are a great way to help your company save time, save space, and even save money. Since it’s cheaper to increase the storage of a server if it’s in the cloud, backups of your files become easier to manage and easier to use if something happens.

By choosing the right team of professionals who specialize in all aspects of making sure it’s safe to use cloud services, you can ease your fear of a cloud network.

Swift Systems is the premier choice when it comes to cloud services for your business. We’ve helped companies throughout Maryland, just like yours, not only set up cloud storage, but also maintain and protect it.

At Swift Systems, we read the news, just like you, and we know about all of these attacks. Sadly, these are just the ones the media reports on. Every day, businesses all over the world, large and small, are hit with attacks. The difference, though, is what you have set up to protect your company from these attacks.

We’re prepared for these attacks. At Swift Systems, we know hackers will try all kinds of things to get into your network, but the more walls of protection surrounding your information, the less likely they’ll be able to get in.

The Protection You Need for Success

Swift Systems has a partnership with industry leaders and experts, such as Sophos, to protect your company. We use state-of-the-art firewall protection and advanced antivirus and anti-malware programs. When it comes to ransomware, we use Sophos’s Intercept X, one of the absolute best programs to protect against the threat of ransomware.

Remember, though, sometimes hackers might get lucky and are able to penetrate all of these protections. Don’t worry. That’s why we can encrypt all of your data, so you can access your sensitive information, but it would basically be scrambled garbage to anyone who steals it.

Finally, in the event of a worse-case scenario, if somehow the hackers manage to get through ALL of those layers of protection and install viruses or even ransomware, Swift Systems still has you covered by having storage backups of your data so we can restore your company’s information.

It is Safe to Use Cloud Services

Again, with the right team protecting your company, you have nothing to worry about – it is safe to use cloud services. For the best protection and the best service you can find in Maryland, call Swift Systems.

We’ve been a staple in Maryland business for almost two decades, so we know and care about our neighbors. We work with you at all times to make sure your company has what it needs to succeed. Contact us today or give us a call at 301-682-5100 to find out just how Swift Systems can help your business with cloud services.

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