Byte-Size Tech: 360 Audits Provide an Unbiased Look into Your Cybersecurity Infrastructure

Transcript

Libby Powers: Hey there, my name is Libby Powers with Anderson Technologies. I have the privilege to be here with one of the founding principals of Anderson Technologies, Amy Anderson. I really appreciate you having this conversation with me today.

Amy Anderson: Yeah, I think it’s gonna be fun.

Libby Powers: Something that I’ve learned over the course of the several months that I’ve been here is that typically clients come to us because they’re bothered by something. Either they can’t figure out how to work their Zoom, or their internet keeps going out, or their kids spilled orange juice on the computer, and now they can’t get any information back.

And we’re happy to help. Typically, we go in and we do an unbiased 360 IT infrastructure and security audit. And it just baffles me how these business owners are just blindsided by some of the issues that they’re having to face?

Amy Anderson: Well, I think it’s a really valuable tool for business owners because they can see quickly their whole IT infrastructure, and where the gaps are, where their strengths are. Libby’s right, I mean, there’s always a reason, some frustration…it just tips you over the edge. And that’s when we get the call for help.

But when we go in and do a really thorough and unbiased security and infrastructure audit, and you’re able to see the whole picture, then that’s where sometimes, the surprises come.

For example, more than one business, we’ve gone into thought they had a hardware firewall, and they didn’t have one, they thought the Charter box or AT&T box was the firewall. A firewall is the front door to your business. It’s your first line of defense, when all the traffic comes into your network, that is what determines who we let in and who we don’t. That’s really one of your most important things.

The other thing is backups. Backups are critical. And oftentimes, backups were set, they were all put on their rotation and managed. But then they looked away, and everyone assumes they’re just going, no one’s checking them. We have found many businesses—again, these are reputable firms, very successful—and their backups haven’t been working for a year, or sometimes two years.

There’s some pretty serious things, and I think it’s really valuable to get a third party to just do an infrastructure audit, because sometimes you can’t see what’s right there.

Libby Powers: You know, you as a business owner, you want to focus on what makes you money. A perfect example: Amy is a business owner for a managed IT firm, but she knows that she needs help with marketing, so she outsources her marketing. And she outsources her CFO because she knows she can’t be an industry expert in everything.

Having a managed IT firm is going to be your industry expert. It’s going to provide you with that enterprise-level support that a large organization would get, but for your small business, and at an actual manageable cost and not having to pay for something after it’s broken and trying to fix it.

Amy Anderson: It doesn’t matter where you go. Just be proactive. Make sure you’re managing your IT because the threats are real out there today.

Libby Powers: Something that Amy mentioned to me was when they started the managed IT services arm of their organization about five years ago–

Amy Anderson: We got serious about it then.

Libby Powers: –she never imagined the amount of data that people would be storing on their computers and not securing them. You know, it’s like putting money into a safety deposit box and throwing the key off to a thief. It’s really important that we do protect this kind of stuff.

Well, I appreciate you joining me today. I look forward to having more conversations with you.

Amy Anderson: I love it. Have a good day.