Protecting Your Company Against Ransomware

wpengine — Sat, 14 May 2022 18:18:59 +0000

Cybersecurity is a concern for many businesses, and most companies are directing more time, effort, and money into ensuring that their digital presence and files are secure. Many businesses approach this as a way to protect their customer information, proprietary product information, and company communications. Still, it’s also incredibly important for HR departments, as these groups house sensitive employee information, like direct deposit bank account numbers, addresses, and social security numbers. That’s why HR leaders and small business owners alike are taking cybersecurity more seriously and creating more processes to protect against ransomware.

What is ransomware?

According to CSO Online, “Ransomware is a form of malware that encrypts a victim’s files. The attacker then demands a ransom from the victim to restore access to the data upon payment.” It’s common for hackers to target businesses across all industries, though financial and healthcare organizations are targeted frequently, probably due to the nature of their business and the information they collect and house regularly. Luckily, many businesses have seen a decline in these kinds of attacks in recent years, but they do still pose a significant threat to organizations if deployed against them.

How can businesses protect themselves against ransomware?

There are a few simple steps that businesses everywhere can enact to help protect yourself against ransomware threats.

Pay attention to your networks and operating systems. Are they up to date, with all the latest updates installed? This will ensure there are fewer vulnerabilities to exploit.
Restrict downloads and use administrators to oversee installs. Employees can unwittingly download malicious software and businesses can save themselves time and money by ensuring that professional IT administrators are the ones who authorize access to the necessary software and files.
Install antivirus software. This is a simple step that can help detect malicious programs like ransomware as they arrive and prevent unauthorized applications from executing in the first place.
Back up your data and files frequently and automatically. While this won’t stop malware attacks, it can help impede the damage and prevent the complete loss of crucial data and information.
Educate your employees. Make sure employees know not to open suspicious emails or download any files that could be damaging. Teaching your employees how to recognize malicious communications can make your business safer.
Hire the best IT professionals. The administration and education necessary to prevent damaging ransomware attacks are conducted by your IT or IS teams. Make sure you’re staffed with the brightest people who are up for the challenge and will monitor trends as they develop to help protect your business going forward.

Hire the right IT experts

If you’re looking for the best IT professionals for your business, our expert team can help. Get in touch today to find the most qualified candidates to help keep your business safe.

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5 Bad Hiring Habits That Will Burn You

wpengine — Thu, 30 Apr 2020 20:06:07 +0000

Hiring is a time-consuming, often expensive process. It’s essential to not throw away your time or resources on hiring practices that don’t work or, even worse, drive candidates away. Here are the key bad habits to avoid and ensure you can attract and retain the best talent.

The Top 5 Hiring Habits to Avoid

Taking too long: You don’t want to rush hiring, but you also don’t want to take too long to bring new team members on board. Many companies have lost excellent candidates due to lengthy gaps in communication. It’s important to connect with your candidates regularly throughout the process to make sure you don’t lose candidates to other companies that are hiring.
Focusing on only one area: You want to ensure that your candidates have the qualifications for the position and what skills are considered essential will vary by the job. But one area mustn’t be considered disproportionately. Even if your candidate is a rockstar in one qualification, make sure you know they have the experience in all the areas that matter. A willingness and desire to learn is important in any candidate, but you don’t want your new employees to struggle or fail during the first months on the job because their skillsets are imbalanced.
Not hiring for cultural fit: Experience, education, and skills are hugely important, but the most important thing to consider with applicants is if their personality fits your team. Do their values mirror what your company wants to present to the world? Will they get along with your established teams? Don’t forget that criteria when conducting interviews and considering candidates.
Not personalizing communications: No one wants to receive a form fill template to tell them they’re moving on in an interview or that they’re not longer being considered. You’ll connect with more candidates if hiring managers are able to personalize their communications with applicants before and after interviews.
Not including a pay range in your job posting: Some companies worry that by including a pay range, they’ll alienate certain candidates and attract those that are underqualified. The truth is that you can end up wasting a lot of valuable time going through applications of people who have a very different acceptable salary in mind. Getting through the interview process with candidates only to find out that they won’t be able to accept an offer due to salary is frustrating. You can save your business, your HR teams, and your candidates a lot of time and effort by listing your salary range with your job listing.

Ready to staff up?

If you need help finding and hiring the right candidates for your open positions, give us a call today. Our expert team can help you get connected with the best talent today.

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