Our newest client came to us after she had purchased an existing business, an independent and owner-operated insurance agency. The agency was well established, having been in business for more than 30 years. A “deliberately” small agency, they pride themselves on bringing a unique level of experience, expertise and personal involvement to their clients.
With a proven business concept and processes already in place, the new owner set about examining key areas of the operational structure to uncover any weaknesses that could impede success. That’s where IT Radix came in.
Having a backup plan for company data is critical to preventing a disaster!
We performed a network assessment that revealed a host of areas in which they were vulnerable: there was no firewall in place, no anti-virus installed or evidence of backup on their servers, failed hard drives on both servers, and no system in place to require users to periodically change passwords. In addition, the servers were 12 months behind in security patches.
Our recommendations included the installation of:
- A new server with anti-virus in place
- Secure wireless along with Guest Wi-Fi
- A business-class hardware firewall for their networks
We also advised that we review patch status and plan a patching strategy, and that they implement a stricter password policy to further improve security.
Finally, of a less urgent nature but critical to user productivity, we asked that they consider IT Radix consulting to plan efficiency improvements in leveraging Office 365 tools.
The business costs of a data breach for small-business owners can be catastrophic but forewarned is forearmed. Our client can rest easy knowing that she has the tools in place to protect her business and her clients from data disasters.
