Digital threats: protect your business

Cybersecurity has become a top priority for many firms, and with good reason. With the increasing use of the Internet in business, law firms, professional firms and SMEs have become a popular target for cyber attacks.

According to a report of Statista , the average cost of a cyber attack in the United States is about $9.44 million. Although in the past large companies were the main victims of cyber attacks, today we see an increase in threats to small and medium-sized companies. This is because these companies often do not pay enough attention to cybersecurity.

Indeed, according to Forbes, 57% of entrepreneurs who own SMEs think they will never suffer cyber attacks, thus showing a higher sense of security than they should.

This unfortunately does not correspond to the truth, in fact according to a Ponemon Institute report , in 2019, 66% of SMEs experienced a cyber attack and 63% faced a data breach, more or less important.

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What are the effects of cyber attacks?

Cyber attacks can have devastating effects on SMEs. The main targets of attacks are often to obtain sensitive data, such as passwords, documents, and sensitive information, which are then resold or used to demand ransom.

SMEs often lack the resources and security systems to deal with these attacks and can suffer significant damage, including:

• Loss of sensitive data
• Interruption of services (blocked websites, blocked e-mail, server down, etc.).
• Ransom demands for PCs locked by viruses known as ransomware
• Ability to “steal” sensitive company and customer data and then sell it online

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How to protect yourself from cyber attacks?

To avoid cyber attacks and build a robust IT infrastructure, law firms, professional firms and SMEs must make cybersecurity a priority.

The first action is undoubtedly Carry out a vulnerability analysis of the computer system .

It can be carried out either by an in-house professional or by an external partner, such as we at Lanpartners that with over 20 years of experience in the field we help Law Firms, Professionals and SMEs stay safe from cyber attacks.

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Second, it is important to train staff on some basic skills related to cybersecurity, such as:

• Recognizing phishing emails (with dangerous links).
• Create, update and use secure passwords.
• Keep software and operating systems up to date.
• Use multi-factor authentication.

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In general, the company should consider such central aspects as:

• Having Disaster Recovery systems.
• Have next-generation firewalls.
• Have some antivirus and anti-malware software.
• Maintain external backups to avoid total data loss.
• Ensuring business continuity in the event of cyber attacks.
• Enable users to work from different locations or even in smart working, without making access to resources difficult, while maintaining high security standards.

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But the main action of a company that wants to improve cybersecurity is undoubtedly The use of a modern, cloud-based system.

A system that can encapsulate many of the tips mentioned above, that is easy to manage and allows the professional to focus on the things that really matter, on their work.

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Learn about Cisco Meraki: Networking, Cloud, Security

To solve most IT security issues, we at Lanpartners we propose the solution of Cisco Meraki .

Cisco Meraki Is both an innovative hardware and software suite , which makes it possible to create and manage even complex networks, thanks to the simplicity of the cloud.

Deploying networks with Meraki is simple, as cloud-based management allows all major factors to be kept in check.

In terms of security, it is undoubtedly one of the best performing platforms at the moment.

In fact, from Meraki you have complete control of users and applications, as well as corporate devices, with easy-to-configure access and modification policies.

the Built-in VPN is native for both macOS and Windows systems , a feature that makes it easier and more productive for professionals to use the device for them, without the hassle of connecting to the corporate network.

All this is guaranteed by the efficiency of Next-Generation's Meraki Firewall.

One of the most attractive aspects of Cisco Meraki is its scalability: if your SMB or professional firm has multiple locations, Meraki can easily manage this via the cloud, adding new users and locations easily, while still ensuring the same security performance.

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How to implement Security and Cloud solutions?

Lanpartners is the ideal partner for the Digital Transformation of Law Firms, Professionals and SMEs.

We help our customers on a daily basis to manage their infrastructure securely through the cloud and state-of-the-art systems such as those offered by Cisco Meraki.

-> Contact us to find out how we can support your business