Before We All Go Back To Our Offices

Who isn’t excited for all the restrictions to be finally lifted?! Certainly not I. I am, very much, looking forward to going back to the times when businesses go back to be oprated from offices and we are all free to visit each client when we are in the neighborhood. I miss them all and can’t wait to see them, finally, in person! Having said that, I am fully aware that some business practices have changed permanently from the way they were before the pandemic. Some of our clients have found more efficient ways to conduct their professional activities and will continue to proceed without much change. For those of you, who are going back to your offices there are, however, a few things to take care of before July 1st (this is the date when restrictions are supposed to lift in Alberta).

Whether your employees use their personal computers or company ones, while working from home, you should make sure that all of their MS security patches and antivirus updates were kept up to date. If you are one of those lucky ones that take advantage of system monitoring services (such as our RPM program), the security patches as well as antivirus updates, should have been taken care of by your service provider (it never hurts to make sure of that, though). If not, I’d recommend taking time to ensure it is taken care of. That way your company has better protection from potential cyber security breach.

If you have not been using your office for a while, I’d recommend taking time to check your internal network. Making sure all is working as it should be, will prevent any delays in resuming your day-to-day operations and a smooth transition to our new “new reality” – working from the office! ;D

Audit your internal policies. Refresh your current employee’s memory, make sure your new ones know them well. Go over all the personnel changes during the last couple of years and make sure all the permissions and access to company data (e-mail/files etc.) have been properly removed. I know, I know – it should have been taken care of already, but our unusual times may have caused mistakes and omissions. It never hurts to be cautious.

And remember, whether in doubt always keep in mind the 5 cyber security practices (for more information see my previous post about it) that all security minded businesses fallow:

1. Understand your cybersecurity status (once every year do an audit)
2. Train yourself and your employees on prevention and detection (educate all your employees on phishing skims, internet safety etc.)
3. Make sure your data is backed up using a proper, managed backup solution
4. Run your security updates consistently (antivirus / MS security updates) and
5. Apply password security protocols, that will prevent an easy security breach

When you are unsure of what and how to take care of these issues, or simply are too busy to look after them yourself let us know. At MiKSMedia we offer free consultations to help take care of your company IT needs. We can check your network status and provide you with solutions, should there be an issue. We can help you educate your employees in online safety and make sure your security patches and antivirus are applied and updated as well as help you find and deploy proper password management solution as well as other security measures! We can help you chose a backup solution that meets your needs and look after your computer problems, should they appear. So, don’t hesitate! Call us today!

Everyone does IT, we make IT simple!!