Are your curious to know how Nordic IT have chosen to handle the increasing cyber threat? Follow Service Manager, Casper Thalund, behind the scenes of Nordic IT and hear what he has to say about security, how he personally handles the issue and how Nordic IT both internally and externally works hard to keep the companies’ data as safe as possible.In the last couple of years cyber-attacks have increased significantly. What do you see as the biggest threat regarding data security today?

In my opinion, the biggest threat is the employees. When people are having a busy or hectic day, all it takes is for one unaware employee to click on one wrong email and suddenly the entire business is in danger. Basically, I think it is all about educating the employees. A company can have installed the best security software, but as long as the employees do not learn how to take security seriously, the security software is no good.  Employees have to learn how to act in a more appropriate way and reconsider their actions, because threats can hide in many places. An example could be when people gladly borrow each other’s USB connectors and do not think of the vulnerable situation, they are putting themselves in. You never know what kind of hateful files people have located on their computers or telephones and in no time a virus can spread.

Related: Employees: The real cyber threat.

You say the biggest threat is the employees – As an employee yourself, which precautions do you take to keep data secure?

As Service Manager of an IT company I have learned to be extremely aware of my surroundings. In fact, being a little paranoid has always been a workable defence mechanism towards not falling into cyber-attackers’ vicious tricks. Especially, in many situations when operating online, it is important for me to stay on my toes making sure to take an extra look at who or what I am dealing with. And most important, I make sure not to hand over important information without thinking twice.

How is your approach towards data security reflected in Nordic IT’s approach against cyber-attacks?

At Nordic IT, we take data security extremely serious and to prevent any data breaches from happening we have, beside informing our employees, developed specific security guidelines. First of all, we keep ourselves updated on the issue and keep track on the latest security trends. We also make sure, we have antivirus installed on every single server, computer and laptop and create encrypted passwords with different tiered access. In some periods, when threatning emails are increasing, we block certain file types with the help from our security system to secure our employees from clicking on any threatning emails or links.

How does Nordic IT help customers handle the increasing cyber threat?

We provide all of our MARK5 and IT Management costumers advice and guidance on how to behave when sending and receiving emails. This involves us showing and teaching customers how to detect threatening pitfalls, including how to handle different types of files, when an email look too suspicious to open and just in general: what they should be aware of. We also teach customers to create emails, so they look secure and are not seen upon as spam. Instead we create a more secure exchange of data and information between co-workers and business partners. Furthermore, for IT Management customers we are always just a phone call or an email away when clients need us: We believe it is always better to ask too many questions rather than clicking on the wrong link.

Besides giving customers advice on how to keep data safe, are there any other safety measures Nordic IT provides and recommends customers?

Yes. We provide customers with a handful of different security solutions, that will help their data staying as safe as possible:

Backup of data:
We offer a cloud based backup solution in cooperation with our partner, Backup112. The backup system makes sure to upload data every night. This gives customers the opportunity to always have their data stored externally in case of a security breach, where data is stolen or encrypted.

Antivirus:
We also provide an antivirus solution through our partner Eset. This provides customers with antivirus on every device. We make sure to shift provider depending on who is the best on the market in the current period.

Anti-spam:
In addition, we can offer an anti-spam solution from Comendo, which makes sure that spam is kept away from the employees’ mailbox.

Hosting:
When it comes to servers, we provide customers with a server solution, where companies’ servers are hosted by Nordic IT. This is a highly secure solution, which means that all the data is localised in an isolated environment. So if you, by mistake, click on something you should not, it will not spread. Of course it is still important to be aware of hateful content, but if something should be attached anyway at least the rest of the company will not be exposed. In addition, backup of data will be done ongoing and the system will be monitored as well as provided with an antivirus and anti-spam solution.

How do you see the future within data security in Nordic IT?

We will most definitely keep focusing on securing data, keep our customers safe and teach them how to behave around data. Next step will be to optimise the security restrictions within MARK5 and make sure to develop safer login as well as secure the way customers load emails. We are in constant dialog with our development team and awaits further progress. When that is said, it is important to stay realistic and remember that we will never be able to stay in front of the issue of the increasing data breach. But we can be right behind the cyber-attackers and stay informed and ready to guard ourselves with common logic, the latest security software and patches.

Do you have any last security advices customers can use?

It is important to think twice instead of just clicking on a suspicious email or giving out important information. Always be more precautious, instead of thinking that everything is fine and safe, because it is not. One of the most important things you can do, beside being aware, is to keep updating your computer – if you are reminded to update your computer, do it as quickly as possible, so your programs will stay safe.

Related: 5 ways to keep your data safe.