We’ve got it! We’ve got the key, we’ve got the secret!!! (High five if you sang that too)

 

Ok, we’ll level up with you here. As IT professionals, we’ve seen things, things that would horrify you, things that would bring you nightmares, things that you would never ever wish to encounter in your own business… 

 

We’re talking security breaches, data theft and file corruption. It only takes one click by a team member on a bad link before your whole world comes crashing down around you – and that’s something NOBODY wants to deal with. 

 

So, what’s this top secret behind keeping your data as secure as possible? 

 

Other than ensuring you have a top notch IT service provider team on hand (oh, hi there!), we also recommend that every business should invest in cyber security training for their team annually. 

 

Yep, everyone should take part in data secure training every year from entry level to CEO because a strong cyber security culture is one of the best ways to keep your business safe from the increasingly sophisticated threats out there. After all, the hackers don’t rest so neither should you. 

 

Do you know the lingo?

 

The hackers are ALWAYS trying something new, but here’s a few key terms of what they can get up to given half a chance:

 

Crypto locking: When they access your data and then lock you out of the access 

 

Spear fishing:  Instead of phishing, which is aimed at anyone, this is targeted at specific individuals. Typically the attacker has spent time learning a lot of information about you (your name, role, company information, etc). And then uses this to their advantage.

 

Whaling: Also known as CEO fraud, this is when the hackers target the person at the top of the company, the one with the most sensitive data. Whaling attacks are often planned for a long period of time. And when they work, give huge financial gain to the cyber criminals. 

 

Pharming: When you’re asked to take an action on what looks like a familiar website. Except if you look very carefully, the website address is slightly different to normal. It’s a scam site, and any information you enter will go to the criminals. There is a scarier version of pharming where the criminals manage to divert traffic going to the real website. These are really hard to detect. But often there are tiny little clues that give the fake sites away, if you know what to look for.

 

Spoofing:  the term for when you receive an email pretending to be from someone you know – such as your accounts department. And it’s asking you to go to a link to reconfirm your details. This type of scam is often used to download malware or ransomware rather than to steal your credentials. 

 

Smishing: Phishing with text messages (SMS)

 

Vishing:  Phishing on the phone, or voice phishing. You receive a phone call from a blocked or unusual number. The caller will pretend to be from somewhere familiar and ask you to carry out actions, or make a payment. 

 

Want to stay safe, secure and hacker-free? Yep, get in touch here and we’ll get onto this for you stat!

We know what you’re thinking; you’re thinking, where can I find everything I need to know about backing up Office 365… are we right? Thought so! Luckily, we had the same idea so we put everything down in one place for you right here…

 

As a platform, Office 365 is super secure BUT it’s crucial that you’re aware that your data is NOT backed up as it should be. There’s no trawling through your recycle bins here, with only a 30 day retention period, once it’s gone, it’s gone, zilch, nada, eliminated forever. 

 

Well that’s not cool right? 

 

It’s up to YOU, the user, to safeguard your data on office 365, particularly as Microsoft cannot be held accountable for protection and data retention – which can lead to some pretty serious problems later down the line. What would happen if you lost it all, your spreadsheets, your word docs, your emails, your diary? Exactly, you need to back it up and quick!

How can I back up my Office 365?

It’s actually pretty straightforward once you get onto it – there’s a ton of solutions available and your talented IT service provider (who, us?) can advise on the best way forward for you and your business data.

The Office 365 solutions are also pretty darn flexible which means you can keep your data for as long as you like, plus you can tailor it to ensure you meet the compliance needs of your business, including GDPR.

They’re also easily scalable so it can grow with your business as it expands. You can restore info directly to the form required such as an Office 365 mailbox, an email attachment or a PST file. 

 

Great! So, how quickly can I install the Office 365 backup procedure?

The good news here is that it takes barely any time at all meaning there’ll minimal disruption to your day and your business once you’ve set it going. 

 

What does the Office 365 backup mean for my data safeguarding? 

All of your data on the platform will be safe and secure, plus a number of the solutions available also support Exchange Online, SharePoint Online and OneDrive for Business too. 

 

So, I need to recover data, how easy is that to do?

Very! You can find and restore specific data sets, plus on some of the solutions available you can enable quick search and item recovery including mailboxes, folders, messages and tasks in existing or archived – there when you need it! 

 

How often should I back it up?

We always advise backing up your data on the regular. They run in the background and have no impact whatsoever on how you use the Office 365 platform.

Most of the available backup solutions are done automatically which means you can cross that one off your to-do list!

 

So now that’s all your questions answered, we can give you a hand in finding the very best Office 365 backup solution for you! Simply drop us a line or give us a call here and we’ll get straight onto that for you.