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Innovation Update: Rebound Strategy after Ransomware Attack
January 20, 2020
BLACKbox ruthlessly disrupting File Severs / NAS Boxes
February 3, 2020Walk the Talk: Honest feedback from an Entrepreneur
It does not happen frequently, but when it happens, I sincerely get back to work.
Such was an honest feedback by a reader of my Blog which I wrote with a title, 5 Serious Challenges for SMEs in 2020.
She wrote back, “Keep talking about problems and they will only increase, why don’ t you suggest the solutions”. That sounds so constructive, but… but… but…
My content team wants me to use this platform for knowledge sharing. They fear, if we start giving solutions, readers will take it as marketing mails and may not take me seriously. But this feedback inverts their perception and I may suggest solutions for those same problems.
Yeah, here is the same blog plus the solutions. Do give me your feedback, Ms. Constructive Curious…
For my reader’s information, I am compiling 5 points, this time with suggested solutions, which will change the way you operate you enterprise, in year 2020.
Privacy, Privacy, and Privacy
Challenge 1
We, Indians, are very social people. Even if we mind it, we receive calls and messages for credit cards, personal loan, life insurance, share trading accounts, dating network, shabby SPAs and what not. Our contact details are taken as public property and you witness mockery of DND directory. This is going to drastically change in 2020 just like EU and Western World post GDPR. With Data Privacy Law to be proposed in this year, DND will have all the teeth and claws. Enterprises in the business of Automobile Dealership, Insurance Companies, Banks, Hospitals, Pathology Laboratories, Share Brokers, Demat Participants, Charter Accountant Firms, Airlines, Hotels, Schools, Colleges, and many such will be subject to investing in the systems and practices to protect their consumer / customer / client’s data they are handling for rendering their services. There will be stringent provisions to penalize any leakage of the data entrusted to these enterprises leading to privacy breach.
Solution
You need to lock all your back-doors and front-doors, you need to plug the smallest holes on mobile phones, tablets, laptops, desktops, and servers literally. VPN, Intelligent USB, BCC Intercept, Email Vigilance, Data Isolation during Internet Session are modern solutions. Antivirus and Firewall are not enough. Please check following videos for your own understanding.
Ransomware
Challenge 2
This is going to be synonymous to digital terrorism. We have just seen the trailers in last 3 years. With increased use of mobiles, laptops which are mostly out of your Firewall purview, this is going to be prevalent beyond imagination. Enterprises will be caught sleeping, if they think that they have Firewall / Antivirus to prevent Ransomware. They will be at irreversible losses if they have not provided for the rebound strategies if they are affected by Ransomware. Firewall and Antivirus will not be enough. They will be ducked frequently by new generation Ransomware. Enterprises will have to work on Rebound Strategies to get them going in minimal time after being affected by Ransomware.
Solution
Bitlocking and dynamic transit of data between bitlocked and unbitlocked data based on its usage coupled with time-machine technologies can only enable enterprise to rebound after the Ransomware Attack without losing business continuity. Only the attack prevention strategy is not enough, you need a plan B in form of solid rebound strategy. Please check these videos for your own understanding.
Liabilities arising from Acts of Employees of the Company
Challenge 3
Data will be the new crude. It will have tremendous competitive value and necessarily accessible at the fingertips of employees’ laptops, mobiles and desktops. Its already started with Tesla, Amazon, Google, Uber who have fired many employees for conspiring Data Leakage and Theft. We, the SMEs are not so resourceful as these giants are. Our data in the form of Designs, Drawings, Documents, Cost Sheets, ERP Data, Tenders, Customer Data, NDA bound Information and whatever you can think of. You cannot naturally and practically monitor every act of data ex-filtration. In my opinion, to deal with such serious matter, SMEs will have to focus on control rather than monitoring. SMEs will have to invest in systems which can devise controls on majority of employees and can monitor minority of employees who cannot be subjected to controls due to their position, work requirements, and seniority. Maximum Controls and Minimum Monitoring will be the new mantra to prevent data theft and leakage. It will protect enterprise from competitive exploitation (due to data leakage to competitors), minimize liabilities (due to NDA breach or privacy breach) and transfer liabilities on the doer by strong evidence creation capabilities.
Solution
You need to take liability insurance and keep your systems strong enough to be able to provide evidence in case breach is done by your own employee. The premium you pay for these liability cover will depend on how strong Data Leakage and Theft Prevention Systems you have implemented in your enterprise. Check this video for your own understanding.
Provisions of Disaster Response
Challenge 4
Most SMEs are happy having 2 hard disks inside the server, one for use and one for backup. This will have to change. Ransomware / Calamities / Disaster / Hardware Failure are the situation which can lead to irrecoverable loss of data. We will have to go level next by compressing, encrypting and transferring our data out of premise daily. The same holds true for Laptops which carries invaluable digital assets of the company.
Solution
You need to have an off premise infrastructure to keep your data on your laptops, servers, and desktops. It must be encrypted and compressed. Check this video for your own understanding.
Licensing Compliance
Challenge 5
Indian legal system has started recognizing CopyRight violation as a very serious crime and demonstrated zero tolerance off late recently. Piracy of software which was so easy in India is not extremely difficult and punitive measures are good enough to stop the business in no time. SMEs will have to avoid using pirated software. Many a times SMEs use pirated software even if they don’t need them, just because they are cheap. There will be all new world of alternative systems to be adopted to run your business instead of using pirated software.
Solution
If you are less than 100 users, you really do not need Windows Server Licenses, CALs, Office Licenses, Outlook Licenses, Pro OS licenses. They can be replaced without any trouble and you go lean and confident. Check this…
Windows 2016 Server License >> BLACKbox File Server is a domain controller and capable file server which is 100% compatible with Windows users
CALs >> As you don’t have server license, you don’t need it
Office Licenses >> Most of users do not use ultra-advance features of word and excel. Check what we bundle with BLACKbox, it is the best compatible document and spreadsheet software without an inch of learning curve for your users and an millimeter of compatibility difference with MS office users.
Outlook Licenses >> Our innovative G-Suite solution saves 70% email expense cost
Pro OS Licenses >> You can use single language as BLACKbox maintains your network in a workgroup (peer to peer), but gives most features of domain environment.
Best Regards,
Vishal Shah
Founder and CEO,
Synersoft Technologies Pvt Ltd
