Leader in unified communications helps businesses fight malware
ALBION, NEBR. – January 2019 – Applied Connective Technologies, a leader in unified communications, announced today that they have launched a ransomware awareness campaign. The purpose of the campaign is to quickly educate business owners in understanding one of the latest threats now facing small- to mid-sized businesses (SMBs). Ransomware is a specific variation of malware that is running rampant amongst hackers, and Applied Connective is doing its best to alert business owners of this new tactic. Applied Connective’s existing customers are very well protected against this type of threat, but many business owners may be unaware of the potential destruction this has on an organization.
While business owners have always understood the need to protect their businesses from malware, short for “malicious software,” ransomware is a new tactic that hackers are using to attack businesses in an especially aggressive way. Essentially, an employee will receive an email with a deceptive link with a call to action, such as “Click Here to See Resume” or “Download Report Now.” Upon clicking the link, a ransomware application will be installed immediately on the computer. Then, the software can remain hidden for several days until it is activated. At that moment, the ransomware application will hijack critical files, remove them from the network, and encrypt them so no other computers can access them. Then, hackers will send an email demanding payment for the release of the missing files.
“This is a serious and increasingly common problem that can have a devastating impact on an organization,” says Ed Knott, president of Applied Connective Technologies. “And many business owners don’t know how to defend against these types of attacks.
“We take great pride in protecting our customers from threats like this,” adds Knott. “The first line of defense is a technically educated staff. While the majority of these threats come in the form of suspicious email links, an educated staff can avoid these catastrophes simply through awareness. That’s one of the reasons we issued this press release. For business owners that see the value of peace of mind, we devise comprehensive solutions that thwart these types of attacks from every angle. We take a global approach that includes a combination of antivirus software, anti-malware software, strong firewalls, employee education, data backup, and network redundancy paired with targeted cyber security awareness training, which we offer to our clients. This training has proven to be imperative. We’ve seen measurable improvements in all clients who have enrolled.”
Applied Connective Technologies’ mission is to leave business owners in a more empowered position by serving as an educator of emergent technologies. “Our biggest aim with this campaign is to educate businesses now, instead of fielding frantic phone calls from them after they’re already in a difficult, immutable situation later,” concludes Knott. “Understanding how to defend against these cyber threats has saved our clients a lot of downtime, heartache, and money.”
