Calgary may seem like a world away from Ukraine and all that is happening there. However, the largest Ukrainian population outside Ukraine lives in Canada, with roughly 345,000 Ukrainians residing in Alberta (CTV News). They are our friends and neighbours. But the threat from Russia extends beyond Ukraine, as there is credible evidence that cyberattacks are likely – on infrastructure, financial systems, and communications. We urge our clients and all Canadian organizations to take the following measures in anticipation of potential increased threats:
Update Your Disaster Recovery Plan
Review your disaster recovery plan and ensure that you have isolated, offsite backups of your critical information. DRaaS is a fundamental way to protect your organization and mitigate any damage that may result from a successful cyberattack.
Employee Awareness
Communicate with your employees. Remind them about the risks of clicking on links or open attachments in emails without first verifying the sender. They must never trust an email, even if it seems to come from a reliable source. Make sure employees on your network (including remote employees) have the most sophisticated firewall, malware, and antivirus software possible installed and running on their systems.
Work Closely with Your MSP
If you are concerned about threats to your business, contact your MSP to discuss your current services and to examine your vulnerabilities. If you do not yet work with an MSP, contact The ITeam for an assessment.
Supply Chain
This is also an important time to analyze your supply chain and make sure that you are prepared for any potential disruptions. Ensure that your vendors are taking cybersecurity as seriously as you are.
MFA
Finally, if you’re not using multifactor authentication and password management for network access, implement them both immediately.
At The ITeam, we’re remaining vigilant. Don’t hesitate to get in touch if you’re concerned about the security of your IT infrastructure.
Personally, we’d like to extend our thoughts to the people of Ukraine, both there and here in Canada. We stand with you.