Has anyone ever tried to buy insurance after the accident? How did that work out?

At M3 Networks, we stick to the world of information technology, and we stay away from politics—like the plague! 

But when global geopolitical confrontations heat up and create potential problems in the world of cyber security, we take decisive action on behalf of our clients.

At M3 Networks, we don’t mince words. So let’s cut to the chase.

Given the current military situation between Russia and Ukraine, is there an increased risk of cyberattacks on U.S. businesses? We looked to the pundits over at Fortune Magazine for some answers. Here’s what they had to say:

Russia is home to some of the world’s most infamous criminal hackers, some of them state-sponsored, so will wider cyberattacks follow the real-world invasion? And could they hit the West?

“I think the risk right now is high and rising,” said Derek Vadala, chief risk officer at the U.S. cyber risk ratings firm BitSight, who warned that Western companies should ensure their systems are patched against known vulnerabilities. “Everyone is on a heightened state of preparedness right now.”

That’s an excellent summation. The U.S. cyber intelligence community has also recently cautioned about the high probability of Russian cyber threats encroaching onto U.S. networks, as noted in a recent article at Harvard Business Review.

So what should business owners and executives do to keep their business’s digital and financial assets safe from cyber threats? 

Businesses need to maintain a strong security posture regardless of what’s happening in the world of geopolitics. Still, the current situation is a sobering wake-up call to businesses of all sizes and scopes. Here’s what you should be doing about your Cyber RISK position:

• Assess your current IT infrastructure, digital assets, and network for cyber security vulnerabilities. 

• Audit your cyber liability policy immediately. Insurance carriers are adding language to these policies that limit protection for YOU “in times of war.”

• Identify your potential risk profile based on your business—regulatory requirements, applicable compliance frameworks, sensitive nature of business information, etc. 

• Audit your risk profile in the context of potential cyber insurance and threat management costs. Insurance carriers have added “gross negligence” language to your policy for not getting a 3rd party audit every 90 days.

• Design an affordable remediation plan to assertively protect your networks and data from cyberattacks on an ongoing basis   

Your business is potentially vulnerable to numerous cyber threats, including:

• Ransomware

• Phishing, Spear Phishing, Social Engineering 

• Malware And Spyware

• Man in the Middle Intercepts

Our goal is to stop cyber security threats dead in their tracks. To that end, we’ve developed a comprehensive, multi-pronged approach to cyber security through our comprehensive cyber security risk review. These are the foundational elements of our business information and asset protection strategy: 

• Secured Data, Networks, And System Access Controls

• User Education On Common Threats

• Email And Message Scanning, Control, And Intrusion Detection     

• Malware, Spyware And Virus—Identification And Protection  

• Backups, Data Protection, And Business Continuance Best Practice Implementations

We’re not running in the streets shouting, “The Russians are coming, the Russians are coming!” 

At least not yet, anyway! But we strongly agree with the great science-fiction novelist Stephen King who famously said, “There’s no harm in hoping for the best as long as you’re prepared for the worst.”

It’s never a bad time to evaluate your potential business risk. We can help you evaluate your critical digital business assets, information, and networks in the context of potential cyber security vulnerabilities.   

Is it time for some peace of mind? 

At M3 Networks, we’ve built a different type of IT company. We are meticulous about superb customer service, guaranteed quick response times, transparent communications, purpose-built, fixed-cost managed services, and honest billing. 

M3 is a company that thrives on sustainable, continuous investment in our team, our capabilities, and our expertise. That means hiring and retaining the best-of-the-best engineering talent and maintaining the highest levels of expertise with the latest-greatest technologies.   

We treat our clients and our employees with the highest levels of integrity, respect, and transparency. We’re built on a no-surprises mentality. Our clients pre-approve all services and charges, so there are never any billing surprises. 

We also understand how painful and disruptive technology downtimes can be. So we provide prompt remote network-based support, or if necessary, we’ll dispatch a technician to your site the same business day. Our highly skilled technicians are all U.S. based. 

At M3 Networks, we don’t just make promises, we guarantee them.

Want to start growing your business again and start leveraging your IT? Feel free to call us at (866) 924-3470 or schedule an intro meeting today! 

Here to serve,

Michael D. Moore

Founder & CEO

M3 Networks

[email protected]