Albany IT Sees Security Risks for Businesses on Facebook
Wednesday, July 6th, 2011
Many small businesses have discovered the marketing power of Facebook, where it’s possible to gather “friends” or potential customers by the hundreds for practically no cost. Justin Holton, owner of Albany IT, warns that small businesses with a presence on Facebook are exposed to a number of security threats, including identity theft.
“Social media specifically is being targeted by hackers. Most businesses think security programs like Norton or McAfee will protect their computers and networks, but even with those programs it’s very easy to get a virus from Facebook,” Holton said.
Holton recommends businesses invest in emerging technologies that include web link scanners and integrate with Facebook technology. The business editions of security programs like AVG Antivirus offer the latest technologies and work without causing a major drop in computer performance, according to Holton.
Established three years ago, Albany IT is a value-added reseller that serves small- to medium-size businesses in the southeastern U.S. The company provides a range of services including hardware set-up for new system installations, software application management, system upgrades and repairs, telephony and others. Albany IT employs three full-time technicians and uses contract technicians to meet the demands of large projects. Customers can choose to pay for services via a monthly retainer, hourly rate or long-term service contract.
“We consult with each customer to learn what they do and design a service model that fits their business,” Holton said. “There is not one set package that we sell.”
What would you do if…
According to Holton, businesses can begin to assess the resilience of their IT systems by asking themselves a series of questions such as: What would you do if the Internet went down for five days? Or what would you do if your office building burned down? If a company is unable to operate under these scenarios, then some IT planning is probably in order.
“Businesses should be able to operate normally – the phone should still ring and emails should flow – under the worst case scenarios. With the cyber attacks we’ve seen in the past and disasters like 9/11 and Hurricane Katrina, we know the worst case can happen,” Holton said.
Backing up data in different geographic locations, building redundant networks and creating robust disaster plans are among the steps businesses can take to beef up their IT systems. As the market moves toward more hosted applications or cloud computing, local system back-ups and network security become even more critical.
Helping customers plan for growth or downsizing
Even though Albany IT opened for business in 2008 during the onset of the recession, Holton said the business was not initially affected by the economic downturn. Eventually, as its customer began to downsize in response to the recession, it did have an impact on business. With customers that were shrinking, Albany IT focused on simplifying the management of their systems as well as downsizing systems to fit the new business dimensions.
“We consult with many customers on an ongoing basis and try to help them plan three to five years out. If you’re not looking that far out then you may end up spending more money than you should on your systems,” Holton explained.
This year, most customers are holding steady, according to Holton, while a couple are preparing to grow. Professional firms in particular seem to be taking a wait-and-see attitude.
“We work with several firms in the medical profession who are waiting to see what happens with Obama Care. Depending on how the billing rules are written for Medicaid, certain software packages may no longer be in compliance with the law,” he said.
Rules for Electronic Health Records or EHR will also have a major impact on the IT requirements at medical firms. As a result, these businesses are deferring system investments until the regulatory environment is more certain.
More information on Albany IT is available at www.albany-it.com or contact Justin Holton at (229) 349-9865 or [email protected].
