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PACE Technical hosts Cyber Security Seminar for Ontario CGA’s

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On Wednesday May 11th, PACE Technical President Michael Sugrue was brought back again by the Certified General Accountants of Ontario for a seminar on Cyber Security for CEO’s, Business Owners and Financial Managers. It was a very interactive audience of 120 registered attendees who all had concerns for their businesses with regards to their IT security. Over the course of the 3-hour seminar, we covered the current threat landscape, some very current examples of security threats, and the 10 critical things every business should have in place to be protected. The feedback from the audience was clear and was consistent with some of the staggering statistics that we are seeing in our industry:
  • Cybercrime is on the rise and a major target is now SMBs, as they typically do not invest in the proper processes and infrastructure to protect themselves.
  • Businesses without a structured, process-driven proactive approach to maintaining their IT systems are the most vulnerable to successful attacks.
  • Trend Micro reported that there were approximately 1 million new Malware threats emerging daily, and these cannot be stopped with a hands-off approach to IT.
  • Cybercrime costs the global economy approximately $445 Billion annually.
  • Many audience members relayed first-hand accounts of their businesses being hit with Ransomware and Cryptolocker, paying hundreds and thousands in either ransom or recovery costs, financial people being tricked into wiring money to criminals, downtime, loss of days of productivity, and the list goes on – all due to not having the awareness, processes, and attention to their IT systems and security.
Cybercrime can be prevented and potential damage minimized or eliminated just by having a structured, process-driven, and proactive approach to managing your technology and security. If you have concerns regarding security or would like information on the 10 essentials every business should have in place to protect against any kind of threat, give Michael Sugrue a call at (905) 763-7896 x203.