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NCRWA.COM |
Summer 2015
from the executive director
it. My walls had been breached, my (digital) city was being burned,
and the vaults containing my priceless ancient writings (files) were
on the verge of being looted. Like a king watching the smoke from his
burning city above the tree line as he retreats, I was devastated. We
were two weeks away from the 2015 NCRWA Annual Conference,
and IT was telling me the battle was lost.
On June 1
st
when I emailed my May time log to payroll, it was the
first day an email was sent from my reloaded, restored computer.
One month! Four weeks! 31 days! That is how long one “little ol’
routine” computer virus stripped my primary computer from me.
Yes, I survived. Yes, all of my files were restored (after four days
of downloading data from my online backup). Yes, NCRWA never
missed a beat. However, the stress, inefficiency, and frustration that
I (and everyone else that worked with me) dealt with was as much
a short-term professional catastrophe as I have ever faced. Make no
mistake, I was one of the lucky (blessed) ones. I made a full recovery
with no permanent data loss.
“Why would I share this story?” you may ask. Through this all, I
have learned a lot. Did you know there are thousands of unknown,
undefined computer viruses and threats out there that even the biggest
and best antivirus and malware companies have yet to write defense
codes for? Protecting yourself and your organization involves more
than some program or subscription you can purchase. Please do
everything you can to reduce your long-term exposure and liability
to cybersecurity threats. Subscribe to a great antivirus software,
use great password protocols, stay away from high risk sites, have
automated online and physical backups, find an excellent IT firm or
contractor to assist in your preparation, and train your staff in the
basics of cybersecurity. I will say that last part again: train your staff
in the basics of cybersecurity. Every person that uses a computer on
your network exposes you to risk; make it a culture in your system.
These are just a few of the very basic protective measures that you
and your organization need to employ.
More about cybersecurity is found in an article by Robert Mohon
on page 8 of this edition of
The Tarheel Pipeline
. While NCRWA
is not a cybersecurity consultant, we are always available to assist
our members in protecting their systems. Please contact us if we can
provide additional information, and we look forward to seeing you at
the 2015 Leadership Summit on September 3
rd
and 4
th
.
Sincerely,
Daniel Wilson, PE, CAE, UMC
Executive Director, NCRWA
