Almost everything we do requires some sort of access to a data storage facility, whether on your own business premise or served from a cloud environment. Typically, cloud services are provided by data centres, and you may have a primary and secondary location to provide an extra layer of redundancy to ensure maximum uptime of your operations.
Perth and Geraldton based business, Integrated ICT, provides innovative ICT solutions for clients throughout WA. The company has a high-speed fibre connection between its Geraldton owned data centre facility, the only regional centre of its kind north of Perth, and a tier 3 facility in Perth.
Integrated ICT Business Manager, Ehsan Haque, described data centres as the way people can virtually connect to their data from wherever they are with an internet connected device. He said the company’s unique value proposition is that customers can house their compute and storage requirements in Perth, and replicate to Geraldton, or vice versa.
“Data Centres remove physical and geographical boundaries and allow our clients across WA to connect to their data from wherever they may be located.”
“With 400 kilometres between facilities, we provide disparate geographical redundancy for our clients’ data. This gives them additional protection, should one location become inaccessible, data can be made available from the secondary location to ensure business continuity.”
“A few years back, one of our metropolitan local government clients was at risk of being impacted by approaching bush fires but they acted quickly to escalate their disaster recovery planning with our help. Within only a few days, their data was replicated to the Geraldton Data Centre giving them greater peace of mind.”
“At the beginning of the pandemic, we also migrated entire client environments to a full cloud compute and data storage solution to give their staff more reliable access to operational systems,” said Mr Haque.
Integrated ICT is currently upgrading the communications link between their Geraldton and Perth Data Centre sites to 10Gb/s to improve disaster recovery capabilities. The company has been providing cloud solutions and associated data centre services to businesses, Not For Profits and government organisations since the inception of Office 365 in 2001, and provide cloud hosted Infrastructure as a Service to many organisations varying in size from 5 seats to well over 400 seats.
Data and the Dark Web
Our virtual lives mean malware, phishing and attempts to breach your data occur almost every day. Mr Haque said organisations must be aware that there can be as much risk to your data within a cloud environment as there is when it resides on local servers.
“When researching cloud providers and data centres, make sure you understand their compliance and certification with the security standards and protocols that impact your industry,” said Mr Haque.
“Many do not understand how lucrative cyber-criminal activity is, with just a few key personal details and basic technological skills, these criminals could potentially gain access to some of your most important accounts.”
“October is Cyber Security Awareness month, the Australian Government theme for 2021 is Do your part. #BeCyberSmart, as part of this we encourage business to take action in combatting threats.”
“At Integrated ICT we monitor the Dark Web and help clients’ discover whether their organisation’s private or sensitive data is at risk of a cyber-attack.”
How to stem the risk
The Dark Web is the criminal underbelly of the Internet, and the growing market for personal and corporate data and user credentials presents a very lucrative opportunity for cyber-criminals to access, sell or exploit this data for profit.
What happens when your employees’ emails, usernames and passwords are exposed? Organisations may not be aware that they are at risk or truly believe they do not present a worthy target for hackers.
Most organisations have some combination of email addresses, passwords or other data on the Dark Web. The risks and consequences of this exposed information are both significant and far-reaching and could be devastating for your organisation.
No one is immune and your business could be the next cyber-attack victim. Imagine the consequences of your sensitive company information or customer data being hacked or stolen, or worse, corrupted beyond repair.
Integrated ICT can help you find out if your company has been exposed on the Dark Web and assist you to take necessary action to prevent or mitigate threats.
To find out more go to www.integratedict.com.au call 6374 8200 or email hello@integratedict.com.au
