SB : We got an email , and it was $ 490,000 .
CD : Was there any way to trace where that email came from ?
SB : There ’ s absolutely no way . What they do they know how to do very well , which is creating chaos . So , if you can ’ t find something , don ’ t say to a client , “ Well , I can ’ t find something so I can ’ t help you .” Tell them to come and talk to you . We ’ ve really had to put in a defence system to not blow ourselves up , because you don ’ t want your clients to know you ’ re going through something that chaotic and challenging . You have to stay calm , pull out all the resources you can . We had to buy desktops , laptops . We also replaced all our cellphones . We just had to make sure nothing was polluted . The fact that they got into the cloud scared me . I thought , where else could they have gone ? Is it in my home computer ? Is it in my employees ’ home computers ? Do they know about my kids ? And what else ? If they ’ re asking for a ransom of $ 490,000 , what else would they do ? Your mind goes to dark places . My kids were on a very short leash for about a month or so .
CD : Okay , so now we ’ re into 2019 . It ’ s taken a year to discover that there are things still missing and 2019 comes and goes . Pandemic hits . Anything change in terms of your IT department ?
SB : I ’ m understanding what we need to be doing , and I ’ m getting that from our younger people as well . But now I have
to get to work because I hit a brick wall a year and a half ago . It was just too painful . We ’ ve fortified those firewalls to be what they were when we were attacked , the one that didn ’ t fail , the financials . We ’ re always going through and saying , okay , where can we be better ? It ’ s one of the main things every week on my platform . Where are we with IT ? What ’ s changing ? What do we need to look at ? What ’ s coming that would make us better fortified ?
Even if you ’ re a small company , you don ’ t think of having a budget for IT that ’ s in the tens of thousands of dollars . Well , that ’ s not the way it works anymore . You have to be thinking , that is a cost centre . Like it or not , it ’ s a cost centre that you have to put money into . Just like updating machinery , or for financials , or plant fabrication , or estimating — you got to think that is a cost centre that needs protecting . Because if they get in there , they can make your life hell . As much as I ’ m a big fan of technology — you need it to speed the easier parts of business up — you have to have personal relationships or things don ’ t get done . I have met people and had them help me , or I ’ ve helped them solve problems . And without Steel Plus Network , that would have never happened , if I hadn ’ t gone to those in-person events .
CD : Let ’ s sum this up into the biggest lesson you ’ ve learned . You started off saying , “ Before it ’ s too late .” Let ’ s finish that sentence .
SB : Understand your IT protection before it ’ s too late . Your true IT protection . Because , as I said , we really thought we were rock solid , and we just hadn ’ t looked at where our weaknesses were . We knew our strengths and thought , well , we ’ re good . +
Stephen Benson , President & CEO of Benson .
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