“Our computer systems are at the heart of everything we do here at Group IV Development. As one of Jacksonville’s mid-sized design/build and management firms, we have to stay nimble to stay in business, so, to suddenly realize that someone outside the company had access to our computers was frightening.”
This was the response when Teresa Dutton, Office Manager for Group IV Developers in Jacksonville, FL called teeone. Teresa had noticed some odd behavior on one of the office computers.
“The first thing that made me aware that something wasn’t quite right, was I noticed the cursor moving across the screen on the desk behind mine. The strange part was, no one was sitting at that computer at the time!” Becoming suspicious, Teresa took a closer look at what was going on with that particular computer.
“An icon had appeared on the desktop that I didn’t recognize. It certainly wasn’t put there by any of our office staff.”
Next, she began to look at the Internet browser history files. Websites were listed that had nothing to do with any of the legitimate activities of Group IV! Acting on instinct, Teresa unplugged the Internet connection and shut down the machine.
Her next step? She called teeone.
I had recently met Kyle Tripp and learned about teeone. I had kept his business card and called immediately to learn if Kyle and his team could help us discover what was going on and what did it mean to our company. Kyle and Pete arrived in our office in less than an hour. I wasn’t accustomed to such responsiveness from IT guys.
Within another hour Tripp and Hull had discovered evidence of a hacker using Group IV’s computers to launch an attack on another computer system – in a local bank! There’s no telling how far the hackers managed to pierce the bank’s security systems. But whatever they did manage to do, it would look like the unauthorized entry to the bank’s system was coming from Group IV’s office!
The immediate solution for Group IV was stronger passwords on their server and adjustments to firewall configurations. Group IV had a couple of “open” access points in their systems, making them an easy target for hackers. We’ve closed those points and added some new security measures to tighten up accessibility. For now, their computers are unaffected.
After returning to the office, Kyle and Pete put together a detailed plan for Group IV to further secure their data, software, and systems.
In some respects Group IV is very lucky. The fact that Teresa was observant and diligent about investigating the odd behavior of the company’s computers has paid off for them in a number of ways. They now have stronger security settings on all their machines. They’re aware of the consequences of ignoring security protocols. And perhaps best of all, they’ve discovered a new business partner, teeone!
When asked about what this has meant to her, Teresa says, “We haven’t had another instance of hackers gaining access to our computers. But, if we do, I know I can count on teeone to help us on short notice. We’re aggressively pursuing additional security measures with teeone now. Our business is growing; we’re adding another office in just a few months. We must be able to share data and have accessibility in all our offices without the concern of unauthorized individuals gaining access to our systems. The answer, for us is teeone.”
Teresa L. Dutton
Office Manager
Group IV Developers
Jacksonville, FL 32257
904-292-9660
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