Cybersecurity Archives

10 Essentials for Cyber Attack Protection

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Cybercrime continues to rise, and ransomware attacks are affecting companies across the supply chain, from manufacturers and distributors to small local businesses. Over the past year, we’ve seen a growing number of incidents involving payment fraud, compromised email accounts, and ransomware within our broader business network.

At Algood, protecting our systems and our partners is a priority. A single cyber incident can disrupt operations, damage relationships, and lead to significant financial loss.

Below are practical steps every organization should implement to reduce risk and avoid becoming a target.

Never make changes to payment or banking details based solely on an email.
Fraudsters frequently impersonate vendors or executives to request urgent changes to payment details pr processes. Always verify requests using a known phone number already stored in your system, never a number provided in the email.
Require dual verification for payment changes.
Establish an internal policy requiring confirmation through a second communication channel and internal approval before making any banking or payment changes.
Protect your email domain.
Domain monitoring and email authentication protocols (SPF, DKIM, and DMARC) help prevent criminals from impersonating your company or sending fraudulent messages using your brand.
Consult trusted cybersecurity advisors.
Many accounting firms and IT providers now offer cybersecurity consulting. Their guidance can help identify vulnerabilities and implement best practices.
Use reputable endpoint security software.
Anti-virus and anti-malware protection across all company devices is essential for detecting and blocking threats.
Strengthen password practices.
Use long, unique passwords combined with a password manager and multi-factor authentication (MFA) whenever possible.
Implement multi-factor authentication for critical systems.
Your email, finance systems, and administrative accounts should always require MFA. Phishing-resistant authentication methods such as passkeys or security keys provide even stronger protection.
Maintain secure data backups.
Perform daily or weekly backups and store copies offline or in immutable storage, so they cannot be encrypted or deleted during a ransomware attack. Regularly test your ability to restore data.
Review your cyber insurance coverage.
Ensure your business insurance policy includes protection against cyber incidents and ransomware.
Limit access to sensitive systems and data.
Only authorized personnel, following strict procedures, should have access to financial systems, critical infrastructure, or sensitive data. In addition, physically secure critical systems and restrict access to only authorized staff.

Cybersecurity is an ongoing effort. It demands continuous vigilance. Cybercriminals are relentless and constantly adapt their methods, so businesses must stay equally alert.

At Algood, reliability has always been at the core of what we do. It guides how we design and manufacture our casters and shapes our approach to protecting our systems and supporting our partners. Strong processes and consistent safeguards keep operations running smoothly.

If you ever receive a suspicious message or payment request that appears to come from Algood, please call us directly using the phone number listed on our website so we can investigate immediately.

I encourage every organization in our network to review its processes and ensure the safeguards detailed above are in place. A few preventative measures today can prevent significant disruption tomorrow.

President's Blog

13 Tips to Avoid a Cyber Disaster

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Cyber security and best data management practices have been on my mind lately. In part, that’s because there are almost weekly stories of corporations being subjected to ransomware attacks or having their data stolen. And lately, a number of our customers have found themselves caught up in cyber fraud. Being subjected to data theft or computer-related criminal activity can be financially punishing and highly stressful. That’s why we devote huge attention to cybersecurity and responsible data practices at Algood. Based on what we’ve learned and our ongoing scrutiny, I’ve created a 13-item action list to help our customers, suppliers, and colleagues avoid a cyber disaster.

First and foremost – don’t provide any bank, financial or payment information in response to an email or online request. Avoid responding to or in any way interacting with emails that are even the slightest bit suspicious. Criminals are very ingenious these days and can make emails look like they are perfectly legitimate. To confirm that an email is a scam, check the sender’s reply email address. Most often, you will see that it is totally unrelated to the company the email purports to be from.
Consider implementing domain monitoring software. Domain monitoring protects your company’s domain name from potential cyberattacks. These may include phishing schemes, website hacking, and impersonating business websites. Without this protection, cybercriminals can mimic your brand, deceive customers, or spread malware.
Consult your accountants. Many accounting firms have specialists or entire departments focused on cyber security. They can be a source of best practice and worthwhile advice.
Implement anti-virus and security software. To have any cyber-protection, this is a must-have.
Change passwords every six months and use a password vault. This is an easy form of cyber-fraud prevention.
Use multi-factor or two-factor authorization when signing into any financial or accounting software or platforms.
Use password protection software. These programs generate and store indecipherable passwords and safely house credit cards and personal or payment information.
Perform multiple backups of all data regularly – weekly at a minimum.
Ensure that your business insurance policy includes cyber-protection and cybersecurity provisions/coverage.
Consider creating a safe room where any central computer device is located. Special access is required and provided to the smallest possible number of people.
Conduct regular cyber security audits.
Control access to sensitive data. Only a very small number of people using very tight procedures should be able to access online financial, banking, or payment information.
Add malware detection software in addition to anti-virus software. Undetected malware can quickly bore its way into critical computer data. Anti-virus software will not necessarily find malware.

Being cyber-secure is an ongoing process that requires regular attention. Cybercriminals are very smart and constantly adopt new and more dangerous techniques. I encourage you to be vigilant and make sure that data and computer security are always top of mind.

If you encounter anything unusual, you think we should know about, or if you have any questions about data security, please don’t hesitate to email or call.

President's Blog

Tag: Cybersecurity