The IT industry has had another wake-up call, and it is time to innovate your infrastructure to avoid another nightmare. Due to the international damage caused by the WannaCry Ransomware attack, professionals are re-examining their current technology infrastructures. Their goal is to protect crucial data while preparing for another large cyberattack. It is not matter of if this will happen again, but when it will happen.

Ensuring data security is just as important as securing your physical infrastructures. It’s imperative you take precautionary measures to minimize risk and maximize protection. Here are a few avenues to consider:

• Move to the cloud. The WannaCry attack affected physical computers containing hard drives filled with important data and connected to other physical servers within a network. By innovating to a cloud service, the chance for a lockout is greatly reduced as the information is stored outside of a standard network infrastructure. However, keep in mind a physical desktop or laptop can be blocked, but data may be vulnerable to retrieval from another system that has access to the cloud. This drives the need for innovation to your infrastructure, which should include development of software to add extra layers of protection.
• Plan for cognitive computing. Artificial Intelligence (AI) is revolutionizing computer technology and the way in which it operates. One of the greatest benefits of AI is its ability to make rational and predictive decisions, which is becoming more advanced as technology improves. This means you can plan for the inclusion of cognitive computing to your infrastructure in the not-too-distant future. In summary, cognitive computing attempts to simulate the human thought process with self-learning algorithms, which include data mining and natural language processing. With this innovative technology in place there will be an increase of proactive correction as the AI adapts to the number of attacks, determines the best course of protection, and implements corrective actions via quality analysis and self-corrected coding.
• Outsource to innovative support providers. You may need to face a fact — you do not have the budget or the personnel to innovate solutions yourself. However, many IT managers are finding themselves in this very predicament. A recent article from Forbes magazine detailed some of the reasons why businesses, large and small, lack innovation. Some of which include: regulations, management decisions, inability to think out-of-the-box when working in-house, and an unwillingness to take risk. Should this be the situation in your organization, it might be best to suggest outsourcing your needs to an IT Managed Services Provider (MSP). These organizations have the personnel and the resources to innovate. They review your current infrastructure, report on the positives and negatives, and inform you on which services — including protection — can work best for you.

These suggestions need a good deal of initial investment. And though your management may hesitate about costs, a modern, secure infrastructure with a greater amount of shielding from cyberattacks is money well spent. Overall, the investment made will pay itself back by reducing what may otherwise cost you in damages, including time, resources, and even a loss of clients.