In today’s threat landscape, cyber hygiene isn’t a “nice-to-have”—it’s a non-negotiable. Small businesses across North Dakota and Minnesota are increasingly being targeted by cybercriminals, not because they’re big—but because they’re vulnerable.
According to IBM’s 2023 Cost of a Data Breach Report, 82% of breaches involved data stored in the cloud, and many could have been prevented with simple best practices. That’s where cyber hygiene comes in—think of it as your business’s version of washing your hands.
It’s not flashy, but it works. At Information Management Systems (IMS), we’ve helped hundreds of businesses across Fargo, Moorhead, Grand Forks, and beyond lock down their IT environments with foundational protections that actually stick.
Here’s how you can start:
- Lock Down Your Network (The Right Way)
Every day, we see small businesses unknowingly leaving their front doors wide open online. If your Wi-Fi network isn’t encrypted, password-protected, or hidden with a secure SSID, you’re at risk.
And if your remote employees are connecting without a VPN? That’s an open invitation for hackers.
Pro tip: A properly configured firewall and secure Wi-Fi should be the bare minimum—yet many small businesses in our region don’t have this locked down. Let IMS help you fix that before it becomes a liability.
- Train Your Team (Because Human Error Is Still #1)
Your technology is only as strong as the people using it. Phishing emails, weak passwords, and careless clicks can open the door to ransomware, data theft, and downtime.
Cybersecurity awareness training isn’t just a checkbox—it’s an ongoing strategy.
We help local businesses build easy-to-follow employee policies that cover:
- Password best practices
- Multi-factor authentication (MFA)
- How to spot phishing emails
- Safe browsing and data handling
We also offer training sessions that are simple, practical, and jargon-free. Because your team doesn’t need a lecture—they need clarity.
- Back Up Your Data (Before You Wish You Had)
Hard drives fail. People delete things by mistake. And ransomware attacks are designed to lock you out of everything.
If you’re not backing up your critical business data regularly, you're gambling with your company’s future.
IMS helps businesses set up automated, secure backups—with copies stored both in the cloud and off-site—so if disaster strikes, you don’t lose days (or weeks) of work.
We protect:
- Financials
- Customer records
- HR files
- Operational documents
- Databases
No guesswork. No manual backups. Just reliable continuity.
- Limit Who Has Access to What
We’ve seen it too many times: a former employee still has admin access, or a team member has full rights to systems they don’t need. This kind of access creep is a major security risk.
Limit access to only what’s necessary, and keep a clear offboarding process to revoke permissions immediately.
We help companies:
- Assign access based on roles
- Remove ex-employee accounts automatically
- Audit permissions regularly
- Protect administrative privileges
You don’t need to micromanage—you just need smart access controls in place. We’ll take care of the details.
Don’t Wait for a Cyber Incident to Clean Up Your Risk
We get it—cybersecurity can feel overwhelming. But ignoring the basics is far more costly than implementing them.
Our clients don’t lose sleep wondering if they’re protected. They know IMS is monitoring their systems, fixing vulnerabilities proactively, and keeping their teams productive and secure.
Not Sure Where You Stand?
Let’s fix that.
Get a Free Cybersecurity Risk Assessment from IMS and find out exactly where your vulnerabilities are. We’ll show you what’s working, what’s not, and how to fix it—without the fear tactics or tech-speak.
👉 Schedule your free assessment now.
📞 Or call us at (701) 364-2718
Let’s protect your business—before someone else tests your defenses.
