September 25th, 2017 - Beth
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Minimal Disruption to Business as Protection Strategies Kick In
With some of the World’s largest organisations facing cyber attacks with many being severely disrupted, Wellingborough window and door manufacturer Glazerite has been the victim of the same virus that severely disrupted the NHS and TNT this year. However, despite every one of the business’s servers being hit Glazerite was fully operational again within just 27 hours, with disruption kept to a minimum thanks to the robust systems put in place to deal with such a risk.
On a Monday evening in early September Glazerite’s servers were attacked by the virus that has wreaked havoc in organisations throughout the world, with the perpetrators demanding a ransom to release the company’s systems from their grip. As a business that is heavily reliant on an IT infrastructure that connects every process within Glazerite’s four regional centres, the potential for disruption was immense.
However, the company’s robust systems and advanced back up and disaster recovery procedures that had been installed in anticipation of such a threat, coupled with round the clock work from the company’s staff and IT support company, Glazerite was fully operational again within 27 hours. Disruption to customers was minimal with one, David Thornton of The Window Company (Contracts) Ltd vowing to use Glazerite’s systems as a model for protecting his own firm. In a letter to Glazerite David said: “I just wanted to say how brilliantly Glazerite have handled the situation, keeping us informed regularly as you moved through the recovery process.”
Glazerite UK Group Ltd director John Hewitt said he was delighted – and relieved – that the company’s systems had proved so robust: “We test all of our systems exhaustively, whether it’s new fabrication lines or logistics systems. And now the effort and investment we put into protecting our IT network has proved to be worth every penny and minute that we put into it, with relatively little impact on our business. Not bad going for an SME employing around 250 people nationwide, when global corporations have taken weeks if not months to recover.
“That such threats have become part of the day-to-day world of running a business is incredible and a sad sign of our time” added John. “According to one major survey, 48% of the companies that took part had been hit by at least one attack in the previous 12 months. Our experience proves that it can happen to any organisation – I urge everyone to take every step possible to protect their IT systems.”