From the Desk of Chad Ogden:
Preparing for the Unexpected

Chad Ogden - CEO
August 2021

If you’ve been out of the country, or haven’t been plugged into the news as of late, you may not be aware of ransomware and what that is. Needless to say, there has been a rash of ransomware attacks, especially on US corporations, particularly exploding over the past 6 months.

On May 15, 2021, the hosting environment that many of our QFloors software customers use was attacked and brought down by the Conti ransomware group. This is one of the Top 5, most sophisticated ransomware groups in the world. QPro customers were not affected.

QFloors was able to successfully defend ourselves against this attack, being out of service for only four calendar days and not paying the demanded ransom. For reference, according to one news article, the average outage time right now for a ransomware attack is 21 days, and the average ransom is $300,000. (Although it is much, much higher for larger companies.)

Even though your browser-based QPro system provides added security and accessibility, we encourage all QPro customers to still educate yourselves about this serious potential threat that has emerged. All businesses, small or large, are at risk of being targeted.

In addition, sometimes you may experience an internet outage, a power outage, a natural disaster, or other events that make it difficult for you to run your business as normal. So it is important to be prepared for any of these unexpected events.

We have created a webinar discussing the attack and important tips for protecting and preparing yourself. We also suggest that you create a contingency plan for any unexpected internet or power outages. For instance, how will you write up a sales order? Can you still run a credit card? Think about your operation and how you can keep things moving, if necessary, during a temporary outage. If you need suggestions, feel free to reach out to our support department. Preparation is your greatest defense.