Hi Reader,

A few weeks ago, some of our servers were hacked.

The days that followed were pretty intense (think late nights, heads down and dedicated to a quick clean-up).

This was the second security incident we experienced in the past year (the one before that had been at least 10 years ago). When that last incident happened, we had put in additional safeguards, so our immediate priority was understanding how it could have happened again.

Hazel and I leaped into action as soon as we caught wind, pouring our focus into problem-solving our way out of it. We also needed to make sure our clients clearly understood the situation as we worked through the cleanup process and asked them to change their passwords to help prevent any other unauthorized access.

Thankfully, we found the source quickly and started securing all the affected sites right away.

It still shook us, though.

Ultimately, we recognized that we can’t expect ourselves to always be perfect. No one is. We can only control our own environment. Doing whatever we can to reduce external risk is what our clients expect of us.

Servers are constantly under attack. It’s the reality of the online world.

Just like life and business constantly throw us curveballs, you can’t ever guarantee they’ll never, ever hit you.

What we can do is show up when we need to in the best way we know how. You can decide how to respond when something slips through the cracks.

Communicate clearly. Show that you’re on it, taking it seriously.

We can also learn from the event. We can find ways to adjust and be even more proactive going forward (even though it will never prevent 100% of all issues).

The security incident encouraged us to reevaluate our server environment and make sure it was still the best fit for all our needs. I found some room to improve, which I might not have acted on if the issue had never come up.

Still, our clients don’t pay us to guarantee that nothing bad will ever happen. They pay us to be there for them when they need it.

We can never shield ourselves or those we care about from 100% of all danger. Trying to convince yourself you can usually just leaves you feeling crummy.

Life, investments, business, website security…it all comes with a little risk. It’s part of the deal.

As long as you’re mindful of how you react to the risk, you’ll make it out okay.

Anyway, like I said, being proactive makes a big difference when it comes to site security, and part of that is having a website backup. To learn more, check out our blog on why a website backup is so important.

If you have questions about website security (or anything else tech-related), come to my next Genius Bar! I’d love to see you there.

Rachel McFadden the left brain 1014 W. 36TH ST BALTIMORE, MD 410.635.0229 Read our Customer Reviews

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