SecureIT gave Södra Hallands Kraft more secure IT

AddPro sometimes organises Lunch & Learn meetings. Over lunch, the audience is treated to a presentation on a current IT topic. Per Johansson from Södra Hallands Kraft participated in such an event, which concerned the security of Microsoft Office 365, a topic that is particularly important for Per and the company he works for.

Södra Hallands Kraft is a member-owned electricity grid company in the municipality of Laholm with approximately 50 employees. In the IT department, Per is responsible for running the IT environment, developing and maintaining everything from backup, computers, networks, firewalls, Citrix and Vmware to user support and purchasing IT equipment. A lot of things have to work to keep the business running. On top of that, he runs the company's 100 servers and a small hosting business. Södra Hallands Kraft works in Microsoft Office 365 in the cloud, which places demands on security. Security is at the top of the agenda in all areas of IT, as power companies are considered a mission-critical function and are particularly vulnerable to attack.

• If you look at the news, there are frequent mentions of attacks on critical functions such as electricity grids and power plants. Hackers want to take control of our social functions and, for example, start shutting down the power grid. That simply must not happen, which is why we work on security every day," says Per.

After lunch, the SecureIT workshop was booked

Per has previously collaborated with AddPro, including setting up a redundant firewall. After Per met Mikael Roos at AddPro during the Lunch & Learn meeting, the SecureIT workshop was booked, which deals with security in and around Microsoft Office 365. Mikael tailored the workshop to the questions that Per and his colleagues had.

• We got a deeper presentation of the security of Office 365 and then test ourselves on a server Mikael connected us to. Then there was a lot of thinking, high and low, bumping and grinding.

What Per likes about AddPro is that they are helpful, responsive and always strive to use the licenses already purchased. The focus is on maximising the functionality of what is available, not constantly trying to sell extra features.

A small detail that significantly increases safety

Södra Hallands Kraft has staff in the office and technicians in the field. Of course, everyone has the opportunity to work from home on their laptops. A first step to increase security was to introduce two-factor authentication. A feature Per had the opportunity to test during the workshop and then roll out across the organisation.

• Hackers are increasingly targeting users and trying to steal their login. Two-factor authentication is a simple way to protect users from attack without limiting their freedom to work flexibly, says Per.

Work on IT security has only just begun

When Per attended the workshop, it was a step in a long-term security effort. Phase one is in full swing this autumn with secure logins and secure devices using Microsoft Intune. Phase two will follow in the spring. Then Per together with Mikael at AddPro will look at the possibility of tagging and encrypting documents as well as other Office 365 tools such as Azure Advanced Threat Protection, ATP.

• We work continuously to train our employees. How to work efficiently and safely, not to immediately click on links in emails but to think a little first. At the same time as we work on the systems behind.

Per's advice to other companies: don't hesitate!

The number of hacker attacks and malicious code is constantly increasing and every company needs to actively work on its security. Per recommends that anyone who feels insecure should attend the SecureIT workshop to get started.

• If you do nothing, you are guaranteed to be hacked soon and someone without access will have access to your systems and data," concludes Per.

Do you have a handle on security in your company or would you like help getting started with your security work? The SecureIT workshop will give you hands-on experience of how the security features of Office 365 work and how you can use them to protect your users from intrusions and malware. Sign up now - before you get hacked.