4 Simple Ways to Protect Data From an IT Service Desk Expert

A company’s IT service desk is the frontline defense against data protection breaches and cybercrimes. Technology plays a vital role in enabling productivity and improving the bottom line. Unfortunately, technology doesn’t always work exactly as expected, and with technology’s integral role in most daily tasks, a technical issue can quickly become more than minor inconvenience. Tech issues can inhibit teams from doing their jobs effectively, and when issues are left unattended, the risk of a breach increases significantly.

Here are a few simple ways that you can troubleshoot issues, protect your data and leverage service desk professionals.

1. Report

As a service desk lead, I’ve found that getting the best results from a IT service desk involves a team effort between the service desk team and the client.  Quality information is comprehensive. Cover all your bases, be mindful of your variables, and verify your measurements. 

When you have questions and you’re on the phone with IT, introduce the issue at hand by recreating it. Every click, whir and stall in the process is important. How many documents are you trying to send to that printer? Did you see a yellow bar in that spreadsheet and click “Enable macros” before you could start working on it? Starting from the top lets your IT expert study the whole process. That way, they can diagnose the issue and walk you through the resolution.

2. Rest

We’ve all heard it, “have you tried turning it off and back on again?”

Restarts work. They work because when a restart is initiated, the computer’s built-in team of automatic doctors will clear out all the electronic detritus that builds up in a device’s memory. Restarts stop all the software and services, clean up the space and ensure everything is up to date.

3. Update

Malicious actors target the weakest links. Service desk representatives usually patch the problem as soon as they discover and report the exploits to ensure their clients’ safety. Hackers count on individuals leaving machines on, passing over updates, and saying to themselves, “I’ll get to it later.” Hackers will attempt a handful of attacks on a given machine to expose vulnerabilities and simply move forward with what sticks. The attacker in question will receive a report of infected computers once the deed is done, seizing the power of your machine for their botnet or crypto mining project.

4. Recover

Save early. Save often. Save to the cloud. Ransomware is a big business. If you find yourself in a position where your data has been compromised and your machine overtaken, encrypted, and demanding some ridiculous sum of bitcoin, shut down your device and call the service desk support immediately. Your service desk will be able to restore the device and protect data. Consistent backups are one of the best security defenses and will allow you to continue your work without missing a beat.

IT may look like techno-wizardry, but it’s really a system of policies, procedures, and models that serves the digital infrastructure of our law firms. Next time you have an issue, use these tips to trouble shoot and engage your IT service desk anytime you need added support.

Race Sorden is a Service Desk Lead at Frontline Managed Services.