It was embarrassing, said Paul Trainor, vice president and general manager of the Atlantic Business Federation. He was referring to a ransomware attack on the organization just over three years ago when hackers blocked access to the organization’s files, demanding a ransom be paid for their release. Fortunately, Trainor and his staff were prepared, having made a backup of all critical files.

Although no client data was compromised, Trainor and his team spent days moving files from the backup drive to their main computers. To this day, he said, they can’t access the drive that was hacked; its presence is a constant reminder to remain vigilant and proactive when it comes to cybersecurity.

“We still remember it very well,” Trainor said.

The Federation, which manages over 400 websites, has always followed backup procedures. Trainor said they’d been around long enough to know that a cyber-attack could happen, and when it did, their diligence saved the day.

Most of the hacks and data breaches that make the news involve large corporations, government organizations, or universities—which may lead the owner of a small shop in rural Atlantic Canada to think they’re not a potential target.

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