A 15-minute call with an engineer who works with industrial and agricultural teams.
We come on site when the job needs it.
Sound familiar?
What we hear from industrial and ag teams.
Your business runs on equipment, shipments and seasons, often far from any office. IT is a tool for the job, and nobody wants to think about it until it stops the job.
01
Your sites are far apart, and far from IT.
A yard, a ranch, a packing shed and a warehouse may each have their own internet, their own router and their own workarounds. When one goes down, someone drives out to restart a box nobody really understands.
02
The machine PC can't be replaced.
An old Windows PC runs the scale, the CNC, the cooler controls or the irrigation system. The vendor says not to touch it. So it never gets updated, and it sits on the same network as everything else.
03
Renewals lapse, and email just stops.
Microsoft 365, the domain name or the backup service was set up years ago on someone's personal card or email. The card expires, the reminders go to someone who left, and one morning nobody can send email.
Know what you are up against
The attacks that actually hit industrial and ag businesses, explained.
You don't need to know how hackers work. It helps to know what an attack looks like when it reaches you, why operations like yours are a good target, and the habit that stops most of it.
The attackWhat it looks likeWhy operations get hitWhat stops most of it
01
Ransomware that stops the line
Files and systems locked until you pay
What it looks like
One morning the office server, the shipping PC and the scale house computer all show the same note. Orders, inventory and bills of lading won't open. Trucks are waiting.
Why operations get hit
When equipment and shipping stop, every hour costs money. Attackers know a business that can't ship is more likely to pay.
What stops most of it
Backups kept where ransomware can't reach them and tested, plus EDR on every computer. EDR is software that spots attacker behavior and stops it.
02
Remote access left open
The vendor's tool, or a camera port
What it looks like
An equipment vendor installed a remote-access app years ago so they could help. It is still running, with the same password. Or the cameras were opened to the internet so the owner could watch from home.
Why operations get hit
Attackers scan the internet for exactly these openings, all day, automatically. Nobody at the site is watching who connects.
What stops most of it
Remote access that is off until someone needs it, with MFA, and no devices exposed directly to the internet. MFA means a second check, like a code on your phone, when someone signs in.
03
One password for everyone
The shop login, the office login
What it looks like
Everyone on a shift signs in as “shop” or “office” with the same password, written on the wall. Former employees still know it. So does anyone they told.
Why operations get hit
Shared PCs at a scale house, a dock or a shop are convenient. But when something goes wrong, there is no way to know who did it, and no way to lock just one person out.
What stops most of it
A login for each person, even on shared PCs, turned off the day they leave.
04
The old PC running the equipment
No longer gets security updates
What it looks like
The PC that runs a scale, a press or the cooler controls is many years old and no longer gets security updates. It shares a network with email and the internet.
Why operations get hit
Old systems have known weaknesses that attackers already have tools for. Once they reach that PC, they can stop the equipment or move to the office.
What stops most of it
Put the equipment PC on its own network with no email or web browsing, and allow only the connections it needs.
Scale house PC · what we found
Remote accessVendor app, always on, starts with Windows1
Sign-inOne account, “scale”, password shared by every shift2
Operating systemWindows 7, no security updates3
NetworkSame network as office email and payroll4
Backups: none for this PC
Illustration. A made-up example of what a first visit often turns up.
Up close
What we find on the PC that runs the equipment.
None of this is anyone's fault. Each choice made sense on the day it was made. Together, they leave a door open. Here is how to read it.
1Remote access never turns off. The vendor needed it once. Now anyone who gets that password can reach the PC from anywhere, at any hour.
2Everyone shares one login. There is no way to tell who did what, and changing the password means telling every shift.
3Windows stopped getting fixes years ago. Known weaknesses stay open for good, and attackers already have tools that use them.
4It can see the office. Because it shares a network with email and payroll, a problem on this PC can spread to the whole business.
The habit that stops it: give every equipment PC its own network, turn vendor access on only when it is needed, and give each person their own login.
Check your exposure
Check your exposure in 60 seconds.
Seven yes-or-no questions about how your sites work today. You'll see where you stand, and the three moves that would help most.
01
Are backups tested, and stored somewhere ransomware can't reach?Including the PCs that run equipment, not just the office server.
02
Is vendor remote access turned off when nobody is using it?Remote-access apps on equipment PCs, and cameras or recorders reachable from the internet.
03
Does everyone use MFA on email and remote access?MFA is a second check when someone signs in, like a code on their phone.
04
Does each person have their own login, even on shared shop or dock PCs?No “shop” or “office” account that everyone uses.
05
Are PCs that run equipment on their own network, away from office email?Scales, presses, cooler and irrigation controls, label printers.
06
Are Microsoft 365, your domain and other renewals on a company account, with reminders going to someone who is still here?Not on a former employee's card or personal email.
07
Do you have a written plan for how to keep shipping if systems go down?Who calls IT and the insurer, who decides, and how you run on paper for a day.
Nothing you click here leaves your browser.No email, no form.
IT across your operation
From a new site to a bad day.
Sites, seasons and equipment change over the years, and so does what can go wrong. Pick a stage to see what tends to go wrong there and what we put in place.
New site
A new location needs internet, Wi-Fi, cameras and a PC or two. It usually gets set up quickly, by whoever is available, and stays that way for years.
What can go wrong
The router keeps its default password, and cameras are opened to the internet.
Each site is set up differently, so nobody knows how any of them works.
What we set up
A standard site kit: the same router setup, separate networks for office, equipment and cameras, and remote management.
A simple map of each site's network, kept where you can find it.
Daily operations
Shared PCs at the dock, the scale and the shop run all day. Orders, tickets and labels move between the office and the floor.
What can go wrong
Everyone uses one shared login, and the password is on the wall.
Someone browses the web or checks personal email on the equipment PC.
What we set up
Individual logins with quick user switching on shared PCs.
EDR on every computer, and equipment PCs blocked from email and web browsing.
Equipment and vendors
Equipment vendors install software, connect remotely and sometimes bring their own laptops. Their access tends to stay long after the service call.
What can go wrong
A vendor's remote-access tool runs all the time with a password that never changes.
A vendor laptop plugs into the network and can reach the office.
What we set up
Vendor access that is off by default and turned on for each visit, with MFA.
A guest network for vendor laptops, kept apart from office systems.
Peak season
Volume jumps, temporary workers arrive and every system runs flat out. It is the worst possible time for an outage, which is why attackers like it.
What can go wrong
Temporary staff get shared logins that are never turned off.
Updates are put off until “after the season”, which never comes.
What we set up
Temporary accounts with an end date set the day they are created.
Updates scheduled around your shifts, and a pre-season check of backups and devices.
Renewals and licenses
Subscriptions renew quietly every month or year, until the card on file expires or the person who set them up leaves.
What can go wrong
Microsoft 365 lapses and email stops, or the domain expires and the website goes dark.
The admin account belongs to someone who left, and nobody can sign in to fix it.
What we set up
One list of every subscription, renewal date and owner, reviewed every quarter.
Admin accounts and billing moved to the company, with two people who can sign in.
Downtime and recovery
Power goes out, a line gets cut or ransomware hits. What matters is how fast you can ship again.
What can go wrong
Backups exist, but nobody has tried restoring the equipment PCs.
Nobody knows who should call whom, or how to work on paper for a day.
What we set up
Tested backups, including the equipment PCs, with a copy ransomware can't reach.
A one-page downtime plan at each site, with phone numbers and paper forms.
Software we already support
Keep the tools you already use.
You picked your systems for good reasons, and some of them run your equipment. We look after the accounts, networks, backups and connections around them, and work alongside your equipment vendors.
Microsoft 365Email, files and Teams
Licenses and renewals owned by the company, MFA, email filtering and backups of mail and files.
Google WorkspaceEmail, files and Drive
The same care: sign-in protection, admin accounts the company controls, and backups.
QuickBooksAccounting
Separate logins for each person, MFA, and a check on who can pay vendors.
ADPPayroll
MFA for admins and a rule for confirming direct deposit changes.
UniFiSite networks, Wi-Fi and cameras
Separate networks for office, equipment and cameras, managed remotely across all your sites.
Using something else? Ask on the call, and we will tell you honestly what we can look after.
Insurers and customers
Questions your insurer or customers will ask, and the honest answers.
Cyber-insurance applications, and some large customers, ask these in some form. Here is what each one means, and how we help you answer yes and back it up.
What it means
When someone signs in, they need a second check beyond the password, like a code or a prompt on their phone. Insurers ask because a stolen password alone is then not enough to get in.
How we get you to yes
We turn it on for every account, including vendor remote access, and give you a report that shows it is enforced.
What it means
Insurers want to know every way someone can connect to your systems from outside, and that each one needs more than a password.
How we get you to yes
We find every remote-access tool and open port, remove what no one uses, and secure the rest with MFA. You get the list.
What it means
EDR is software on each computer that watches for attacker behavior, like a program suddenly locking files, and can stop it and alert someone. It goes further than traditional antivirus.
How we get you to yes
We install it on every device it supports, watch the alerts, and note any equipment PC that needs a different kind of protection.
What it means
Old operating systems on equipment PCs are common. Insurers ask whether you know where they are and how you keep them apart from everything else.
How we get you to yes
We list every unsupported system, put each one on its own network, and write down the plan to replace it when the equipment allows.
What it means
Immutable means a backup can't be changed or deleted, even by someone with an admin password. Tested means someone actually restored files from it recently.
How we get you to yes
We set up a protected copy, run a restore test, and write down the date and result for your records.
What it means
A short document that says who does what if you are attacked: who calls IT and the insurer, who decides whether to shut systems down, and how the sites keep working.
How we get you to yes
We write a plan that fits on a few pages, with your people and phone numbers in it, and walk your team through it once.
Questions
What industrial and ag teams ask us.
Yes. We plan for it: managed routers we can reach remotely, a backup connection where it makes sense, and settings that keep working when the link is slow. Hands-on work like wiring and new access points is different. We come on site when the job needs it.
That is common, and usually fine to respect. We leave the PC as the vendor needs it, move it to its own network, block email and browsing, back it up, and control how the vendor connects. The risk drops a lot without touching the machine.
We put billing and admin access in the company's name, with two people who can sign in. Then every renewal goes on one list that we watch, so you hear about a lapsing subscription or domain before your email stops.
Most likely. We look after Microsoft 365, Google Workspace, QuickBooks, ADP and UniFi networks, and the accounts, access and backups around them. For anything else, ask on the call and we will tell you honestly what we can do.
You talk to an engineer. Tell us about your sites, your equipment and what keeps going wrong. You will leave with at least one thing worth fixing, whether or not we work together.
Talk to us
Talk to an engineer who knows industrial sites.
Fifteen minutes, no slides. Bring your questions, or the insurance application sitting in your inbox.
