Midwest Assistance Program Put Security Services To The Test
Midwest Assistance Program's staff was expanding, as were their technical needs. After becoming Managed Service clients and electing to add additional security services, MAP ran into a hacking issue, but was fully prepared to handle it.
For the last 40 years, Midwest Assistance Program has focused on helping rural utilities and tribal nations in the Midwest build financial, managerial, and operational capacity.
With a growing staff of almost 50, but without a dedicated IT department, MAP turned to Tech Impact in 2019 to help manage their IT Infrastructure and tech needs by becoming a Managed Service client. “We had remote employees spread across multiple states and no sustainable way to get them the IT support they inevitably would need” said Erin Miller, MAP’s HR, Facilities and Communications Coordinator. “We knew we needed help managing this environment and Tech Impact was able to be that resource for our team.”
Over the years, MAP utilized Tech Impact’s Help Desk and monthly Account Management meetings to set goals and create a roadmap to help prioritize upgrades and changes to their current setup. From helping to manage their Microsoft 365 licenses, to upgrading their SharePoint platform and implementing more appropriate Multi-factor Authentication policies, Tech Impact was getting MAP to a place with more reliable and efficient technologies, policies, and procedures for their staff.
After it became apparent that cyber attacks and ransomware were becoming more of a threat to nonprofits across the country, MAP decided to add-on security services to their contract so that Tech Impact could provide essential cybersecurity monitoring and threat protection to their workstations and network. “We wanted more peace of mind that our systems and equipment were being monitored, because we didn’t have the resources to take it on ourselves. Knowing Tech Impact had expertise and software made it an easy add-on to bolster our confidence in our security.”
Then, in August of 2023, Tech Impact's security team contacted MAP because suspicious logins were detected on a MAP employee's Microsoft account. After a quick call confirming the employee was not accessing their account from another state, the security team followed its breach policy - shutting down compromised accounts, assessing damage or data loss, investigating how and where the vulnerability occurred, and providing detailed next steps to the MAP team on how to prevent further issues. “It can be really unnerving to have this happen, and it is just really nice to have someone next to us to say ‘here’s the next step, here’s what we’re doing, and here’s what you need to do’” said Miller.
Cyber threats and attacks are common issues in small to mid-size nonprofits, but MAP’s robust security posture and help from Tech Impact’s security experts were able to stop the damage before any major data loss or ransomware threats occurred. For now, MAP’s team can go back to doing what they do best – focusing on serving their project communities and supporting their staff.