Cybersecurity isn’t just a big-city concern — it hits home. Here in Nacogdoches, several serious cyber incidents have already shown us how vulnerable local organizations can be:
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June 2020 – Nacogdoches ISD ransomware attack: The school district’s systems were encrypted, disrupting classes, eliminating access to files, and damaging public trust.
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June 2023 – Stephen F. Austin State University: A ransomware attack forced SFA to sever internet connections, shutting down email, learning portals, and campus services for around 10 days. More than 8,600 counseling records and 100 government-issued IDs were stolen, prompting an FBI investigation and a prolonged outage across critical systems ktre.comkicks105.com+5texastribune.org+5databreaches.net+5.
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Pilgrim’s Pride plant disruptions: Though details are more limited, large-scale IT breaches have affected operations at the local poultry plant — clear proof: no one’s off the grid.
Why Even Small Operations Can Be in the Crosshairs
Cybercriminals don’t discriminate. An automated scan can hit any business in Nacogdoches — from nonprofits and office-based teams to manufacturers and higher education. If you’re running 10+ computers without layered defenses, you’re already on their radar.
These breaches demonstrate how even institutions with internal IT teams can be compromised without:
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Continuous monitoring
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Image-based backups
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Active patching
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Clear disaster recovery plans
The Aftermath of Downtime Hits Hard — Locally
When SFA shut down email and online learning, students and faculty were left without access to academic platforms — interrupting summer classes and workflows across campus .
Similarly, when Nacogdoches ISD was locked out, teachers, parents, and administrators faced days of disruption.
What does this mean for you?
Downtime isn’t just inconvenient — it’s costly:
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Lost productivity
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Missed deadlines & opportunities
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Reputation damage
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Financial penalties, particularly in regulated sectors
And without reliable backups, recovery could take days — or may never fully happen.
Does Your IT Provider Prepare for the Worst — or Just Patch the Immediate?
At DatCom, we refuse assumptions — we prepare and protect.
Our record speaks for itself:
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Zero viruses across all managed clients in over 11 years
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Real-time monitoring of all endpoints
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Image-based backups — full systems restored in minutes
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Regular patching to reduce vulnerabilities
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Cyber liability coverage (up to $1 million) and $750 per device guarantee
When local institutions have fallen victim, it wasn’t for a lack of capability — it was a lack of preparedness.
If your current IT vendor can’t explain how they would protect your business from a similar breach, it’s time to reassess.
Local Risk Needs Local Readiness
Cybersecurity isn’t optional — especially in Nacogdoches.
It’s a business-critical decision. It’s asking, “How quickly will we recover? Who’s accountable? Do we even know where our risks lie?”
Every business deserves answers — not just assurances.
Want to avoid being the next cautionary tale?
👉 Schedule a quick chat with DatCom — let’s map your risk and close your exposure.
Up next:
In Part 2, we’ll share a step-by-step cybersecurity roadmap tailored for local operations — no matter the size of your IT team.