SafetyDetectives spoke with Matt Dally, owner and developer at Your Way Software about what motivated him to start his own IT company, the importance of securing user data, some of the biggest cybersecurity challenges he’s faced, and more.
Thank you for taking some time to speak with us today. What is your background and your role at Your Way Software?
I’ve been developing software for over 20 years. I started out as a self-taught developer and had different roles with IT companies, small businesses, and government departments. I always wanted to start my own business. So, 14 years ago I went back to university and got my degree in Computer Science at Murdoch University. In 2016 I was able to set up Your Way Software with the help of Business Foundations in Fremantle. I’m the owner and developer of the company.
What are some of Your Way Software’s main services?
At Your Way Software, we offer web design and development, mobile apps, and custom software services. We recently started providing web and email hosting services, along with SEO optimisation, website security, and online/offline backups of websites. There are some other services related to websites and small businesses that we offer, but our main services is the design and development of websites and mobile apps.
One of the services we will be offering clients in the coming months is turning Figma designs into Flutter apps. Flutter is a website and mobile app development tool that allows us to create an online app, that works across all platforms seamlessly including Apple and Android. One of the biggest challenges mobile app developers face is building apps for both Android and Apple as they use different programming languages and it can be time consuming and expensive. We will be updating our website in the coming weeks to list the service, but we wanted to share it with you first.
How do you secure custom software to prevent vulnerabilities and data leaks?
It’s the biggest challenge IT companies face today. User data is a gold mine for hackers and companies looking to sell data. To prevent vulnerabilities we setup automatic updates for software and plugins where possible. We also use tools to trigger the manual updates when possible. We have built in alerts and systems in place to notify us when websites are being targeted and to block those users from accessing the site.
To prevent data leaks we are using the current SSL standards, encrypting data to avoid the man-in-the-middle attacks, and using online secure data storage facilities like Amazon Web Services and Microsoft Azure. They do a great job of keeping IT companies informed as to the current security standards and we regularly review them to make sure we are current.
What are some of the worst cyberthreats you’ve come across, and how do you help prevent them?`
A recent one we assisted with was a WordPress website that was being used to promote and sell other products from their site. Initially we thought it was a failure on the WordPress website, an old plugin or theme that the previous IT company had not updated and maintained. But after several restorations we were able to determine that the hackers were using the companies domain hosting password to access and modify the site. After updating the passwords across the domain and email hosting to stronger, random passwords, the problems have stopped.
What are the challenges in creating secure mobile apps for businesses?
One of the biggest challenges we face is trying to find a safe and reliable storage location for customer data. We have seen too many automation articles suggesting companies store client data in Google Sheets or some other text based inventory. We can’t emphasise strongly enough how dangerous that is. Any form of client information, even if it’s just name, email and contact number, can result in problems for your clients.
We recommend to our clients to use online services like Amazon, Google and Microsoft for the simple reason that they have the highest security standards online. It may be a little bit more expensive in terms of costs, but the risk of having your users data compromised is worth the price.
How can the average user prevent hackers from gaining access to their computer or network?
This is something we talk to customers about regularly. Regularly update your passwords, use a virus scanner like Trend Micro, don’t install software from popups, don’t let anyone connect to your computer and don’t visit a website that someone on the phone suggests. If you are asked to visit a website, or someone tells you about a great site, type the website address into Google Search first. As harsh as it may sound, try to avoid letting relatives and friends from using your computer, even for a couple of minutes if possible. We receive too many phone calls from grandparents who call us saying they have a virus. Most of the time it’s because they let their grandchild access some gaming website which installed plugins into their browser, or software on their computer. You have to treat your computer as securely as you do with your bank account.