SecureVP

Location: 336 W. Washington St., Sequim

Phone: 582-7761

Email: Solutions@SecureVP.com

Hours: 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Monday-Friday

From the U.S. government, to giant corporations and small businesses, compromised computer systems have become all too commonplace.

“Hacking is not an if but a when,” said Marie Gilliam, who opened SecureVP, with her husband Grant in Sequim this past May.

According to its website, SecureVP provides customized security, managed IT services and home and business automation solutions.

Recently relocated from Houston, Texas, the couple has a combined 50 years in IT or information technology experience. Grant was a systems engineer and Marie was a security manager for Hewlett Packard Enterprises. Grant’s brother and sister-in-law, Glenn and Kecia Gilliam, moved from Salt Lake City last year to open MacTraders in Sequim and they thought Marie and Grant’s talents could be put to good use here.

“We’re getting big city technology here in Sequim,” Grant said. Regarding the spate of hackings, even into small or medium-sized businesses, Grant said, “Where there’s a will, there’s a way — it’s a cat and mouse game.”

The Gilliams named the company SecureVP to show their focus on security, both virtual and physical, Marie said. “Problems happen all the time and vary in seriousness.”

“Basically, if your company has a weak point, we can do everything from showing you how to set up a printer to setting up corporate policies,” Grant said. “We look at your server, update the hardware to make your business run more efficiently. Our business approach is to enhance the business process. We find solutions to make it more efficient.”

“It’s so important to have training and awareness, especially so in the small and medium business market because a lot of the time, they don’t have enough resources to have full-time IT staff,” Marie said.

“Increasingly we see small businesses targeted and it’s definitely an area to be aware of and to have someone like us to turn to. The main thing is having a process and solutions around security and that extends to virtual, physical and just general IT support.”

The couple stresses to business owners to not fall into benign neglect regarding their IT operations but to be vigilant about even simple incursions such as phishing.

“Training staff about what is acceptable and what to watch out for is very important,” Marie said. “General IT security could be something as small asking you or one of your employees to click on a link — simple phishing. (If you bite), then there will be more targeted attempts. If you’re unsure whether or not you’ve been compromised, it’s best to have someone to take a look at it.”

The Gilliams work as contracted consultants and offer three “pillars” of service: IT consulting and training; networking and support; and cyber/physical security. From server administration to surveillance systems, businesses receive customized solutions. If your business has sensitive data, accepts credit cards or doesn’t have a security policy, SecureVP can help.

“One of the cool things is we’re using high-end cameras that are all IT based,” Grant said. “The technology has dropped them in price dramatically and people can get clarity and quality like never before. We also have a device that replaces your doorbell that’s a complete security system,” with realtime see and speak capabilities.

“The thing that is unique about SecureVP,” Grant said, “we’re holistic with virtual and physical security. We try to make that happen all around the board.”