Cyber Security

Is Your Company Equipped to Fight a Cyber Attack?

 

Cyber criminals are constantly employing new approaches to infiltrate businesses — making security breaches inevitable. That’s why understanding the security landscape, developing a strategy and engaging the right suppliers to help implement or strengthen your customer’s security is so important. Taking these measures will help minimize the impact of any security event that may occur.

Additionally, time is the most precious resource when responding to a threat. The faster you can help your customers recognize and eliminate a threat, the less damage it will do to their business, and the more you will be the hero.

Questions to consider:

What are the biggest security concerns facing your organization and does the staff have the budget and expertise to handle them?
Have you recently conducted any type of security review on your people, processes, or technology?
Have you adopted any cloud-based applications, and if so, are you aware of the risks that have been created?
Is your organization’s information system access limited to authorized users, processes, or devices?
Do you have a contingency plan in case of an emergency?
Is physical access to systems, equipment, and operating environments limited to only authorized individuals?

Products:

Does the fireway include modern functions, such as application awareness and network intrusion detection? 
Is anti-virus installed on all endpoint devices? 
What cloud-based security options are available?
What functions (e.g., remote wipe, data encryption, etc.,) should be enabled on mobile devices? 
How is data being controlled, restricted and tracked? 

12 Common Myths about Cyber Security

With all the focus on cyber security for businesses in the past few years, there’s a lot of good information about how to protect yourself and your company from the risk of a security breach. Unfortunately, there’s also a lot of bad information circulating, and it can sometimes drown out the facts. Here are 12 common myths to avoid:

The right software will solve your problems. A good suite of software is an essential part of your cyber security strategy, but that’s all it is – a part. Cyber security is not a set it and forget it process. You need experts to be able to monitor, analyze, react, and adapt to threats in your system, and while machine learning is getting better all the time, software alone can’t cover every aspect of your needs.
Cyber security is IT’s job. Speaking of needing experts, there’s more: even if you managed to hire cyber security specialists (people in this field are in short supply,) a solid IT team is not enough to protect your organization against a security breach. Today, proactive defense is much more effective than reactive, as malware takes moments to do serious damage rather than hours or days. That means educating end users and consistently enforcing a security policy in all aspects of your business’s operations.
Attackers don’t go after SMBs. Data breaches in giant organizations like Yahoo! and Deloitte make the headlines; a local boutique shop or a regional manufacturing company don’t. But …

How to Get Started with Data Security

You probably know that your company should be doing more with data security, but where do you start? Getting your business to the security systems it should have can be a long process, but even small steps will help you mitigate the risk of a data breach for the long term. Here are some quick actions you can take as well as some planning steps to get you started with data security.
Quick-Start Steps

Encrypt your emails. One of the easiest ways for people to gain unauthorized access to company data is intercepting emails and email attachments. Secure your email communications by encrypting messages and setting timers for message expiration – once the intended party has received the information, do they really need it forever?

Protect your network. All company networks should be password protected and, ideally, hidden from discovery by non-employees. By ensuring that only company employees have access to the office internet and file sharing servers, you decrease the chance of data breach by unauthorized users.

Enforce a strong password policy. Even though the technology used to attack and secure data has evolved dramatically since the initial spread of internet usage, your best first-line defender is still a strong password. Most websites and applications suggest a password that is a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols. And contrary to popular belief, mandating frequent password changes may be doing more harm than good, as employees can get frustrated and use weaker, easier to …

3 Business Cyber Security Solutions for 2018

Every year has seen changes and evolutions in cyber crime and security, and 2018 is no exception. As trends change, businesses need to be constantly educating themselves on cyber security solutions to mitigate risk and protect against cyber attacks. Here are three types of platforms that every company should include in their security operations, as well as the 2018 trends that are driving innovation and change.
System Security
It’s always a good bet to start with the basics, which means that many businesses already have at least some semblance of a general security system in place. However, if you don’t, or if you haven’t reviewed your system security solution in a while, it’s worth taking a second look at the building blocks of your business’s cyber security this year.

System security covers a number of categories, including network, data, application, mobile data, and web security, with a focus on protecting end users from dangerous activity and web content. Anti-malware, email encryption tools, and firewalls all fall into system security, and each area should be covered by one or more security solutions.

2018 Trend: IoT Security

A vast network of connected devices, called the Internet of Things or IoT, has changed how society thinks about connectivity. Prior to the widespread adoption of connected devices, connectivity meant screen time: how much time consumers spent on their phones, tablets, or computers. Now, virtual assistants, smart TVs, networked security cameras, vehicle fleets, and even business telephone systems are connected, and just …

Is Your Business’s Data Secure?

Data security is a priority for IT professionals in the business world. For others? Not so much. A study by the Ponemon Institute reported that only about 38 percent of non-IT employees with access to company devices viewed data security as a high priority. But after 2017 showed us that data breaches can do a lot of damage to a company, can you afford to let it slide?
What is a data breach?
Simply put, a data security breach is a confirmed incident in which private, sensitive, confidential, or other protected data is accessed or released in an unauthorized way. For example, you’ll probably recall a number of high-profile security breaches that occurred in 2017, such as Equifax and Yahoo.

Despite widely-held perceptions, largely due to pop culture, many data breaches are not a result of hacking — at least, not by the stereotypical cyber criminal tapping furiously at his keyboard. In fact, some of the most notorious data breaches happened because an authorized user took an unauthorized action. Target’s 2014 breach, for instance, occurred because of a successful phishing attempt on a third-party vendor, giving the attackers the login information to Target’s systems. Because at least one employee opened a fraudulent email, the payment and contact information of over 70 million Target customers was compromised.

If it sounds scary, that’s because it is. IBM’s 2017 Cost of Data Breach Study reported that in 2017, the average cost of a data breach for a company was $3.62 million, and 1 out of …

Is BYOD Right for Your Business?

We’re calling it: flexibility is going to be the business buzzword of 2018. With more companies allowing their employees to work remotely, office workspaces are becoming less critical to operations. BYOD, or Bring Your Own Device, policies have caught on in the push for flexibility, but should you implement them for your company? Let’s weigh the pros and cons.
Pros

Employee Satisfaction: For many people, their personal devices have pretty much become a part of their being. With a BYOD policy, employees get to use the devices that they’re most comfortable with rather than working on a company platform. By using systems that they are already used to, they can jump right into work without any training or points of confusion that could come from using a work-provided device. And while distraction may be a concern, that street runs two ways: employees who receive work-related emails, calls, and messages to their personal device will likely spend more of their own time being productive.

Reduced Costs: There are several areas in which a BYOD policy can help reduce company spending. First, and perhaps most obvious, having employees work from their personal devices means less spending on company-provided hardware like computers and phones. Rather than providing a whole new workspace for a new employee, all you need to provide is any necessary software licenses or ancillary tech they need for their position. Another area for savings with a BYOD policy is IT costs. Part of being more comfortable with …

5 Ways Better Internet Service can Boost Your Bottom Line

We’ve all felt the frustration of a poor internet connection: web pages not loading, important files refusing to upload, emails and messages not sending. For businesses, these problems are more than frustrating; they cost time and money. While you may think that putting up with internet service that slows you down helps to save money, a better network and faster connection not only improves productivity, but can actually open the door to money-making solutions.
1. Leverage the Cloud for your Business
In their annual State of the Cloud survey, RightScale found in 2017 that over 95% of their respondents were already using the cloud for their business processes. And while the cloud offers businesses benefits such as reduced hardware maintenance, reduced IT spending, and more agile applications and processes, effective use of the cloud requires a reliable and fast internet connection. Migrating to the cloud has become easier and cheaper in the past year, and with its potential for increased savings and security, it makes more sense than ever to incorporate a cloud strategy into your business.
2. Go Further with VoIP
Making communication easier, faster, and cheaper is a surefire way to boost productivity and revenue. Switching your phone system to VoIP does all that and more: with lower trunking and long-distance costs and better scalability, VoIP systems cost less than traditional landline phones. In addition, VoIP systems offer a whole host of features that improve workers’ quality of life, such as mobility, conferencing, and integration with other communication tools as well …

Upgrade Your Phone System to Reduce Risk of Cyberattacks

Just like technology itself, cyberattacks have been evolving. In the past, cyber criminals targeted mainly company databases and connected devices, or simple, remotely controlled tech that is connected to company networks, such as building controls and security cameras. While these attacks still make up almost two-thirds of all hacking attempts, the past year has shown a shift in what is being targeted by cyber crime. With remote desktops and private communication channels in hacker’s scopes, now is the time to be proactive with your company’s cyber securityand upgrade your phone system to a hosted VoIP solution.

 
Hackers Exploit Any Weakness
Your business probably already uses traditional cyber security measures such as firewalls and malware protection software, but more and more, these defenses aren’t enough to deal with new threats. Recent wide-reaching attacks such as WannaCry and Petya ransomware took advantage of vulnerabilities in Windows operating systems that hadn’t been updated to the latest version. In fact, non-current versions of operating systems and software are how a lot of malware gains purchase into computer systems.

While making sure that everything is up-to-date on your company computers seems like a simple enough task, it becomes harder when you think about all the software and applications you use every day. Not to mention, keeping drivers, apps and software updated is only the tip of the cyber security iceberg. For IT professionals and departments, performing cyber security tasks can be a full-time job, and can be sidelined for …

Understanding the Facts: Is the Cloud Safe?

We are living in a technological era where we are constantly gaining access to some of the most advanced and innovative technologies that make our lives better and easier.

While these advancements do bring us a lot of benefits, there’s one question that always surrounds these developments: are they really safe? And included in those concerns is the popular and growing trend of Cloud technology use.

This incredible technology allows us to store our data remotely rather than storing them on our personal computers. This substantially cuts IT costs while speeding up operations dramatically. And while Cloud technologies do bring a ton of benefits, do they also come at the expense of privacy?
Take Precautions to Protect Your Business
The Co-founder of Apple, Steve Wozniak, recently expressed his concern over “everything going to the cloud.” He also said that we might face a lot of privacy issues and troubles in the next five years due to this trend. One of the most real and persistent fears regarding Cloud computing is the possibility of data loss and theft. But when you understand the risks and prepare a disaster recovery plan, you can still experience the benefits of the cloud with protection in place.

Let’s take a look into some of the most common risks associated with Cloud computing:

Data Breach: One of the most common risks of working in a cloud-based environment is the possibility of a data breach. Many of the poorly-designed and associated applications can actually …

5 Tips for More Secured Unified Communications

Implementing a unified communications (UC) solution comes with some unique security concerns because it combines voice services (VoIP), chat services, email and video conferencing into one system. Because of this combination of elements and their dependence on the internet, the potential for security threats against the business increases. Today’s companies must be taking steps to ensure their communication tools are protected from these more advanced security threats.

Small businesses have a unique challenge because they are often limited by cost and available resources to dedicate to securing their systems. However, there are some effective and simple ways to manage security for small businesses that can help to protect the system from an outside attack.

Here are 5 tips to help better secure your UC solution:
Tip #1: Use a firewall
As a responsible business owner, you need to be able to understand the infrastructure of the security elements you are implementing, that means selecting a firewall that offers a simple configuration and is specifically designed for a small business. When setting up the firewall, block all the unknown traffic and allow traffic only from known sources. The firewall will work to sort through your traffic to ensure it’s safe to utilize.
Tip #2: Require strong passwords
Businesses should require all passwords are used with Session Initiation Protocol or SIP passwords. SIP is defined as, “the protocol defines the messages that are sent between endpoints, which govern establishment, termination and other essential elements of a call. It can be used for …