Oct 4, 2024 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
There’s never a bad time to examine your company’s cybersecurity posture, and even improve your strategy. Threats abound, including security incidents resulting from weak passwords, phishing attacks, and the lack of strong authentication. Read on to learn how you can assess and improve your preparedness for security incidents–it’s not if, but when. Preparedness Starts with Awareness October is Cybersecurity Awareness Month. Starting in 2024 the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency’s (CISA) theme is “Secure Your World.” Cybersecurity Awareness month is a time for understanding the threats that face all businesses, and perhaps especially small to medium-sized companies. The good news is, you can learn more about what threats affect your network, applications and data, and how to protect your business. Protect Your Business from Common Threats Common threats include phishing as well as the ransome ware that can infect your network and steal your data. If your data isn’t stolen, it can be encrypted away from you via a ransomware attack. Security incidents can occur as a result of weak authentication of account access (weak passwords and lack of multi-factor authentication). Mishandled operating system updates can lead to not having the latest security updates and bug fixes. Phishing threats are growing in frequency and sophistication, and can come in through emails designed to trick recipients into giving up security credentials, which can then be used to gain access to a company’s network and data. Phishing attempts, along with variants like “smishing” (attacks via text messaging) and “vishing” (attacks by phone and voicemail) rely on fear and a sense of urgency to trick the recipient into...
Sep 13, 2024 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
Whether man-made or natural, threats to the security of your company’s network are on the rise. Not only do effects of climate change (such as wildfires and floods) pose threats to businesses, but cyberattacks including ransomware via phishing emails, jeopardize your network and data. Read on to learn more about threats and how to overcome them. Common Risks For Businesses Risk management professionals have their hands full! Natural disasters like floods or wildfires can damage, even destroy, security operations data centers, homes and businesses, and infrastructure like power lines. Even a winter storm can keep workers from accessing work systems, and break the connection between a technical problem and its solution. At the very least, natural disasters can result in costly downtime. According to a CSO Online article, the number of climate change-related incidents with damage exceeding $1 billion dollars had occurred by October 2023. As if the consequences of natural disasters aren’t serious enough, bad actors are seeking access to business networks to steal data, infect the networks with malware, or both. These cybercriminals might also use a natural disaster to take advantage of a company’s vulnerability. Data breaches are also very much in the news. According to a 2021 cybersecurity threat trends report, phishing emails are responsible for roughly 90% of data breaches. These data breaches come from unsuspecting recipients giving up confidential information when they are tricked into doing so. Phishing schemes are becoming more sophisticated, too. Another threat is escalating cyberattacks using the same artificial intelligence tools your business might be using to automate processes and make work more efficient. If...
Sep 4, 2024 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
Hybrid workforce is here to stay, and some businesses are entirely remote. With the benefits remote employees bring, it also introduces dangers like unprotected network access and greater exposure to ransomware. Over the last several years, ransomware has increased and can have disastrous consequences to businesses of all sizes. Read on to learn more about the ransomware landscape and how to protect your company from attacks that steal data. Ransomware’s Prevalence and Danger Ransomware, a type of malware that introduces malicious code that can encrypt your data and make it unusable for your company, is nothing new. Even with some progress by law-enforcement groups in taking down some of the infrastructure, it is still prevalent. It can cause data breaches, downtime from inaccessible data, and financial consequences from lost revenue. If your data is stolen or leaked, not only do you not have access to it, but it can damage your company’s reputation because customers no longer trust you to protect confidential information. According to a 2023 report by Verizon regarding data breaches, ransomware affected 66% of organizations; 24% of data breaches occurred as a result of ransomware infection. Aside from lost data, your network could also become a hub, spreading ransomware to others such as customers or vendors. How Ransomware Enters Networks and How to Keep it Out Points of entry are various, though the primary source is social engineering (phishing) emails. Many attacks come by way of an email containing a link which, when clicked on, downloads malicious software. Malicious actors use urgent calls to action and appeals to fear to get unsuspecting...
Aug 14, 2024 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
As we saw two weeks ago, our entire world is dependent on technology. The global technology outage precipitated by a faulty software update rollout by Crowdstrike illustrates how a small problem can have enormous repercussions. The recovery will likely be difficult and expensive for many companies but especially for small to medium-size businesses. Read on to learn about how a technology advisor can help your company mitigate damage from and even prevent technical issues The Outage and its Impact On July 19, 2024, a global technology outage resulted from a faulty software update from technology firm CrowdStrike upended operations across multiple industries. Flights were canceled and delayed, medical care interrupted, and businesses large and small were unable to operate. Large businesses will have a difficult time recovering, but what about small to medium-size businesses with less technical support? Smaller businesses dealt with missed deadlines, possible loss of customers and the inability to pay workers. What lessons can companies learn from what happened? How a Technology Advisor Helps Although some incidents are out of a company’s control, they still need to be prepared for the consequences of technology problems. A technology advisor is an expert in their field who advises, guides and supports businesses needing help with technology-related decisions. These decisions can include strategic ones, such as how to implement automation and develop a framework for cybersecurity. Or the advisor can assist in planning and navigating software updates to smooth the rollout process. Training and support of workers to give them the knowledge and skills to effectively and safely use technology tools. The software update...
Aug 5, 2024 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
Doing business in today’s world doesn’t come without risk. Anything can happen, from a brief power failure resulting in two hours of downtime, to a days-long global technology outage precipitated by a CrowdStrike software update. How will you know what risks your business is most subject to, and how to mitigate those risks? Read on to find out what types of risks can threaten your company, and how to protect yourself. Multiple Risks to Your Business According to an article from CompTIA, risks come in various forms. Some are within a company’s control, and others come from outside. But all pose some threat to productivity, security or reputation–or all of these. Types of risk include: Strategic: These have to do with deviations from a company’s strategy or model. Using automation, for example, can benefit operations, even facilitating software updates. However, problems can occur if human oversight isn’t part of the process. Competitive: negative consequences of a competitor’s actions, which can cause a loss of business for your organization. Even a competitor’s offering of a better product or service can negatively impact your business. Compliance: This involves failure to comply with government data security regulations, and can consist of data storage and even data breaches. Reputational: Events that can damage your image, and public perception of your brand. Perhaps a too-quick rollout of a product or service, a data breach, or a compromised website, can affect trust from customers and other stakeholders. Financial: This type of risk is anything that might cause loss of revenue. Loss of customers due to compromise of your company’s reputation, or downtime...
Jul 16, 2024 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
In 2020, the way people worked changed, likely for good. Instead of being in the office most of the time, employees worked at home. Although some workers have come back to the office, hybrid work is here to stay. Secure Access Service Edge (SASE), pronounced “sassy”) is ideal for hybrid work, with its cloud-native architecture, centralized access policies and support of access based on device identity. Read on to learn more about this architecture and what it can bring to hybrid offices. Benefits of SASE for Hybrid Work The cloud-native architecture of Secure Address Service Edge can combine the flexibility and scalability of cloud with the connectivity of Software-Defined Wide Area Networks (SD-WAN). Add to this centralized access policies based on user device identity. Data does not need to travel from one source to the data center, and back again–lessening the chances of it being lost or intercepted in transit. Access is verified at specific endpoints when a user logs in, and data can travel along SD-WAN pathways to these endpoints, once verification occurs. SASE can address the needs of hybrid offices for security and connectivity. Key components of SASE include: Secure Web Gateway: a cloud-based proxy that enforces standards for communication applications like Microsoft Teams, which are frequently used by hybrid offices. Firewall as a Service (FWaaS): Cloud-based firewall that provides a standard security experience and eliminates the need for an on-premises firewall. Cloud-Access Security Broker: Extends rules and policies to software and infrastructure not owned by your company. Zero-Trust Network Access (ZTNA): Anytime a user or device (such as a...
