Aug 22, 2017 | SMB Technology, Technology News
According to a recent research report “Assessing the Cloud Security Landscape” by the Computing Technology Industry Association (CompTIA), 85% of business owners and IT professionals participating in a survey responded that they are Confident in their Cloud Service Provider. No wonder research firm IDC predicts the market for public and private cloud security to more than double over the next few years. What Cloud Security Concerns are top of mind with business owners, and what can you do to reduce your risk? Read more to find out… Cloud Security Concerns According to the CompTIA research, the biggest security concerns are: system downtime and business interruptions; exposure or loss of data during file transfers to the cloud; and concerns over encryption of data (either transactional or at rest). Rounding out the top five concerns from the research are physical security of cloud service provider data centers, and shared technology vulnerabilities in a multi-tenant environment. Many of the risks related to these issues can be avoided with appropriate technologies, and by adhering to industry compliance regulations. Questions to Ask About Cloud Security To help you sleep at night, there are a number of questions you can ask your Cloud Service Provider to better understand security considerations. You may want to know where your data resides. Understanding data residency could help you navigate standards related to regulatory compliance or specific country requirements on data residency. Consider asking your Cloud Service Provider about their encryption policies, business continuity and disaster recovery plans, and their data integrity and retention policies. Is the Cloud Right for All of My Data? Data that is strictly regulated...
Jul 18, 2017 | SMB Technology, Technology News
Reputation Management is a hot topic in the boardroom these days. Having a solid business continuity plan could make or break your company’s ability to survive a data breach or other systems failure that could tarnish your hard-earned reputation. Company news about data loss, systems downtime and other unplanned interruptions occur with regularity. According to technology research firm Gartner, a business that has a catastrophic data event has a two-year survival rate of just 6%. Surprisingly, your company can avoid these scenarios by having a solid BC/DR Plan. It is no surprise that recent research by MarketsandMarkets forecasts the spend on DR as a Service (DRaaS) to grow from $1.68 Billion in 2017 in revenue to $11.11 Billion by 2020. Read on to find out how a Business Continuity Plan could save your business. Understand Your Business Continuity Risk and Exposure A great place to start with Business Continuity planning is a review of your company policies and procedures. Your business continuity policies should — in addition to identifying the technical standards for managing your company’s applications, data, and related infrastructure — should identify acceptable risk, what your employees will do in a disaster recovery scenario, and identify any compliance requirements. It is important to understand what information is most important and to consider the risks of suffering a data loss. What would be the impact to your revenue, productivity and reputation? If you could not access your information, or it was subject to data breach, how may that impact your customers’ trust and your business’s reputation? An Ounce of Planning is Worth a Pound of Cure Ensure you...
Jun 1, 2017 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
Last month’s blog provided information about ways to “Avoid Being Held Hostage by Ransomware.” Eight days later, on May 12, 2017, there was a global outbreak of the Wanna Cry Virus. With Cyber Threats on the rise, the importance of maintaining network compliance is top of mind with business owners and IT professionals alike. Industry compliance regulations, including PCI, HIPAA, and SOX, drive best practices in Network Compliance. However, most businesses today rely heavily on their systems to access Cloud Services, Voice, and Data Networks for mission-critical applications that run their business. What can you do to maintain network compliance? Automate Your Network Administration Keeping operating systems and network configurations up to date is a top priority for network compliance. Each device that connects to your network needs to have up-to-date operating system security patches, anti-virus definitions, and malware threat prevention in order avoid un- intended intrusion of your network. There are abundant tools and managed services to help your business stay up to date without adding to your internal labor cost. Proactively Monitor Your Network Monitor your network to identify any systems that are out of compliance. Proactive monitoring can also identify unauthorized devices connected to your network. You can monitor your network traffic to identify unusual use of network bandwidth. Aside from slowing down your systems, excessive bandwidth may be the result of a malware-infected device that is exploiting your network. Documenting Your Network Security Controls Achieving compliance with documented security procedures including password policy, systems maintenance, backup procedures, and compliance measures, is critical to following most industry compliance regulations. It is a best practice to update...
May 4, 2017 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
Ransomware, spyware, phishing schemes, and other Cyber attacks are commonplace in today’s world of technology. According to a recent article in Forbes, ransomware attacks grew at an accelerated pace in 2016 with reports of 638 million attacks, almost 200 times more than the number of ransomware attacks in 2015. Most experts agree that Ransomware attacks will continue to occur–so what can you do to avoid being a ransomware hostage? Not All Ransomware is Created Equal Before you panic, find out what type of Ransomware you are up against. Scareware is a type of Ransomware that tricks you into thinking you have a bigger problem. A simple scan may quickly remove the pop from your browser cache and get you back on your way. Some ransomware is truly nasty — your entire system may be encrypted, meaning you will need to wipe your system and start over if you have a good backup. Otherwise, you may find yourself hostage to the cybercriminals to unlock your data. An Ounce of Protection is Worth a Pound of Ransom Data protection is an important element in minimizing the impact of Ransomware. Make sure your network security is fully compliant. Backup your data, update your antivirus definitions and make sure your security patches are up to date. Consider using Cloud Backup, Security as a Service, and Managed IT services to keep your network up to date. Having a strong offense to avoid ransomware is your best defense. Don’t Forget the Human Element Train your employees on a regular basis on the importance of staying vigilant against Cyberattacks and how to avoid being a hostage....
Apr 12, 2017 | SMB Technology, SMB Technology, SMB Technology, Technology News
Does your business have a backup and disaster recovery plan? Businesses of any size should know which applications–and their associated data–they rely on and what the cost of interruption would be in the event of an unintended disruption. Cyber Threat, natural disasters, and systems failures may impact your business; however, human error is said to be the top cause of data breach (58%), ahead of technology errors. To avoid unnecessary downtime, here are some questions to ask to help assess your backup and disaster recovery plans. Assess the Risks of Data Loss and System Downtime With Backup and Disaster Recovery there is always a balance between cost and risk. To allocate your technology spending, it is important to focus on your areas of exposure. Maybe your business relies heavily on an order-processing and invoicing system, or perhaps a manufacturing and inventory control system. If these systems go down you may lose revenue and productivity from employee idle time. You may also have intellectual property that is important to your business. What would be the consequence if this data was lost and could not be recovered? You may also have compliance exposure, if you suffered a breach of privacy or other data that should be encrypted was exposed. Assessing your risks and ranking the exposure is an important step to evaluate your backup and disaster recovery plan priorities. Not all Backup Plans are Alike For systems you rely on heavily, you may consider having an offsite failover system in the event of a data loss. This can minimize your downtime by enabling you to rapidly cut over to a...
