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For the most part, the days of criminals pulling off dangerous heists are largely gone. And why should they continue? There’s plenty of inherent risk – the criminals could be identified on camera, or face a gun battle with a guard or twenty.
Forget about criminals doing things the old fashioned way. The new era of criminals prefer to steal and sabotage businesses digitally. That means anything from brute-force hacking methods to sly social engineering tactics.
All hope is not lost. Here’s how to mitigate your cyberattack risk.
Simply put, antivirus (AV) programs prevent, detect, and remove malicious programs and code from your systems. They help you catch the minor stuff that you don’t even think about. With a robust AV program in place, your network is protected from cyberthreats roaming freely about.
55% of organizations have had a security incident or data breach due to a malicious or negligent employee. After all, users are typically the entry point for many modern cyberthreats, such as email viruses and phishing attempts.
Training users on IT security matters entails keeping them up-to-date with the emerging threats. That can be done as a mass email sent out to everyone in the organization, or as regularly hosted training seminars.
There’s no point in jumping various security hurdles if your password is readily accessible to cybercriminals. You may think that people have realized this, and adjusted their passwords accordingly.
Unfortunately, that’s not the case. "123456" and "password" topped the list of leaked passwords for four consecutive years. We’re still waiting to see what this year will bring us.
A good password means mixing capital letters with lowercase letters. Add in some special characters and throw some numbers in there, too. A major component of password security is having different ones for each account.
If that’s too annoying to handle, consider getting a password manager to safely handle it for you.
Not all cybercriminals are trying to access your data through the internet. Many times, cybercrimes happen because the wrong people have access to important devices and software.
Keep your server room under lock and key. Install physical security systems, such as badge readers and video cameras. Make sure to routinely check on these to make sure only people who are supposed to have access to critical IT components are using these things.
Sending files through unsecured channels means that data is ripe for picking. Encryption, in its simplest form, adds a digital lock to your files. Only the intended user gets a key.
Related: Check Out Our Unified Email Management for Email Encryption
Even if you were to suffer a data breach, your encrypted data would be functionally useless to cybercriminals. To guarantee maximum protection, you’ll want to encrypt your data at rest, as well as your data in motion.
Security breaches often occur as direct result of unpatched devices and software. Software vulnerabilities change over time and give cyberattackers security pockets to exploit. However, keeping your IT infrastructure fully updated gives you the best chance at defending your data.
It can quickly become tedious to keep everything updated, so it’s important to automate your updates. Automation can free up your time and resources that can be better spent elsewhere in your business.
Cybersecurity best practices constantly evolve and shift over time. Though you can keep up with them on your own, you may not have the time or overall knowledge.
Related: Signs That You Need Managed IT Services
Partnering with a security specialist can keep your organization protected and give you peace of mind. For a flat-rate fee, you can have a cybersecurity team on standby to monitor and protect your network 24/7/365.
Ransomware has completely locked you out of crucial files needed to run your business. Customer names and addresses have been obtained by a cybercriminal to be sold to shadow brokers. Employee names and social security numbers are being distributed as you try to understand what happened and how to stop the madness.
Sounds terrifying, doesn’t it? That’s because it is.
We’ve put together a short list of 6 best practices to follow to avoid these scenarios from ever taking place.
Antivirus is often your first line of defense against malicious programs that are embedded in files trying to worm their way into your system. Keeping your antivirus updated and enabled on your machines is the key to ensuring proper network protection.
The most common way for your network to be attacked is through user targeted emails. Invest in a sophisticated external email filtering software. It will prevent those malicious files from ever entering your network space.
Not every user needs access to everything on your network. It’s important to understand who needs what, and why. In the 2016 Cyber Security Intelligence Index, IBM found that 60% of all attacks were carried out by insiders. Of these attacks, three-quarters involved malicious intent, and one-quarter involved inadvertent actors.
Setting proper permissions greatly cuts down on these attacks from happening in the first place.
It may be difficult to keep all the workstations on your network updated with current security patches. Without setting proper update policies, you’re stuck manually updating each computer.
Consider outsourcing the task entirely. With a security professional handling your security patches, you’re free to focus your time on other projects.
The most important line of defense when it comes to network security is education and training. If your users don’t understand how to look for phishing scams or suspicious files, they’re going to open your business up to a world of pain.
Keeping them in the loop entails actively sending them material, as well as regularly testing their knowledge. They don’t have to become overnight experts, mind you – just enough to avoid the obvious scams and viruses.
Despite your best efforts, it’s functionally impossible to guarantee 100% IT security and safety. Part of being secure and ensuring continued success is being ready in the event of a large data breach.
Crafting a thorough business continuity plan should be a core component of any business-grade network security plan.
A team of network security specialists is the ideal solution for modern businesses that don’t have a large MIS/IT Department. They’re also ideal for businesses looking to remove or supplement their in-house IT security efforts.
A network defense provider can help support in a large variety of areas that are important to the protection and sustainability of your business. They will protect your time and efforts using a wide variety of network security best practices.
Cyberattacks result in many bad things, including data deletion, data theft, data ransom, and even complete downtime.
Cybercrime damage costs are projected to hit $6 trillion annually by 2021. It’s imperative for businesses to lower their risk of these attacks from happening in the first place.
Here’s 4 tips on how to do just that.
Most modern cyberthreats don’t necessarily have to “brute force” attack their way through your network. Instead, they seek out the weakest point of entry to slip in. In practice, that’s your software and hardware that you’ve been neglecting to update.
Luckily, the people that manage your products are well aware of the current cybersecurity landscape.
There’s almost always a patch to cover up these vulnerabilities quickly. Therefore, simply keeping your IT updated can be enough to thwart would-be attacks.
Related: How an IT Service Provider Solves 3 Business Challenges
It’s easy to get overwhelmed by the sheer amount of devices and programs on the market. Choosing equipment with the right security features can make a huge difference in whether you’re actually protected or not.
For example, many small-business owners neglect to choose a router that meets their businesses needs. Home-grade networking equipment often lacks the security features that business-grade equipment has.
Related: Signs That You Need Managed IT Services
Another example? Antivirus. Home-grade antivirus simply isn’t complex enough to catch advanced threats, such as next-gen malware and viruses. On the other hand, business-grade antivirus solutions are much more thorough with their hunt for network infections.
The simplest and most common ways for cyberattacks to enter your network is through your employees. To the untrained eye, a phishing email or infected attachment seems completely legitimate.
But even a single click can quickly turn from minor nuisance to major issues.
To diminish the chances of these kind of attacks, you must actively train employees on cybersecurity best practices. Keeping them informed on the latest cybersecurity news is critical, too.
Start by establishing regular meetings. They don’t have to be too frequent – once every few months is plenty. These meetings should go over the latest threats (what they look like and how to defend against them). It’s also important to couple training with exceptional email security.
Cybercriminals know that most people are lazy when it comes to passwords. It’s really hard not to be – people have dozens upon dozens of accounts that each require their own password.
As tempting as it may be to use the same password for everything, consider doing otherwise. If a cybercriminal were to discover the password for one of your accounts, they could access all of your other accounts.
Did you know? For the fourth consecutive year, "123456" and "password" topped the list of leaked passwords.
Setting a password with both capital and lowercase letters, as well as a healthy dose of numbers, letters, and special signals, is the way to go.
Here’s a helpful tip, too – if you’re no good at remembering these passwords, consider using a secure password manager to securely manage them for you.
Running your business is tough enough. The last thing you need is hackers stealing your data or hardware malfunctions breaking down your workflows. IT service providers are the extra pair of hands you need to run your company.
These professionals find quick solutions to some of the most common business problems, so you can focus your energy on something else.
Here's how an IT service provider overcomes three business challenges.
You've read the headlines.
"Facebook Hackers Likely Hit Most Users,"
"It's 3 Billion! Yes, Every Single Yahoo Account Was Hacked in 2013,"
"Data of 143 Million Americans Exposed in Hack of Credit Reporting Agency Equifax."
It seems, then, that cybersecurity is a bigger problem for your business than it's ever been. If you don't have a proper cybersecurity and disaster recovery strategy in place, you could jeopardize your reputation.
Think about it rationally. If hackers infiltrate your network and exploit your data, will your customers trust you again?
Here’s a hint: the answer is probably not.
IT service providers manage multiple facets of your IT infrastructure for you, so you can concentrate on other areas of your business.
These professionals minimize the chances of hackers from stealing your valuable data through security measures like endpoint protection, machine learning, antivirus protection, and analytics.
Why is this so important?
60% of small companies go out of business within six months of a cyber attack. You still control your IT systems, of course. A managed IT service provider will simply carry the burden of management for you
Downtime can have a significant impact on your business. Whether it's the result of a power outage or a natural disaster, downtime results in loss of productivity, fewer business opportunities, and low employee morale.
Moreover, only 2% of organizations say they recover from a downtime incident in less than an hour.
An IT service provider gets your business up and running again quickly after a downtime incident. These companies utilize disaster recovery and business continuity plans to ensure you don't lose valuable data and your staff get back to work as soon as possible.
IT service providers don’t just respond to downtime events. They prevent downtime, too. They carry out all the IT tasks that you don't have the time to do yourself, such as regular system checks and hardware maintenance.
Completing these tasks greatly diminishes the chances of a downtime disaster happening in the first place.
You know how important customer service is to the success of your company. How would you feel if consumers jumped ship and took their business elsewhere because of issues with your computer systems, for example?
Companies with a well-crafted customer service strategy have an average customer retention rate of 92%. If you skimp on service, however, you could lose out on sales.
An IT technology provider improves efficiencies and limits downtime. From installing the latest software updates to managing network security, service providers take care of IT support issues in real-time and prevent these problems from happening in the first place.
IT service providers prevent customers from canceling appointments or stopping service as a result of hardware and software malfunctions. As a result, you can provide better service and manage customer expectations.
Customer service, downtime, and cybersecurity are three of the biggest challenges facing your business in 2018. You can't tackle these problems alone. Investing in an IT provider will streamline many of your day-to-day business tasks and improve productivity in your workplace.
Aegis was desperately in need of an upgrade to their computers and server. They were using computers with outdated operating systems and they badly needed an update. They also needed to migrate their legacy applications and software to the new systems.
In the past, Aegis had always taken care of their IT in-house. However, setting up a new server, firewall, and workstations proved to be too much to handle.
If that weren’t enough, Aegis also needed to handle a new cybersecurity compliance regulation that they were unfamiliar with (NIST 800-171). With over 100 different – and necessary – security controls to implement, Aegis decided that they needed some help with managing it all.
The DynaSis team began their consultation by understanding the scope and problems that Aegis faced. They developed a detailed plan that covered every aspect that needed to be addressed. Once the plan was approved by Aegis, the DynaSis team performed all the necessary upgrades over the weekend in just three days.
DynaSis also helped Aegis establish a comprehensive backup strategy, while also conducting cybersecurity training for Aegis employees to maintain compliance.
Aegis now has a more efficient network than ever before. With fiber channel partitioning, the DynaSis team was able to create ultra-fast internet speeds. DynaSis updated the server operating system to Windows Server 2016, and all the workstations to Windows 10. The legacy applications were all ported over seamlessly and without issue.
Aegis is also safe from internet threats. They’re now compliant with the stringent cybersecurity requirement and their customers are happier than ever.
Implemented solutions:
Aegis couldn’t be happier with the work that DynaSis completed. They’re now up and running efficiently, and have been operating with minimal issues since the upgrade happened. DynaSis continues to handle the few remaining help desk tickets quickly, without slowing down operations.
Many businesses balk at the vague notion of managed IT services. What are managed services, and what do they do? The answer, in short, is any ongoing supported service related to your business’s IT.
But don’t take that to mean that managed services lack specific, tangible approaches that benefit business productivity. Working with a qualified Managed Service Provider (MSP) has countless approaches that can raise productivity while letting you focus on your business mission instead of fixing your technology.
We’ve put together a list of three managed services that will raise your business’s productivity, along with brief explanations of how they do it. The results might surprise you.
Cyberthreats are on the rise and the risks affects companies of every size and shape. In fact, almost half (43%) of all cyberattacks target SMBs. In spite of this, many SMBs lack a professional, guided approach to their network security. This can create a recipe for downtime and lost productivity.
Malware and ransomware attacks get more sophisticated every day. And all it takes is one negligent or uninformed employee’s click on a phishing email to infect your network or put you in a data ransom or data loss situation.
Such situations cost your company more than just expensive downtime (the average ransomware attack costs $100,000 due to downtime). They can also damage your reputation with clients and even cause legal repercussions for your business.
By having a qualified MSP handle your network security, you drastically reduce the chances that any of the above scenarios will affect your company.
Given the costs of downtime and data loss, it will likely have a positive impact on your bottom line, too.
Modern businesses live and die by their mission-critical data and systems. 60% of SMBs that lose their critical data close up shop within six months. Traditional data backup approaches leave significant exposure to partial or complete data loss due to their lack of redundancy.
For example, if you’re not backing your data up offsite, you’re sitting on a ticking data loss time bomb. Your business is one disaster away from total data loss.
But even if you manage to restore from your backups using outdated processes, your recovery process will take far longer than if you leave your data backup to an MSP. That’s because most MSPs will help you develop a business continuity plan as part of your data backup strategy.
In other words, when your systems go down or hardware fails, you’ll get back to work with far less downtime and incurred costs.
That’s not to even mention the added military-grade security data centers provide – or multiple layers of redundancy.
Your data is your business, and you should protect it accordingly.
You’re a professional in your industry with valuable insider industry knowledge that allows you to succeed. The right MSP will be an expert in protecting and backing up your data, too. They can reduce your potential for downtime and preserve your productivity and reputation in the process.
Troubleshooting is a huge time suck. Combining network management services with an in-house team can free up their time to deal with other issues that are pertinent and specific to your individual company needs.
The break-fix approach to solving IT problems costs not only money, but valuable time.
By hiring an MSP to manage your network and provide 24/7 IT support, you get the benefit of professional guidance and problem solving from qualified engineers who specialize in the exact kinds of problems that plague networks like yours.
This allows your team to focus on business while they monitor and eliminate potential problems from behind the scenes. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, as the saying goes.
Nowhere is that more true than when it comes to network management.
Whether you take a hybrid approach by outsourcing some tasks to an MSP and keeping others in house, or you decide to outsource all your IT needs to an MSP, there’s no question that professional guidance can help your business be more productive.
It can also insulate you from a host of potential productivity and downtime issues before they happen.
Where that balance falls depends in large part on the specifics of your business, your budget, and your approach. Often, determining the final balance means having conversations both internally and with potential partners.
Regardless, the first step is arming yourself with the right information.
When you’re the midst of work, nothing can be more irritating than running into a technical issue. It happens to everyone because computers are complicated, and very small issues can have reverberating effects. As a managed IT services provider, we see these problems daily, and we want to help you fight the urge to throw your hardware out the window.
Below are 8 of the most common PC problems we see, and how to do a quick fix yourself.
You press power and nothing. Just a black screen. When this happens, the issue is generally associated with the power supply.
As simple as it sounds, check to make sure the computer is plugged in correctly, both at the supply source and on the machine. If you are still getting nothing, test the power outlet with a different device to makes sure it works. If all else fails, you may have a dead power cable.
If your computer is slow, the hard drive is probably being overburdened. See how much free drive space you have. If it’s less than 500 mb, you need to start cleaning up your hardware.
Start by emptying your Recycle Bin. Then, uninstall programs you don’t use. (If you don’t know what it is, let it lie.) Then, perform a disk cleanup by searching “disk cleanup” in the search bar.
The short answer here is that your hard drive is likely overheating. Sometimes this can occur when computers are left on permanently. Turn off the computer overnight and see if the problem still arises.
If it’s still blowing, download a hardware monitor (like this one) and see if the hard drive is actually overheating or if you simply have an overzealous fan. If the latter, you can easily monitor the fan manually using any one of a number of fan apps.
When your screen is frozen, you don’t have a lot of options other than a reboot through control-alt-delete or pressing and holding the power button. The problem can be related to malware, corrupt files or insufficient RAM.
If your internet is running slowly, try clearing your cache and your temporary files. You could also have a bad cable connection. Try replacing the ethernet cable to see. Finally, a reboot of the modem may be necessary.
Did you know? Downtime costs small businesses up to $8,600 per hour. Aberdeen
Printers can have any number of issues. Check to see if you’re connected to the right printer in the printer settings. Check for paper, check for power.
Make sure you mouse is properly plugged into the computer. If you’re using a wireless mouse, check the undercarriage to make sure it’s still switched on and the batteries are still good.
When you get the blue screen telling you that Windows has been shut down, you’re in a troublesome spot. You’ve got corrupted drives, bad disk drives or overheating. If you get this screen, your best bet is to contact your managed IT services provider.
Related: Signs That You Need Managed IT Services
When problems become more than you can handle, having a managed IT services provider like DynaSis by your side is critical to productivity and business continuity. Call us today to learn more about managed IT services.
Learn more about IT support for business.
For many IT departments, the thought of outsourcing IT is equivalent to job self-destruction. But the reality is far from it. Businesses all over are outsourcing the daily grind of technology to free up their internal IT teams, releasing them from the shackles of day-to-day technology issues for more innovative projects.
When you’re bringing on a co-managed IT services provider, there are a few essential elements you want to look for to give your internal IT department the well-deserved break they need from solving base-level IT problems.
Here, we’ve compiled the top services you need from your co-managed IT services provider.
Network monitoring is one of the best ways to keep a handle on your technology. But IT teams are not often 24 hours. With 24/7 network monitoring from an outsourced provider, you can ensure your technology is running smooth, even while your staff is away.
One of the easiest ways to prevent technology problems is through patches and updates. Unfortunately, this isn’t as easy as it seems. In fact, half of PCs are running on outdated software. This leaves many workstations vulnerable to cyberthreats. Patching and updating needs to happen frequently and with the least amount of disruption.
You need a solid backup and disaster recovery plan to ensure business continuity. Outsourcing the management of backups means those backups will be tested thoroughly, giving you the best chance of recovery after disaster.
Most IT teams spend their days bouncing from workstation to workstation fixing any number of tasks for employees. With a strong outsourced help desk ticketing system, your employees can have problems resolve with even greater efficiency.
Software-as-a-service is taking the business world by storm. By 2020, cloud-based software will be the default option. With help-desk SaaS, you get the tools you need to remain productive.
It’s imperative to have strong cybersecurity processes and procedures in place. Blocking incoming threats means placing effective security tools at your perimeter. Likewise, you want your staff thoroughly trained in crypto-prevention. Managed IT security can get you there.
Related: Signs That You Need Managed IT Services
You want an outsourced IT team that knows your business and supports your internal IT team. You co-managed service provider should have a dedicated team for your business, with field, help desk and network operations center (NOC) teams ready always prepared to handle any IT-related issues.
Keeping with due diligence in terms of the regulators is a full-time job in itself. HIPAA, SSAE 16, PCI/DSS: Regardless of your regulatory jurisdiction, you need compliance monitoring that keeps you up-to-speed with the latest regulatory requirements.
One of the most innovative ways to employ a co-managed IT services provider is to utilize their industry knowledge to help you plan strategic technology moves. Think of this as having a CIO on retainer to guide you to your goals.
Learn more about managed IT services for business.
Spring has sprung and we are in full swing at DynaSis and 2018 is racing to be another great year. We appreciate your business and everything you do for our families. The DynaTeam thanks you!
Several new initiatives and advancements are happening over here! And, implementing them increases our overall service quality (always our mission) and also allows us to be more preventative, respond faster and take our game to a new level. We have invested in a new high-end monitoring system which enables monitoring anything with a TCP/IP address while also integrating into our management platform. It additionally allows us to monitor any IOT (Internet of Things) devices; HELLO, Amazon Echo to the Nest Thermostat. Another recent investment includes a secure cloud-based documentation system and a network-based security monitor tool. These allow DynaSis to get very granular as part of our Managed Cyber Security initiatives. We are investing in technology to maximize your Availability and Security as part of our ASM Strategy.
Additionally, we are now at 3 Technical Account Managers and have acquired a product to report on your IT infrastructures, budgets, technical alignment and your overall technology stack. Reporting will begin rolling out in the next 2 quarters.
Don't miss our webinar scheduled for Thursday, April 12, at 11 am on a shortened version of our Data Backup, Business Continuity, and Disaster Recovery presentation. If you did not have a chance to attend our 2 seminars last fall, I highly encourage you to tune-in. And, for those that came out, it's an excellent refresher! An invitation has been sent out or you can register here. This webinar clarifies what all this means for you and works with you to get some defined business requirements going forward that protects your organization. I know it's not the most interesting topic (haha); however, it is critical to your overall success.
That’s all for now… Have a great start to spring and as always if you need anything do not hesitate to ask. I'm here.
Thank you!
Dave
There’s no question that outsourcing IT is where most businesses are going. For small businesses, having internal IT departments is too costly. For bigger companies, their internal IT teams are often dealing with too many day-to-day technical problems to be of use for larger technological strategies. It’s a hard game to balance, but when push comes to shove, many companies are leaning toward managed IT services.
At its most basic, managed IT is a flat-rate, outsourced service to help you manage the daily ebbs and flows of your workflow. Cabling, hardware, network setup, Wi-Fi, cybersecurity: Managed services takes your entire technical infrastructure and ensures it’s working correctly, efficiently and safely.
But the transfer of IT responsibility can often be a barrier to cross. When is the right time to outsource your business’s IT? There are several indicators to help you decide if managed services is right for you.
Related: 4 Things You Can Do Now to Save Money on Your IT
A common issue with businesses is the inability to monitor access to data. Part of this is often found in bad file sharing permissions and access-level problems. Your business relies on its data, but when that data is easily and openly accessible by anyone with your Wi-Fi password, you’re taking a huge risk.
A good MSP (managed services provider) will help you delineate roles and access levels based on job titles. Then, highly sophisticated tools will help you monitor and track activity 24/7.
This way, you always know what’s going on behind your network.
The problem with most tech support is simply an issue of investment. For break/fix tech support, the longer they’re working on your technical issues, the more they get paid.
For an MSP, the better your system functions, the more of that flat, monthly rate they get to keep. It’s in the MSP’s best interest to give you 24/7 help desk support and proactive monitoring and maintenance.
Business continuity should be on every owner’s mind. Backups are crucial components: You don’t want to wait until it’s too late to find out if your backups work.
True backups need redundancies, whether on-premise, in the cloud, or both, and they need to be tested over and over again. Most business owners assume their backups work great – until they don’t.
Downtime can crush a business. When your network seems to shut down frequently, no matter what your current IT support has said they’ve done, you’re looking for answers. MSPs are the kings of uptime. Keeping your staff productive is the essence of managed IT services.
Did you know? “81% of enterprises say the cost of downtime exceeds $300K on average.” – ITIC
All data shows that cybercrime increases year over year, and there’s nothing slowing it down. Ransomware toolkits are getting easier to use, and small and medium businesses are taking the brunt of that.
Without a proper cybersecurity plan, many business owners know they are playing with fire. With an MSP, all that changes. You get a full plan with procedures, protocols and training for your staff.
No more making it easy for hackers.
Related: IT Security Assessments Can Protect You and Your Customers
Finally, you have big plans. But how do you align your technology with your long-term goals? MSPs bring the business acumen to the table, giving you C-level strategic thinking with technology expertise to help you achieve your desired results.
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