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Not too long ago we published a white paper on Compliance as a Competitive Advantage. In case you missed it, we wanted to mention it again, along with a number of webpages on the subject that we have recently published.

Here’s the thing: if you are in a business that is compliance-centric (finance, healthcare, chemical manufacturing, etc.), you are probably already well-aware of the rules and regulations affecting your industry and, hopefully, keeping everything up-to-date. But there are many other businesses that need to be compliant that haven’t taken the steps necessary to ensure that disaster doesn’t strike…or if it does, be prepared for a quick and seamless recovery. We recently published a series of web pages that address some of the topics and sub-topics of which you should be aware, and they are quick and easy reads.

Compliance: Getting Started. The first step is often both the easiest and the hardest. The information included here gives you a good road map for pulling the trigger. Read More.

Compliance: Data & Network Protection. Takes a look at the protections your company needs internally, including from disgruntles current and former employees, among the biggest threat today. Learn More.

Compliance & Cyber-Security. Every business today, especially small to mid-sized firms, are at risk. Companies that fail to provide adequate protection to their customers’/clients’ data are more and more being held liable for damages. Learn More.

Compliance & Disaster Recovery Planning. With the complexity of today’s cyber-crime industry (yes, it’s an industry), 100% protection is virtually impossible. Planning for rapid and seamless recovery is critical. Learn More.

Compliance & Disaster Recovery Execution. Planning is critical, but so is having the tools and expertise to execute the plan if and when it becomes necessary. Learn More.

Disaster & Recovery Planning & Execution as a Service (DRaaS). If you have the expertise on staff to plan and execute, that’s great. If not, you may want to consider engaging a managed IT support provider to ease the burden. Learn More.

Business Continuity. According to FEMA (Federal Emergency Management Agency), 55% of small to mid-sized businesses that experience a major disaster never reopen, or close within a short time. The reason: lack of preparedness. This quick read gives you an overview of the part an experienced managed IT service company can provide. Read More.

DynaSis has been in the managed IT support business for more than a quarter century. If any of the above topics gives you cause for concern, give us a call. No obligation, no pressure. Just a friendly call during which we can start to explain the cost-effective support we can bring to your company. 678-373-0716.

 

 

There’s an old fable, often attributed to Aesop.

A small community of mice lived in the same home where there was also a cat. The cat was a skilled hunter, and the mice were afraid for their lives. But a clever, young mouse had a solution.

“We should tie a bell around the cat’s neck,” the young mouse said. “Then we’ll hear her coming and we can hide before she finds us.”

The other mice readily agreed that this was a good plan, until the oldest mouse in their community raised a weary paw.

“That is a fine plan,” the old mouse said. “I see only one problem. Who will bell the cat?”

Belling the cat.

All too often, the problem with good ideas isn’t finding them. It’s implementing them.

Like belling the cat, the best IT strategies in the world won’t do you any good if you don’t know how to make them a reality. That’s why you need managed services.

Stuff that works.

Legendary author Douglas Adams once said, “We are stuck with technology when what we really want is just stuff that works.”

Running an SMB is fraught with tough choices. What do you tackle on your own? When do you turn to experts for outside help? What’s the ROI of keeping things in-house versus outsourcing?

When it comes to the things you truly rely on, like your technology, you can’t afford to take chances. Even short periods of downtime cut into your productivity, hamper customer relations, and sap the enthusiasm from your employees.

You need the best possible performance from your network. But . . . who’s going to bell that cat?

6 ways managed services help.

We have a solution. Instead of handling all of your IT solutions yourself, call on the support of a managed services provider. There are several reasons why that’s a smart move for any SMB leader.

We even made a list.

1. The beauty of a proactive approach.

Why wait for something to break to fix it? A managed services provider can proactively keep an eye on your network 24/7. If there are early warning signs of an issue, they can deal with it then instead of waiting until it slows you down.

2. Support when you need it.

Of course, some issues pop up without warning. When they do, who do you call? A managed services provider is there at all hours, ready and willing to step in with the solutions you need when you need them.

3. Security, security, security.

There’s no shortage of cyber crime. Recent headlines about ransomware attacks and data breaches don’t just spell trouble for huge companies. Small businesses are at risk, too. A managed services provider can help you take steps to mitigate those risks.

4. Just in case.

Even well-protected networks experience disasters – big things like successful cyber attacks and acts of God, as well as less spectacular interruptions like power outages and human error. A managed services provider can give you a plan for bouncing back from any incident.

5. The best possible IT solutions.

Technology is constantly changing. The solutions that work today will be outdated next year. Or next week. A managed services provider can help you keep pace with the best IT options for your business, making sure you always have a cohesive, smart technology strategy.

6. Sharpen your focus.

With your network in good hands, you’re free to focus your attention elsewhere. Grow your business, or cultivate better work/life balance. Your managed services provider will help with any IT hiccups so you can concentrate on what matters to you.

Managed Services with DynaSis

The experts at DynaSis take managed services seriously. We know what it takes to support SMBs. We’ve been doing it successfully for years.

Plus, we see the full picture. Running a business isn’t the only thing you do, and keeping your network online isn’t your only priority. We want to help make you a success in every way we can. Perhaps that’s why working with us is a unique experience.

We truly care.

If you’d like to learn more about managed services with DynaSis, feel free to give us a call. We’ll be happy to explore how our IT support can help you meet your goals.

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.

Stoic Software Guardians

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.

Knowledge is Power

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.

Open Sesame

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.

Under Lock and Key

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.

What’s the Secret Password?

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.

Update, Update, Update

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.

Get Professional Cybersecurity Help

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.

1. Antivirus support and protection

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.

2. Email filtering

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.

3. Creating and customizing access controls

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.

4. Maintain security patches

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.

5. Educate and train users

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.

6. Create a backup plan

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.

The Best Practices for Network Security

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.

1. Keep everything up-to-date

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

2. Get the right software and hardware

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.

3. Focus on employee knowledge

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.

4. Pick better passwords

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.

Problem 1: Cybersecurity

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.

The Solution

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

Problem 2: Downtime

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.

The Solution

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.

Problem 3: Customer Service Issues

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.

The Solution

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.

 

 

Various studies have shown that the small businesses in general are not prepared to ward off cyber-attacks. In fact, a recent nationwide study showed that a full 78% were unprepared even though 60% of them had already suffered an attack. You don’t have to be Equifax, Uber or Home Depot to be a target.  Today, almost 50% of attacks are against small to mid-sized businesses (which lost an average of $32,000 each) simply because cyber-criminals realize that they are easier targets than the big companies that have spent millions of dollars to protect themselves. That study also showed that it took these small businesses more than a month on average to recover. Other studies have shown that as many as 60% of attacked businesses that suffer a shutdown eventually go under.

Because of the growing public concern over the unauthorized release of personal identifiable information (PII), all companies should be concerned that their customers will begin to choose retailers, vendors, suppliers, service contractors, etc., based on how comfortable they feel about these companies’ IT security.

So how do you spread confidence instead of worry? Begin with an in-depth IT and Cyber Security Assessment, then get the word out. Of course, before you get the word out, you need to take the time to follow the security recommendations, if any, that may be presented to you. (If there are none, that’s great! Let the world know how up-to-date you are.)

In addition to providing great public relations fodder, a comprehensive IT and cyber-security assessment will benefit your company in another way…right away. The managed IT support company you bring in to run the assessment process will alert you to vulnerabilities in your IT network and patch them, because a properly done assessment is a lot more than just a scan of your network, and will alert you to more than just viruses and malware.

Older technologies that you are still using may be ill-equipped to deal with new threats. That includes hardware and software that you may be updating. It will also show you hard drives, firewalls, servers and other equipment that are at or near end-of-life and are at risk of failure. It can also make you aware of software and equipment that is no longer supported by the manufacturer, meaning that updates to protect your system from cyber-attacks will no longer be available.

An assessment can also show you where you need to be concerned about lack of password security, such as multi-factor authentication, or need for encryption. It will show you where your firewall(s), although in perfect working order, may be consumer grade equipment where business-grade is required. Backups: The single most important component of a secure IT network is your backup process. The assessment will help you determine if your Recovery Time Objective (RTO), how long it will take to bring your system back to 100%, and your Recovery Point Objective (RPO), how many minutes, hours, or days of data you are comfortable losing, is appropriate for your business. It will also show you if your backups are actually as secure as you think they are. (Note: we have been called in to try and rescue data when data files AND backups have been locked down by ransomware. This can and must be avoided.)

At DynaSis, we have been providing assessments and network protection to the small to mid-sized business community in Atlanta, including advanced business continuity protocols since 1992. We would be happy to begin a conversation with you, so call us at 678-373-0716.

 

Your IT strategy will differ from just about every other company – it will be completely unique to you. So if you’ve ever wondered how to actually craft a strategic IT plan or if you’re looking for a refresher on the subject, look no further.

We’ve identified four critical steps that can help you create the perfect actionable IT strategy that aligns your business goals with your technology.

1. Set Short-term and Long-term Business Goals

You must always prioritize your IT in the context of the operations and strategy of your business over. Though IT is still paramount to your business success, it’s imperative to realize the key truth:

Every aspect of your IT must strategically empower your business.

Having technology for technology’s sake isn’t inherently useful and often results in unnecessary confusion and complication within your business.

By developing actionable goals for your business, you begin to form a roadmap that clarifies your path. This path will likely be very different than the path you’ll take 5 years from now.

Related: 51% of small-business owners cite time as the single biggest obstacle to adopting new technologies, and 18% say a lack of understanding is their greatest barrier.

Establishing these strategic paths for your business will help determine the general direction to take your technology.

For example, if you plan to grow your business to include more eCommerce transactions, you’ll want to start considering security compliance regulations, server storage, and cloud-based backup options.

2. Examine Your Current IT Infrastructure

After conceptualizing the path of your business, you can start to look at the current state of your IT infrastructure. Take stock of all your organization’s devices and software and figure out how they’re currently being utilized.

Even a cursory overview of your technology can tell you where you need to focus your efforts to optimize and then align for growth and change. For example, your office productivity may suffer due to malfunctioning and outdated workstations.

Even though you can’t do anything at this very moment, you’ve gained valuable insight into how and where to allocate your resources. That’s the perfect starting point for an effective IT strategy.

3. Determine Bottlenecks and Implement Solutions

After you’ve taken thorough stock of your inventory and infrastructure, you can begin to analyze and implement solutions. You can start by examining the areas of your business that need additional resources to complete their tasks more effectively.

In addition, you can look for wasted resources. Take program licenses as an example – some users in your office may not need licensing for specialized programs. However, it’s easy to lose track of these licenses over time. Removing those you don’t use can put money back into your company that would be better suited for other areas.

Related: Worldwide IT spending is projected to total $3.7 trillion in 2018, an increase of 4.3% from 2017 estimated spending of $3.5 trillion, according to the latest forecast by Gartner, Inc.

You can also more easily identify operational bottlenecks caused by IT. The right technology can remove these bottlenecks completely, giving you back time, resources, and productivity.

4. Assess and Analyze New IT Solutions for Effectiveness

Completing the initial implementation of your IT strategy doesn’t mean you should stop improving it. As you address all your bottlenecks and create implementation plans for necessary solutions, you must shift to an analytical phase.

The best progress in your business improvement is made during this phase. You can drill down into actual results and make tweaks as necessary. That may mean adjusting levels of devices and programs or even changing internal IT processes to fit the real-world needs of your organization.

Crafting a Purposeful IT Strategy

Using these four steps will put you on a path to creating the right strategy for your organization. To get the most out of it, you’ll need to seamlessly integrate the strategy with other facets of your IT.

We’ve created a helpful acronym to ensure each and every part of your IT works toward both your strategy and business goals. We refer to it simply as “ASM” – it stands for Availability, Security, and Mobility.

Related: See how ASM can help you work towards your business goals and how your business can start implementing it today.

If you’re out of the loop on ASM, here’s a brief recap: it stands for Availability, Security, and Mobility. Previously, we’ve broken down what it is and how using it can help your business succeed.

Take a step back and look at the sum of everything that’s IT-related in your organization. You’ll quickly notice that each and every part of your IT is interrelated.

In other words, when one thing doesn’t work, it causes other things to not work too.

A Real-life Scenario

Here’s an example.

You’ve been travelling all week and you’re about to play some much needed catch-up on some work emails at the airport. You reach for your old work laptop and you try and turn it on, but it’s not working.

Now what?

Since your computer is broken and you’re out travelling, you can’t check up on your work for a while. You’ll miss out on an email that came from an important client asking for a file that was stored only on your laptop.

With that skipped email, you’ll miss out on a big deal that could have been particularly lucrative to your company. Your business directly suffered because of your outdated equipment.

 

Availability in Practical Terms

Let’s run the example again, but with ASM in mind.

Before you start traveling, you notice that your laptop isn’t performing like it used to. It turns off randomly, it goes slow, and it generally isn’t ideal to work from. Though it’ll cost you now, you decide that it’s time to upgrade it because you know you need it to work around the clock.

You then go on your business trip with your new laptop and you answer emails from around the world without fail.

You’ve just used the “availability” part of ASM. You kept in mind the importance of uptime and accessibility and your business directly improved from it.

But that’s just a small example.

For the entire company, that may involve ensuring the availability of the servers at all times or setting up a business continuity plan.

Security in Practical Terms

Data flows exist between multiple devices at any point and time. When building an IT strategy, it’s always important to consider services and solutions that safeguard data at all times.

After all, hacking isn’t a headache reserved only for large businesses. Many small business owners may think they can fly under the radar of cyber hackers, but they’re wrong. Cyber attacks targeting small businesses have risen from 18 percent in late 2011 to 36 percent today.

In daily operations, that includes having thorough mobile device management (MDM) policies and encrypted email security features.

Mobility in Practical Terms

You can’t discuss modern IT strategy without mentioning mobility. Cybersecurity Ventures predicts that smartphones will account for more than 55% of total IP traffic in 2025.

Mobility allows us to work from anywhere – everywhere – without losing momentum, productivity, and collaboration.

Everything in your IT should contribute to making your office more mobile. That might include introducing modern portable VoIP phone systems, chat applications, and file sharing solutions to your office workflow.

ASM as a Part of IT Strategy

Combining all three parts of ASM will put you on track for a forward-thinking IT strategy. When you miss out on even one of the three key components of ASM, your business suffers.

They each work in consistent symbiosis with one another. If you’d like to discuss how ASM can apply to your business, or to get a better idea of ASM in general, reach out to us.

 

 

The last thing you want is to have to call your clients and tell them that you have had a security breach that compromised their personal information, but this is happening with increased frequency. This is happening in spite the growth of highly sophisticated security methods and technologies and results in loss of client trust, negative public relations, financial loss, and even the shutting down of an entire operation. Often, and particularly in small to mid-sized businesses, this is because a company simply has not instituted basic security practices.

If you are a small to mid-sized business, your network security should begin with a qualified managed IT support company here in Atlanta. Why? Given the complexity of today’s IT world, there is simply no way that a company of this size, with a small in-house IT team (or none at all), can possibly keep up with the daily threats it will have to ward off. The installation of anti-malware software, firewalls, etc., can be accomplished in-house if your team has the proper training, but the right Managed IT service company with monitor, manage and maintain these and other protections 24 x 7 x 365, dealing with small problems before they become major ones. They can also be retained on a co-sourced (co-managed) basis to augment your own people.

While we recognize that there is no one-size-fits-all prescription for keeping networks and data secure, it is important to understand that proper network security requires a layered approach, which we laid out is some detail in our white paper: Cyber Security 2017, which is very much an important read today in early 2018 (the 12 Layers begin on page 5). We also believe that in today’s world, this layering approach applies to data backup. For example, for many years, the most sophisticated backup approach was the use of a set of magnetic tapes. While tapes may still be considered part of an effective a layered approach. It should be tied in with both on-site and off-site backups. Over the years, we have seen cases of tapes that weren’t secured, or failed, or (more frequently) weren’t updated when they should have been.

Some of the protections that need to be considered:

Your data also should consider protection using multifactor authentication, such as entering a unique password, then a code received on a mobile device. This is particularly effective in warding off password breaches and what are called brute force attacks, during which the attacker will used complex algorithms to try and break through by repeatedly trying many thousands of different potential passwords.

Email is one of the most vulnerable touch points in most organizations, but not only do many firms lack reliable email continuity and archiving for compliance, eDiscovery subpoenas and other needs, but they also have not implemented email security measures to effectively thwart cyber-attacks. To help prevent an email catastrophe in any business, DynaSis provides its Unified Email Management (UEM) solution, a secure email gateway that examines every email.

Mobile devices are ubiquitous and most employers today have accepted the fact that their employees are going to be suing their own devices (smartphones, tablets, laptops) for work. Simply put, this presents a security problem that requires sophisticated Mobile Device Management system and at DynaSis, we use what we (and many others) consider to be the best system available.

Network security is a major undertaking that needs to be taken seriously. Here at DynaSis, we have been doing just that since 1992. Give us a call today and we can discuss how we can work with you either on a full managed IT support basis, or a co-sourced basis with your in-house team. 678-373-0716.

 

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