Tag Archive for: business continuity

Defending against cyber attacks: Antivirus software and antivirus employees

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There are two basic defenses you should have in place to defend against cyber attacks One is technological, the other is human. Together, the two can go a long way to protecting the integrity and security of your data.
Antivirus software and network protection – One of the risks you face these days is the one that is most likely to damage your brand. It is the one most likely to deeply undermine customer confidence and trust. That risk is a data breach. If you experience some form of data breach where your clients perceive their data has been compromised, your brand is damaged permanently. More importantly, you are liable for the financial consequences of a data breach. Make sure that your systems are protected by the latest antivirus software and that you are consistently updating it. New viruses appear every day, so outdated antivirus software is less likely to protect you.

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Managing risk: Keeping IT up and running

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So why are we addressing risk management? Because every firm needs to make plans if something bad happens. It could be a fire, flood, hurricane, extensive power or broadband outage, even an act of terror, but any of these events could affect your IT infrastructure or capacity to connect to it. And many smaller firms fail to recognize how reliant they are on their IT infrastructure. Here are two tools that can help keep your IT infrastructure operational in the event of a disaster.

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How to improve data security and save some money

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With all the worry about data security and the risks of data breaches, firms need to have safeguards in place. Here are two ways you can lessen the risk of your data being lost or stolen. These can also make running your IT infrastructure simpler and perhaps even less expensive.

Data storage and cloud backups – If your data is stored and backed up on-site, you may be exposing your business and customer data to an entirely unnecessary vulnerability. On-site data storage and backups expose your business to serious risk.

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Get smart about smartphones

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With flexible working schedules, remote teams and Bring Your Own Device (BYOD) policies in force, it is has become commonplace for employees and business owners alike to use smartphones for work purposes. A quick reply to an email, sharing that sales presentation, glancing over that vendor proposal–all on a smartphone–is something we all do on a daily basis. But with this convenience comes great security risks.

This blog discusses what they are and how you can avoid them.

Mobile devices are lost/stolen more easily.

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3 things your Managed Services Provider (MSP) wants you know

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Are you considering bringing a MSP on board? Or perhaps you already have one. Either way, for you to truly benefit from your relationship with a MSP, you need to build a solid bond with them. As a MSP who has been in this business for long, I can tell you the 3 important steps that will help you get there.

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Hiring seasonal staff? Here are a few things to consider from the IT perspective

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In many industries, there are seasonal spikes in business around specific times. For example, CPAs/Accounting firms, though busy all year, generally see a spike in business around the time of tax planning, IRS return filing, etc., the retail industry sees a boom around the Holiday Season, and so on. During such peak times, it is common practice in the industry to employ part-time staff to meet the immediate resource needs. While this works well in terms of costs and for handling additional work/client inflow, this poses a few challenges from the IT perspective. In this blog, we explore those challenges so you know what to watch out for before bringing part-time staff on board.

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Who is regulated by HIPAA?

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Does HIPAA regulation cover your business? There are two categories of entities who are regulated by HIPAA and are required to be in full compliance.

Covered Entity – This is the main focus of the original law. Covered entities are those who, in their normal activities, create, maintain, directly access and/or transmit PHI and ePHI. Examples of these entities are healthcare providers, clearinghouses, insurance plans, and employers who self-insure. [Note: In general a specific individual is not considered a covered entity. Their employer is the covered entity. Individuals, however, still have a duty to support and ensure compliance and would likely face disciplinary action by their employer for individual behaviors that compromise compliance. Their employer would be the target of OCR fines and penalties.

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HIPAA: A Quick Primer

You deal with HIPAA every time you visit a medical office. But what is this law that seems to constantly appear anytime you get near a healthcare provider? HIPAA is the acronym for The Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996. Aside from allowing for portability of health insurance for the individual, the laws main reason for being is to ensure the protection and privacy of an individual’s medical data. HIPAA strictly regulates the security of medical data, and holds anyone who possesses or touches it in any way liable for any data breach that occurs. HIPAA (1996) and its younger cousin, the HITECH Act of 2006 strictly regulate and monitor the security of all individual medical data in the U.S.

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HIPAA fines involve very serious numbers

For most of us, HIPAA is just some strange acronym for a law we stumble across everytime we visit a doctor’s office or medical clinic. Something about signing to allow the office to have access to your medical records so they can treat you. Or something like that. However, if your business has a professional […]

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4 Lesser-known benefits of hiring an MSP

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You are probably aware of the most common benefits of signing up with an MSP such as

  • On-demand IT support: Having an MSP ensures that you get priority IT support when you need it.
  • Scalable IT infrastructure: With an MSP by your side, you can scale your staff structure up or down without worrying about the IT aspect of it. Need to add 20 people to your workforce? You focus on the hiring, while your MSP will work out the IT logistics
  • Lower IT costs: Overall, having an MSP gives you a lot of cost savings vis-a-vis having an IT team in-house. Even if you have an IT team in-house, you can have them work in tandem with your MSP for the best results. Or, have them focus on research and optimization of your IT environment instead of focusing on mundane tasks like backups or software updates.

But, here are a few more benefits that are often overlooked.

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