Tag Archive for: networks

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 New viruses appear every day, so outdated antivirus software is less likely to protect you.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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Managing Risks: Small firms need to wake up

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You may not think too much about serious disasters. Most of us focus on the day-to-day chores of running our businesses and keeping revenues up. However, there are long term planning concerns that many firms just avoid. Those concerns are managing the risk to your business if something very bad happens. This long-term planning is called risk management and it is the dullest topic ever—until something bad happens.

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Website cloning: Don’t fall for that trap!

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Have you watched one of those horror movies where something impersonates the protagonist only to wreak havoc later? Well, website cloning does the same thing–to your business–in real life. Website cloning is one of the most popular methods among scammers to fleece you of your money.

As the name suggests, the cybercriminal first creates a ‘clone’ site of the original one. There can be a clone of any website, though retail shopping sites, travel booking sites and banks are the favorites of cybercriminals. The clone site looks exactly like the original one, barring a very miniscule change in the url.

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The biggest threat to your IT infrastructure: Your own employees

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Did you know that your employees often unwittingly ‘help’ cybercriminals gain access to your system? Often, employees play a part in compromising the security of your IT infrastructure, even without them realizing it. For example-

When your employees use their own devices for work purposes such as to access emails, to connect to work servers or to work on office files. In the event their device gets infected by a malware or hacked, the virus or the hacker gets access to your data as well. Your employees may put your network at risk by connecting to unauthorized networks, downloading unauthorized software, using outdated antivirus programs etc, on their personal devices and then using it to access work files. Then, there’s the chance of them losing their devices such as smartphones, laptops or tablets putting your data at risk.

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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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What does HIPAA require of you: A bird’s eye view

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So you know you are regulated by HIPAA. But in a broad sense, what must your organization do to be in compliance? First and foremost, you need to understand what HIPAA and the HITECH Act are regulating. HIPAA and the HITECH Act are regulating and enforcing the security of an individual patient’s health information. The specific information being regulated is known as Protected Health Information (PHI), also known sometimes as Individually Identifiable Health Information (IIHI), and its subset, electronic Protected Health Information (ePHI). ePHI is simply PHI stored, maintained, etc. in digital form. These are defined as any data that can individually identify a patient. That means anything that can reasonably ID a patient. Examples include SSN, medical ID, age, vmail, URLs, driver’s license number, license plate numbers, photos, names of relatives, identified test results, telephone numbers, email and postal addresses, and medical images. As can be seen, this sweeps a large swath of data under the umbrella of protected information.

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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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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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