System Upgrade? Network Upgrade? How do I upgrade?

When running a business, you can’t always upgrade your technology to the latest and greatest equipment or software every time something new comes out. Yet, you also don’t want to be left behind, which would be limiting to your growth and mobility. Moving forward can be a daunting task, especially if you haven’t revamped your IT strategy in some time. Paying attention to the details is an important part of avoiding potential roadblocks with your future IT strategy.

Before you charge forward, take a moment to reconsider your current IT strategy, and make sure that it suits the needs of your business. Here are three aspects you should look at when thinking of your IT infrastructure.

Don’t Spread Yourself Too Thin
A classic reason that IT departments are unable to accomplish their multitude of tasks is that they have too many responsibilities, or lack the time or resources necessary to fulfill their duties. This happens when an IT department has several new initiatives that need to be deployed, but doesn’t have the staff to implement them. Essentially, what happens is that nothing at all will get done because IT will be too busy putting out fires and responding to urgent problems to do anything else.

One way that this can be avoided is by implementing an outsourced IT strategy with a Managed Service Provider (MSP) at the helm. An MSP can respond to any and all tech support inquiries for your business, so your in-house team (if you have one) can focus on the deployment of new technology initiatives. A good MSP is not in the business to step on your IT department’s toes, but instead can supplement their efforts to let them focus on projects and work that will increase the profitability of the business, while we manage the tasks that get in the way.

Which Initiatives Should Take Priority?
Prioritizing tasks is an often talked about problem. If everything is considered a priority, then nothing can become a priority, and progress stagnates. For example, let’s say that implementing a new email solution has been on the docket for a while, but your team has grown significantly since your last infrastructure revamp. The best way to approach this situation would be to handle network issues that could cause downtime before adding new solutions, but it’s not always an easy choice to make. It’s the responsibility of the IT decision maker to delegate tasks in a reasonable and logical manner, and this task is made significantly easier by having consultants, a professional MSP by your side.

Is Your Network Prepared for Growth?
When was the last time you analyzed the needs of your growing network? As a business grows, so too does the strain put on a network that’s constantly being accessed by more and more users. This means that unexpected amounts of traffic could slow down your network to the point where it’s difficult to get anything done. Downtime can cost your business in the long run, so your network should be optimized to ensure that your team can always stay productive. Your MSP can help your business make changes to your network in ways which help you get the most out of it.

Often times, you’ll be so attached to the work you’ve put into your IT infrastructure that you might be reluctant to change it up, or you’ll have a biased opinion of it that can cloud your judgment. Sometimes the best thing you can do for your IT strategy is to involve an external party of IT experts. FInd an MSP that can take an objective look at your IT infrastructure and offer ways in which you can change it for your benefit.

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How strong is your password? Two-Factor Authentication

Virtually every kind of online account requires a password. Yet, due to the aggressive nature of hackers, passwords alone are no longer enough to protect your information. The best way to approach network security is to have more protections in place than just a flimsy password.

Why Aren’t Passwords Good Enough?
Today’s hackers have an arsenal of advanced tools they can use to crack a password. Here are just a few:

• Brute-force attacks: This is where thousands of different passwords per second are tried in an attempt to enter the correct one. When it comes to hacking, instead of thinking about a lone hacker sitting at a keyboard typing one password after another, picture an automated process driven by powerful computers, leaving the hacker to sit back and take it easy.
• Infiltrating databases: With so much information stored in the cloud, like passwords, hackers are targeting Internet-connected databases like never before. Unfortunately, stories of major database hacks are a common sight in today’s headlines.
• Social engineering tactics: With the rise of social media, personal information is being shared over the Internet in a variety of ways. Hackers love tricking people to fork over their personal details about their lives, because these details are often associated with a user's password. This is why your password shouldn’t be something publicly known, like the name of your pet or child.

Due to factors like these, selecting a password has become challenging. For example, it feels like you only have two options when it comes to your passwords; 1) Come up with a password that’s easy to remember (and have it be prone to hacking), or 2) Have the password be long and complex, thus making it difficult to remember.

Passwords Need Some Help
Passwords are still a key part of the security equation, but they shouldn’t be the only part. This is where two-factor authentication comes into play, requiring a second form of authentication after the password is successfully entered. Many of the additional authentication options available to users lie outside the grasp of hackers, like an SMS message with a unique code sent directly to the user’s cell phone.

Another way to protect your information is monitoring your account’s access logs for any suspicious activity, like a new user logging on from somewhere in the world that makes no sense. Monitoring your network like this is just one way that a Professional MSP can proactively secure your data. This way, a hacker who has successfully stolen the correct password will still be flagged and subsequently blocked from doing any damage.

In addition to two-factor authentication and monitoring access logs, you should take advantage of an enterprise-level password management system that stores all of your passwords in a secure application, and then automatically plugs them into accounts so that you don’t have to keep track of complex passwords. This is in addition to a comprehensive network security solution like a Unified Threat Management tool.

Get an assessment of your network to ensure your information is safe and secure. Enjoy a comprehensive IT consultation, free of charge. 

Time Warner Cable - 320,000 Customer Passwords Stolen

You’ve heard about a ton of high-profile hacks over the past few years, and it’s important to note that these numbers will only continue to climb. A recent incident involving Time Warner Cable, a large ISP in the United States, shows the world that even huge companies that specialize in providing Internet for users can suffer the embarrassment of a data breach.

The breach in question happened on January 7th, 2016, and it’s estimated that up to 320,000 Time Warner Cable customers could have had their email addresses and passwords stolen. The cable company was notified by the FBI of the data theft, and Time Warner Cable proceeded to notify its affected users of the situation, both through email and direct mail. Time Warner Cable, however, vehemently declares that their systems failed to exhibit signs of a data breach.

This is hardly the first time that a major ISP’s information was breached or stolen by scammers. Just last November, Comcast had to reset the passwords of nearly 200,000 customers that were found on the black market. In this case, the incident was blamed on phishing attacks that coerced users into handing over their credentials, but what happened with Time Warner Cable isn’t so clear.

Time Warner Cable suggests that the theft occurred thanks to potential phishing attempts directed at the company, or it was the result of a data breach at other companies storing Time Warner Cable customer credentials. Either way, the fact remains that Time Warner Cable suffered a data theft, and is now paying for it with the stigma associated with lost credentials, and frustrated or simply worried customers.

As a business owner, you need to ask yourself if your organization can handle losing this much face, and more importantly, the financial burdens of allowing data breaches to happen. Most businesses that lose data due to data breaches, and aren’t able to recover quickly, go out of business within one year of the incident. That’s not to mention the fines of personal or sensitive information being stolen or compromised. If this happens, you can expect some nasty compliance fees that could break both your budget and your operations. This is why it’s a best practice to take preventative measures to keep hackers out of your network in the first place.

In general, it’s a good idea to change your passwords every now and then, especially if they’re still the default password that hasn’t been changed in several months or even years. Your passwords should always be long and complex, with both upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and symbols. Of course, these tips won’t help you much if your password gets sold on the black market, but it will keep the average hacker from cracking your password through brute force alone.

A password manager is a great way to keep your business’s credentials safe, without compromising security. The password manager stores your company’s credentials in a secure location and calls them only when you need them. It’s great for maintaining security while being able to remember your passwords.

Get an assessment of your network to ensure your information is safe and secure. Enjoy a comprehensive IT consultation, free of charge. 

Why BYOD is an Important Industry-Changing Trend

Why BYOD is an Important Industry-Changing Trend: Bring your own device is a strategy many organizations have enacted to get the most out of their employees devices while protecting their network from harm.