Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

While we may talk about computer viruses a lot, we wanted to change tack briefly and talk about the other kind--the kind that makes you sick, rather than your technology. With COVID-19 still plaguing the news, we felt that there was no time like the present to do so.

It may not be a surprise to you that hackers and other scammers are trying to get between you and your stimulus money. Using the COVID-19 pandemic to prey on unsuspecting or ill-prepared people, they have already made off with more than millions of the $290 billion that the U.S. government has earmarked for its citizens. Let’s look at how you can avoid being another unfortunate victim of the modern cybercriminal. 

With so many people working from home due to the COVID-19 outbreak, organizational IT security is stretched thin. It is important that you know how to maintain operational integrity while prioritizing security when your whole staff is working from home. 

Before we start on what practices you should be prioritizing when it comes to your cloud resources, we want to recognize that most businesses have found cloud computing to be extraordinarily useful. In fact, that is why we wanted to discuss some actions that you need to implement to help keep your cloud-based resources secure. 

The past two decades have generally seen business technology in one of two camps: either IT (information technology), which includes all of a business’ computers, peripherals, and networking equipment, or OT (operational technology), which included everything else. As time has passed, both have advanced, and now both carry the risks once limited to IT. Let’s examine how you can better secure your business by focusing on the convergence of IT and OT.

Two-step authentication/verification has seen considerable popularity as a means of securing an account. To help you boost the protections surrounding your Microsoft account, we’re offering a few tips on how to use two-step verification, as Microsoft refers to it.

Wi-Fi is one of those interesting technologies: On paper, it’s basically magic, but few things can send people into a rage faster than it not being available, or worse, not being good enough. Its capabilities have made it a great asset to the workplace, but you also need to be sure that you aren’t sacrificing your security to use it. We’ve put together some tips to help you achieve better, safer Wi-Fi.

As of September of 2019, research conducted by Verizon states that almost half of enterprises--half--are willing to sacrifice their mobile security in order to gain “advantages” in speed and productivity. This marks an increase from just 2018, when this metric measured at a still-too-high one-third of enterprises. Of course, such behaviors could bring severe consequences. 

Your business is bound to collect a sizable cache of data, a significant percentage of which being the kind used to identify someone. This is exactly the kind of data that cybercriminals are looking for, which means it needs to be protected. Here, we’re covering the basics of how you can help secure your data’s integrity against cybercrime.

With all of the accounts that people have these days, it almost--almost--makes sense that people tend to use passwords that are too short, overly simple, and repeat across multiple accounts. Unfortunately, the only thing this does is to make accounts less secure. As a result, more and more authentication requirements are being put into place to keep security a priority.

Shadow IT is the moniker that people in the technology industry have coined for applications that employees download that aren’t vetted for use on an organization’s networks. For the better part of the past decade, IT administrators have universally demeaned the use of unsanctioned software for use on company networks due to potential vulnerabilities that come with these applications and any phantom costs associated with their use. What may surprise you is that some organizations are rolling back their shadow IT policies. Today, we will take a look at both ends of this issue.

The data stored on your computer is valuable, and that’s a fact. Unfortunately, this means that there are unscrupulous characters out there who will want to get at this data, so you will need to have the right solutions in place to protect it. Part of this will require you to have a firewall included in your protections.

Cybercrime has been on the rise over the last few years, and it doesn’t look like it will be slowing down anytime soon. As it turns out, bad actors can turn a profit by targeting businesses, and their tools and tactics are only getting trickier.

With most everything having gone digital, most consumers have changed their preferred payment method. Many different factors contribute to credit cards becoming the most used payment. Today, we take a look at why this has become a popular means of payment, as well as weigh the pros and cons of credit cards. 

To those who weren’t around BEFORE the Internet became an irreplaceable business tool, it’s almost hard to imagine how businesses operated when this tool didn’t exist. Storing sensitive data has never been such an easy thing to do but at what cost? It is undeniable that the Internet has opened doors for not only us, but criminals as well. Today we discuss how these doors can easily be secured with the implementation of a virtual private network, or VPN.

Let’s face facts: as critical to your security as they are, passwords are kind of the worst. Of course, since they are so critical, you need to make sure all of the ones you use are as secure as possible, so we’ve assembled some practices that may help you tip the scales in your favor. Spoiler alert: the conventional password may not be your first choice for much longer.

Data accessibility has never been easier for both you and your workforce, but how do you know if this convenience isn’t also benefitting cybercriminals? Your mobile device contains a vast amount of sensitive information and files which need to be kept secure. This presents the need for some sort of secure management system, which in the tech world is referred to as Mobile Information Management, or MIM.

A lot has been made recently about cybersecurity, and for many people it has caused them to alter the way they go about doing things. With more people more cognizant of their individual data privacy, and how to combat phishing and other social engineering attempts, you’d think major data breaches would be snuffed out regularly. It only takes one person, however, to fail to be vigilant for it to negatively affect a whole organization.

Training your employees is important. One tool that you may find useful is Microsoft PowerPoint, as it allows you to create an engaging and informative training program.

Running a business is one thing, but it is quite another to protect it from issues and threats. There is a vast assortment of potential obstacles that can pop up during your operations. Likewise, there are many ways that a business needs to be protected, each one as crucial as the last. A few basics include: