Tag Archives: IT Solutions

How Cybersecurity Needs To Evolve

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There’s a huge need for the cybersecurity industry to step up. Ample demand and the evolving nature of attacks has made the industry dynamic in recent years. For those that are up for the challenge, it’s a great opportunity to delve into a field that is always growing. However, no business is invulnerable to threats, and the industry needs to change in several critical ways to reach a point of maturity.

 

Nobody’s Perfect

Don’t get me wrong, many businesses practice cybersecurity well. We’re seeing more and more organizations understand that ever-changing threats inherent in the industry, and that bodes well for progress. Still, a concerning amount of businesses continue to adopt a “fire and forget” approach—that is to say layering on defenses and calling it a day.

 

Every new system, every new update, and even every new solution creates vulnerabilities that attackers will try to exploit. The first step to building a better cybersecurity program is acknowledging that there will never be perfect countermeasures. The best a business can do is to identify key vulnerabilities unique to their organization and focus on protecting those while remaining vigilant about the possibility of an attack. Often, this means bringing in a third-party that can better monitor and upgrade systems on a business’s behalf.

 

Don’t Adopt Just To Adopt

While it’s true that every business—from large corporations to small businesses—should be concerned about cybersecurity, it doesn’t mean that the shotgun approach of adopting as much as possible and hoping for the best is smart.

 

Instead, businesses should look at cybersecurity strategically. There are a lot of great tools out there, but many require some expenditure of time and talent to be used effectively. Choosing tools should be a matter of weighing whether a team is capable of using them to monitor and detect potential threats. If they’re not being used correctly or as intended, they can often be a money sink that accomplishes very little.

 

Personalize It

Plenty of resources online give step-by-step plans for implementing cybersecurity in a business. While these articles are great starting points, they should not be the end-all-be-all of cybersecurity. More often, businesses should consider their level of risk, the amount of resources at their disposal, and potential attack surfaces when constructing a cybersecurity plan.

 

I’ve written a lot about security and compliance in the healthcare sphere because these organizations stand to lose more than most in an attack. There’s a lot to talk about. A smaller business will want to identify what is at risk in the event of an attack and what they could lose. Many times, it’s also about what these businesses can gain—the benefits available to them when older systems are upgraded.

 

Ever Vigilant

In all likelihood, cybercriminals are not constantly probing the average business for weak points—but no business can afford to assume that they aren’t. Complacency is the enemy of good cybersecurity, and planning for the future is the best way to ensure that needs are being anticipated. In short, new measures should be proactive, not reactive—and it’s up to all businesses to find an ongoing solution that works for them.

Why Cybersecurity is Important For Small Businesses

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Most small businesses think themselves beneath notice in the larger corporate world. After all, without the need for IT systems or significant infrastructure, there is less to manage and fewer vulnerabilities to address. Anything related to technology is often an afterthought for small businesses, and many make the mistake of believing that cyber threats are not a potential issue.

The unfortunate reality is that cybercriminals are more than willing to prey on small- to mid-sized businesses, even with bigger targets available. Widespread adoption of technology has made just about every enterprise a potential target. Given the lack of focus on technological infrastructure and fewer resources to dedicate to systems monitoring or recovery after a breach, these organizations are especially vulnerable. And every company has data worth stealing, to sell or use as leverage. The loss of any sensitive information can cost a company in both reputation and capital.

For small businesses, a bit of investment in cybersecurity can keep records safe and ensure that larger losses don’t happen down the line. There’s no need for a dedicated IT team to take necessary precautions when it comes to adopting new technology or infrastructure. The first step is acknowledging that, while small businesses are vulnerable, they are not without options for their own protection.

Many cybersecurity breaches are the result of internal error—I can’t emphasize this enough. As a result, controlling for human mistakes such as weak passwords, clicking on risky emails, and using mobile devices on unsecured networks can go a long way. Many do not realize how many points of vulnerability exist. Small businesses should ensure that the tools in place are easy to use for employees that may not be familiar with these matters.

Mobile devices are such a massive point of vulnerability that it’s worth dedicating time to examine all of the ways that they can go wrong. Between the difficulty inherent in managing them, the risk of public wifi, and employees bringing devices from home, small businesses will have to account for every possible attack surface. Consistent regulation is necessary to ensure that personal and business devices stay safe no matter where they go.

For that matter, small businesses should consider regulating access to certain systems and technology. Though they may not have an IT department or dedicated standards for who can access what, these organizations should consider which systems each employee has a consistent need for. If an employee doesn’t require a system to get their work done, they should not have access.

Planning for a cyberattack should also account for the worst-case scenario of a breach occurring and ease the recovery process. Making backups of everything digital is the best and easiest way that a small business can protect themselves in the event of a breach and allow for the least downtime when something goes wrong. The investment to create on- and off-site backups is minimal, but the safety it provides is huge.

This is only a small sample of the tactics that small businesses can consider when investing in cybersecurity. VPNs, software audits, and proven antivirus software can also provide an additional line of defense. However, any small business should recognize that precautions do not guarantee safety, and may want to consider investing in the services of a third-party cybersecurity firm to assess risk levels and provide scalable solutions. Technology will become even more involved in business, and safe adoption is important for businesses of all sizes.

 

Disaster Recovery—Don’t Gamble on Your Security

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In this new age of cloud computing, we see companies adopting new systems that they hadn’t previously considered to keep up with the times. IT departments, often formerly regarded as a token failsafe in case of technical disaster, are now taking the lead to overhaul outdated data infrastructure and create lasting change in their companies.

Cloud computing is spreading through the business world, and businesses both large and small are working to adopt the cloud to better leverage their data and provide an easy backup. However, companies often overlook the security and backup measures necessary to ensure that cloud systems aren’t crippled in the event of an outage.

As a result, IT disaster recovery (DR) has gained attention, with businesses needing specialized plans and contingencies to ensure that their systems can be recovered as soon as possible in the event of an issue or an outage. DR has been around for awhile now, but with cloud computing placing further emphasis on Internet integration, the practice is more important than ever.

So what does disaster recovery entail? Are offsite backup servers necessary to ensure the security of your IT systems? Fortunately, the answer is no. With the rise of disaster recovery as a service (DRaaS), paying what you need for the promise of a secure cloud service in the event of a disaster is both cost-effective and highly beneficial.

The main issue with convincing businesses to adopt a DR plan is because of skewed perceptions of the factors that can causes outages or disasters. The name itself implies some cataclysmic event, such as a natural disaster or major storm, when in reality, the majority of outages are caused by operational failure or human error. For that matter, these outages are often very short-lived, and though companies can often get their systems running again in a short time, your customers’ widespread expectation for instantaneous action can make a surprisingly negative impact on relations.

In fact, a 2016 survey discovered that 69% of respondents reported that minutes of downtime would be disruptive to their businesses.

One of the best aspects of DRaaS systems is their ability to address failover in a comparatively small number of systems. As previously mentioned, failures are often much more minor than the moniker of “Disaster Recovery” would indicate. DRaaS systems are often able to group systems into virtual protection groups, allowing for more precise control when addressing problems.

Not all DRaaS systems are created equal, however. It is up to you as a business professional to seek a solution that is largely automated and offers good technical support. There’s no sense in recommending plans or companies here; every business will have its own unique needs when it comes to implementing a DR plan.

That said, adoption is pretty much necessary in this age of technological flux. 72% of companies have reported using their DR plans at least once, and beyond the issues previously mentioned, inconsistent cybersecurity measures have lead to a string of attacks by hackers.

Often, it can be difficult to make business leaders cognizant of the benefits of more robust IT systems. However, highly outdated IT practices have led to inefficiencies in some businesses. Anticipating and overcoming these issues can be the key to optimizing business practices and easing data analytics.

Adopting the Cloud in 2017

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With a new year comes resolutions—personal objectives for an individual to complete. Too often, the grand dream of exercising more often does not come to fruition, leading to empty gyms and admissions that the whole effort was “good enough.”

On a greater level, the new year gives businesses a chance to rethink how they run themselves—particularly when it comes to things like cloud systems.

It has been mentioned a few times on this very blog that cloud systems are revolutionizing enterprise data management. The cloud computing industry grew by 25% in 2016 and is expected to continue that sort of progress in the near future. Perhaps more telling is the rapid growth of infrastructure as a service (IaaS) by 53%, indicating a rise in interest in public cloud services.

So, in 2017, let’s have a look at some of the more viable cloud strategies that enterprises can adopt as their own new year’s resolutions. Hey, at least it’s not a gym membership.

The Public Option

Of course, the truth of the matter is that businesses that take advantage of cloud opportunities will fare better in the future that those that don’t. This has caused some degree of controversy, especially among small businesses that may not have the time or resources to kickstart their own cloud network.

That said, even these businesses can harness cloud services through the ever-popular public cloud. If they lack a CIO, which they likely will, they may not be able to enjoy the full benefits of whatever platform they decide to use, but still stand to benefit in the form of better storage, backup, and information sharing.

The Hybrid Option

Everything about the cloud is set to herald in a new era of IT-driven success in business. As a professional in the field, I’m ecstatic to see cloud computing given so much attention in the technology sector.

Despite my earlier mentions of public cloud systems, I believe that a hybrid cloud approach is best for businesses capable of running the private components on their own. Of course, infrastructure is necessary for a private cloud to work, but the speed of having on-site data access as opposed to relying on public Internet is very often an advantage.

Beyond that, one of the great aspects of the hybrid cloud is the ability to “pay as you go” for public services, giving businesses flexibility when more computing power than usual is needed.

Rise of Bimodal IT

Now, more than ever, this is the time to adopt cloud services, particularly for businesses that possess a robust IT department. A 2014 CIO Agenda report by Gartner details the ways that a hybrid cloud model can bring further opportunities to enterprises through what it calls “bimodal IT.”

Bimodal IT, referred to as one of the large components of digital transformation, is the practice of managing two work styles, one rooted in established practices and another focused on exploratory tactics. The hybrid cloud enables this progressive practice by allowing easy “overlay” across existing platforms, whereas companies operating primarily from physical servers may face problems with their hardware becoming outdated.

This is perhaps the biggest challenge that big businesses will face in the coming years. While small businesses may not have an existing IT support structure, they can also adopt cloud services without worrying too much about how it interacts with existing infrastructure.

Here’s to a New Year!

As we continue to move into 2017, it is important to remember that the IT industry is constantly in a state of flux. Businesses can’t anticipate every development that will be made, but adopting a cloud-based infrastructure gives them unprecedented flexibility to adapt to computing demand.

Some Things Never Change—Security and the Internet of Things

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There’s certainly been a lot of hype over the past few years about the Internet of Things (IoT); its potential to create a 360 view of data has many business analysts salivating. This is an appealing prospect, especially given the network effect gained from more and more enterprises and even households adopting interconnected devices. That said, before every company rushes to adopt this new technology, security concerns must be addressed first.

The problem lies in the lax security standards that most of these devices have. In an age where most individuals feel comfortable making transactions online, we think nothing of sending personal information through the web. The reason for this perhaps undue confidence in security measures is because small breaches are never newsworthy, whereas large breaches attract attention and are generally perceived as isolated incidents.

The truth is, many manufacturers, particularly those constructing IoT devices, know very little outside of the bare basics of cyber security, exposing countless sensors to potential attack. Also problematic is the lack of standards associated with devices under the overall umbrella of IoT.

One example of a problematic tendency is a lack of prompts to change passwords. Manufacturers seldom ask users to change login information from the default, and as a result, devices can be hacked en masse because few have bothered to update their information.

Of course, given how extensive these networks of devices can be, updated security may very well entail securing every single device, a process that is just as excruciating as it sounds. This is a new concern for companies that, until now, have managed to get by with a standard-issue IT department.

Until industry standards can be adopted, it becomes the responsibility of individual businesses to thoroughly vet where their devices are coming from, and study the results of previous companies that have used them. Wonderfully enough, the data is definitely there; though it may require some effort to find and interpret.

There is good news, though. As far as protecting devices goes, there are already proven tactics that IT departments can use to stay on top of things. Encryption, two-factor authentication, and vulnerability scanning can go a long way in ensuring that a company’s web communications are functional and secure.

Problematically, this issue works both ways; devices are being compromised by poor security which are in turn being used in DDOS attacks, two problems that companies will have to worry about.

As far as the defense side of things go, companies do have options in the form of DDOS detectors, as well as numerous websites detailing ways to combat these attacks and similar cyber threats. Companies will need to incorporate contingency plans into their policies for cyberattacks regardless of whether or not they make heavy use of IoT devices.

This may require spending some money to properly train your IT department in defensive best practices, but it’s worth it in the long run. The age of the IoT gives companies an ultimatum: adapt to the shifts in technology, or fall behind. That doesn’t necessarily mean completely integrating new gadgets into your workplace; just to familiarize your company with them and be prepared to incorporate them if your situation calls for it.

Caution is the name of the game. The issue with learning the technology is that it will inevitably change in the next few years. That said, it’s always worth investigating in order to stay on top of recent trends and even leverage new devices to gain a competitive advantage.

Because of these ongoing issues, IoT technology has not been widely adopted, despite the impact that it has already made. These security concerns will have to be addressed before businesses are willing to trust these devices, though, like the Internet before it, it has the potential to revolutionize business and bring a new level of data analysis to the workplace.