Author: Stuart Crawford

If your IT department is like many in the U.S., you are struggling with day-to-day operations — leaving very little time for strategic thinking about your business. Even if the time was available, would your team have the expertise and skillsets necessary to create a fully-featured technology plan, budget and business plans for the future? Organizations often hire all-purpose employees, people who are able to wear multiple hats. These generalists are excellent at keeping the business running and creating a great deal of value, but may not have the depth of knowledge required to survey the technology landscape and make recommendations that will guide the future of your business. As organizations turn to IT managed services partners to outsource more of their technology needs, there’s still a gap in terms of strategic thinking. A virtual CIO can help step into that gap and provide your business with the long-term strategic insight that will help you optimize your operations and crush the competition.

What is a vCIO?

Chief Information Officers, or CIOs, are rarely found in small to mid-size businesses as this can be an extremely expensive skillset. You may not need someone employed at this level full-time, but there are several times throughout the year when their guidance would come in handy. Budgeting, competitive analysis, operational efficiency planning and cybersecurity are a few of the topics that a CIO would address in an enterprise, and smaller businesses have the same concerns with a greatly reduced annual budget. A virtual CIO is a high-level executive who is able to step into your organization, understand your business needs and model, and make solid recommendations that will help your business be competitive in the future.

How Can a vCIO Help My Business?

You can see how a vCIO could help with budgeting, and longer-term strategic planning, but are there other ways that these individuals could add value to your business? Planning for the next several years requires a solid understanding of your business model, employees and competitive landscape. Your vCIO will also need to a great deal of research to understand your current software and hardware platforms and other options that are on the market. Your vCIO can also:

• Provide crossover business knowledge as a subject matter expert on a variety of topics
• Define IT infrastructure lifecycle recommendations, feeding into your multi-year technology budget
• Target inefficient operations, proposing changes that will save time and boost productivity
• Align technology strategies with business objectives to facilitate business process improvement throughout the organization
• Review vendor contracts and relationships, looking for economies of scale and reducing overlap
• Make suggestions for new business technologies that have recently entered the market
• Review overall disaster preparedness, including backup and recovery procedures and cybersecurity posture
• Determine operational readiness to deliver key product offerings
• Competitive analysis with an eye towards consolidation and information business technology solutions in the future

As you can see, these services are best delivered by an individual with over a decade of experience in business and technology, with the insight needed to recommend solutions that will meet core business requirements.

Getting Started with Your vCIO

Before your virtual CIO makes any recommendations for your business, they will be doing a great deal of listening and learning from your internal teams and may even request to interview vendors. They will review the competitive landscape, see what type of technology your partners and competitors are using and make lists of the current technology being used in your business. Your vCIO should ask a lot of questions, trying to determine where there are logical breakdowns in operations that could be addressed by advanced technology solutions. Finally, they will need to understand the budgetary landscape — is your business going to be able to make significant investments in technology in the near future, or are you looking for ways to reduce overall expenses? All of this information will go into their overarching analysis, as they attempt to plot a workable technology roadmap for your business.

Understanding the Technology Landscape

The technology landscape is complex and ever-changing, and your vCIO needs to have a solid understanding of the technology that will impact your business — as well as any future functionality for core software and hardware. Understanding your services delivery model and staffing requirements allows your vCIO to appropriately scale software and hardware rollouts, determining whether it’s time to move critical functions to the cloud, for instance. A firm understanding of the value proposition for cloud-based storage and applications versus the value of on-premise solutions is crucial, as technology and business teams become more mobile and look for flexible work solutions that are less dependent on their physical locations. Physical security as well as cybersecurity are hot topics for Chief Information Officers, as the threat landscape continues to morph and cybercriminals become more aggressive.

Having access to a vCIO provides your organization with a broad-spectrum talent, someone who can look not only at the problems of today — but at the solutions that will drive your business in the future. Your IT managed services provider may be able to provide this type of support, with the added value that they are already familiar with your business model and needs.

Small businesses are at considerable risk of cyberattack. With fewer staff resources available to maintain and monitor networks and fewer defenses in place, small businesses are an attractive target for hackers and other criminals.

The risks of a cyberattack are considerable. Companies could spend tens of thousands of dollars just to recover from an attack. There’s also the reputational and regulatory downsides if businesses allow data to be compromised, stolen or accessed by unauthorized parties.

To help businesses better understand the risks and solutions, this guide serves as a comprehensive introduction to cyberattacks and how to prevent them.

Defining Cybersecurity and Cyberattacks

Cybersecurity is a collection of preventative measures designed to defend computers, data, mobile devices, servers, networks and users from malicious attacks. Cybersecurity generally focuses on issues that arise from internet-connected devices and systems.

Cyberattacks are criminal activities designed to disrupt networks, prevent access to data, websites and systems, or extract valuable information. Some cybercrime is done solely to wreak havoc on websites and computer systems. Other activities are intentional attacks designed to steal and sell personal information, company secrets or intellectual property. Other cyberattacks are done for geopolitical reasons to disrupt governments, elections or economies.

What Are the Types of Cyberthreats?

Each day, there are new techniques, threats, codes, programs and approaches used to commit cybercrime. Businesses need a firm understanding of what these threat types are in order to choose the right defenses. Below are definitions of the most common threat types.

• Malware. Malware is a portmanteau of “malicious” and “software.” It is an umbrella term that covers programs designed to cause harm once installed on a targeted computer or server. Malware includes:
  • Trojans – Programs that hide a virus or other malicious program. Many “free software” offers trick unsuspecting users into downloading and installing other apps that are actually Trojans.
  • Adware or Spyware – These programs can take over web browsers and redirect activity to other sites, usually e-commerce pages. These can be difficult to remove and frustrating, as they often use pop-up windows or pages that appear behind another. More nefarious adware can monitor which websites you visit or track keystrokes.
  • Viruses – Often spread by using removable devices on otherwise clean machines, visiting malicious pages or clicking on email attachments, viruses are designed to damage or destroy files stored on a network.
  • Worms – A kind of virus that replicates and propagates itself from computer to computer connected to a network. Typically, worms consume computing resources, slowing or stalling your machine.
• Advanced Persistent Threats. Most hackers do not break into systems in one fell swoop. Instead, they stage their attack in phases. These advanced persistent threats (APTs), one embedded in a computer, may lie dormant for a period before they are activated. The program may also embed itself differently in different parts of the system, so if one threat is detected and eliminated, others can continue to cause harm.
• DDoS. A distributed denial of service happens when outside players overload a server with requests for access or connection. Quickly a DDoS can shut down a target’s networks or websites.
• Rootkits. Rootkits are a small piece of software that’s installed by another, larger software program or attacker that’s gained access. While rootkits may not be malicious, they can harbor malicious operations. Using rootkits, an attacker may be able to monitor activity, access information, change programs or use your computer to complete other actions.
• Botnets. Botnets are networked, automated programs that can be controlled by one or many outside persons. Botnets are used to spread spam or viruses or to facilitate a DDoS.
• Ransomware. A form of malware, ransomware infects your computer system and disables access or functionality, usually to your website. The cybercriminals usually demand a ransom in the form of bitcoin or other difficult-to-trace cyber currency in order to release control of your systems. If the ransom goes unpaid, the hackers usually threaten to release or sell information about your company, customers or employers.
• Phishing. Phishing is a common way hackers steal personal information, logins and credit card information. Phishing attacks usually begin with an email urging a user to visit a known website. Once there, a user can unwittingly reveal information that compromises their identity or finances.
• Fake Anti-Virus. An unsuspecting user may see an email from their anti-virus provider and install a fake update or upgrade. Instead, the installed software begins to make system modifications (including issuing false threat alerts) that make it difficult to eradicate the program.
• Corrupted Files. Even common file types, such as those used for word processing, spreadsheets, images, videos and presentations, can be corrupted by malicious code that’s embedded in a seemingly legitimate file. These programs can execute malicious scripts that consume memory or bandwidth, add or delete files, allow attackers access to your computer or use your computer to attack other machines.
• Zero-Day Attacks. When attackers unearth a security flaw or vulnerability in a piece of software before the developers do, it’s an incredible opportunity. Hackers exploit the vulnerability that can extract information or cause damage. The scope of a zero-day attack can be staggering as it can take months or years before the flaw is detected and a corrective patch is built and deployed.
• Password Attacks. The more characters and choices your company requires of users when creating passwords, the less likely you’ll be to fall victim to a password attack. A brute-force attack occurs when a hacker uses programs or guesses until they are successful in gaining access. Other attacks include the use of dictionaries to find common words used as passwords and keylogging, which captures keystrokes to steal login IDs and passwords.
• Email Spoofing. It is far too easy for hackers to create an email that looks to be from someone, even a known colleague or leader. However, these programs instead are imposters, looking to steal passwords or financial information. A recent series of spoofing emails asked employees at colleges and universities to purchase gift cards for their “colleague,” scratch off the protective coating and send the card authorization codes. If spoofing is used to contact your customers or partners, you may find them leaving to do business with someone else.
• Insiders. There’s a good reason to limit the number of employees who have administrative privileges. Inside attacks are often conducted by employees with administrative rights. They use credentials to get access to confidential information and use it for their own benefit or sell it to the highest bidder. Other inside threats manifest themselves when companies fail to remove access rights or user accounts of employees who leave the organization.

Cyberattacks can take many forms: targeting your users, your networks, your devices, your software or your websites. That’s one of the critical reasons why you need cybersecurity solutions that can address all of the potential threats.

Who Commits Cybercrime?

Many people imagine cyberattackers as hoodie-wearing, sunglasses-toting bad guys in their basement inflicting harm for personal gain or “fun.” While there is an element of truth in that stereotype, there are other players in the cyberattack realm. The criminals may be:

• Single actors or groups looking to disrupt or steal
• Political operatives looking to steal information for nefarious means
• Nation-states authorizing attacks that cripple electronic systems and defenses, disrupt communications or infrastructure, or corrupt or steal data
• Corporate actors or individuals looking to steal information that allows for an economic, strategic or military advantage

While there may be many players involved in cybercrime, the common theme is that your business needs to be protected.

Are These Threats Overblown?

No. Consider some of these statistics from the Ponemon Institute’s global 2018 Cost of a Data Breach study:

• The average data breach costs $3.86 million, a 6.4 percent increase from the previous year
• The cost per stolen record is $146
• The mean time it takes to identify a data breach is 197 days
• The mean time to contain a data breach is 59 days

When looking at the impact of cyberattacks on small businesses, the 2018 HISCOX Small Business Cyber Risk Report notes:

• 47 percent of small businesses had at least one cyberattack in the last year
• 44 percent had two to four attacks
• 67 percent of business owners and executives indicated they were concerned or very concerned about cyberthreats
• The average cost to a small business for a cyberattack is $34,600
• Small businesses incur indirect costs from a cyberattack, including customer loss, difficulty in attracting new customers, brand damage, distraction and productivity loss and staff hours committed to a resolution

Small businesses have other characteristics that contribute to their vulnerability, such as the lack of available budget and qualified personnel to manage the protective measures necessary.

What Kinds of Cybersecurity Tools Are Available?

The number and type of threats are constantly changing. That’s why small businesses need to be vigilant about how to address the potential attacks.

The National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) recently released a helpful and clear framework that can help companies understand the layers and purposes of different cybersecurity solutions.

The NIST framework lays out five cybersecurity functions:

1. Identify – Asset management, business environment, governance, risk assessment and risk management strategy
2. Protect – Access control, awareness and training, data security, security processes and procedures, maintenance and protective technology
3. Detect – Anomaly and event detection, continuous monitoring and detection processes
4. Respond – Response planning, communication, analysis, mitigation and response improvements
5. Recover – Recovery planning, improvements and communication

Another way to look at the scope of solutions is to group them into categories based on the type of security they provide. These broad security categories of protective measures collectively provide your business with a comprehensive cybersecurity solution.

The categories and the protections that fall within those groupings are outlined below.

Operational Security. Processes and procedures for handling, storing and securing data, including user permissions, data locations and sharing guidelines.

Cyberthreat Assessment. Companies looking to provide blanketed cybersecurity protection should first conduct a thorough assessment of their existing IT infrastructure. Managed IT providers usually begin their engagements with new customers with this deep dive, which provides a baseline understanding of the data, processes and protection in place and the vulnerabilities that need to be corrected.

Security Policies and Practices. There needs to be a collection of well-defined and articulated policies and procedures that address what data is available, what its business function is, how and where it is stored and who can access it. These cybersecurity policies, and the consequences of not following them need to be spelled out for employees, taught and reinforced. Policies should also include the use of personal devices, peripheral devices, home computers, public WiFi and corporate credit cards or purchasing cards.

Access Control. Small businesses should have clear guidelines in place for who determines access to files and servers. Administrative rights should be limited as noted above. Access should be requested and approved using a clearly delineated process that presents clear business reasons for allowing permission. Access should be provided on a need-to-know or need-to-use basis. Access policies should also consider physical access to servers, data centers, data closets, physical media and off-site locations.

Regulatory Mandates. Many industries are subject to government agency or sector-based requirements for the storage and usage of data. These mandates are especially critical to those companies that collect or use personal health information, collect payment information, manage legal documents or do business with certain federal or state entities. Knowing these mandates is critical, as they inform the decisions about what solutions are used and what reporting is required to demonstrate or maintain compliance.

Insurance. Purchasing cyberattack insurance helps to reduce the financial risk of a potential assault. Like with other insurance products, demonstrating the existence of protective measures may result in lower premiums.

Information Security. Ensures data integrity and privacy when information is in transit or at rest.

Data Backup. Backing up your data (and applications and operating systems) is essential to making sure it’s protected and accessible in the event of an attack or natural disaster. Data backups should be done for information stored in the cloud or physical servers. Backup services should use most advanced security measures and best practices, including backing up data in out-of-region locations, automating backup functions and scheduling backups at regular intervals.

Encryption. Encrypting your data while it’s being backed up and when it is stored in the cloud or on-premises makes it that much more difficult for hackers to use the information, even if they can access it.

Network Security. Secures your computer network from intruders, attackers and malware.

Wireless Network Security. Protecting your wireless network is an absolute must. Next-generation firewalls secure your network’s perimeter, detecting, containing and destroying unwanted activity before it can cause significant harm. Network security should also include continuous monitoring with automated alerts if suspicious or unusual activity is detected. Wireless network segmentation and segregation can also prevent the co-mingling of use by employees, visitors and web visitors.

Passwords and Authentication. Your small business needs password creation guidelines, multifactor authentication procedures, guest access policies that make it difficult for hackers to break in and access systems.

Website Security. Maintain your website’s security with limited privileges to the web server and content management tools, multifactor authentication, aggressive password changes, application whitelisting, adequate resource availability, web firewalls and dynamic security scans.

Application Security. Protects your software applications and the devices that use those apps.

Hardware and Software Updating. Providers regularly distribute updates and patches that address important security issues, fix bugs and remove emergent vulnerabilities. The challenge for small businesses is making sure each connected computer, mobile device and server has the required updates installed. Automated updating is much easier with managed IT services and cloud-based applications and servers.

Mobile Device Security. Mobile devices enable employees to access information and networks from anywhere and at any time. However, mobile devices are especially vulnerable, especially when employees are required to provide their own equipment. For example, employees may not install the necessary updates, access information on unsecured public WiFi networks, or have devices stolen or lost.

Business Continuity and Disaster Recovery. Plans and policies to recover from a cyberattack and ensure business operations are up and running with little to no downtime.

Business continuity is the overarching guidance, policies, methods and protocols that ensure that a business can continue operations during and after a natural or manmade event. Disaster recovery is a subset of business continuity, focused on the procedures used to restore systems, access data backups and deal with the incident at hand.

End-User Education. Training and awareness programs for employees and other users.

In many ways, education and awareness are the first lines of cyberdefense. Employees need to understand the scope of cyberthreats, how those threats appear and what they can do to defend themselves and the organization.

Cybersecurity is an absolute must for small businesses today. Knowing the types of attacks and the available solutions is the best defense against criminals looking to do harm.

Microsoft Excel Training

 

Excel is one of the most versatile and most useful programs in the Microsoft Office suite. It’s also one of the trickiest to master without a little help from someone who understands the ins and outs of Excel.

Join us for a special three-part online Microsoft Excel training session, available on-demand.  Tune in from the comfort of your office, learn about Excel over your lunch hour or just check it at home. Our Microsoft Excel training is available, FREE of charge and around the clock.

• Session 1 – Introduction To Microsoft Excel
• Session 2 – Intermediate Microsoft Excel
• Session 3 – Advanced Microsoft Excel

Register online by clicking here.

Microsoft’s spreadsheet program has a wide array of features that make it a handy tool for just about any project, and a host of functions you might not even realize have been there the whole time.

Learning how to use this amazing program to its full advantage and put it to use for your business starts with getting an up-close look at how Excel’s features work.

Have questions? Send me an email by emailing {email} or phone me at {phone}.

 

Did you know? Microsoft is ending support for Windows 7 in January 2020. Beginning this April, Microsoft will start displaying pop-ups on all Windows 7 computers alerting the users that their support for Windows 7 will be ending.

Don’t be alarmed.  Microsoft also did the same thing with Windows XP before shutting down their support for the Windows XP Operating System.

Read More

{company} is in the process of discussing upgrade options with every one of our clients and local companies. We’d like to schedule time with you to discuss your options. Feel free to connect with us by calling {phone} or sending an email to {email}.

 

While you hear the term frequently and see the images of puffy whiteness illustrating the concept, you may still be wondering, “What is the cloud?”

Despite being a standard technology solution for many years, it’s still a good time to understand the basics of what the cloud is and how it can benefit your business.

What Is the Cloud?

Simply put, the cloud is a global network of servers accessed via the Internet. Many people incorrectly assume the cloud is a non-physical computing solution, when in fact the cloud consists of physical locations that house hardware, software, applications and services. Cloud computing delivers on-demand computing services on a pay-as-you-go basis.

There are three basic types of cloud computing services:

• Software as a Service (SaaS). These services let users access software applications from an internet-connected device. Perhaps the most common is Microsoft Office 365, which provides access to the popular Office application suite.
• Platform as a Service (PaaS). These web-based solutions are offered by third-party providers and deliver hardware and software, often for application development.
• Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS). In this type of cloud, the cloud provider hosts infrastructure that would typically be stored in an on-premises data center, such as servers, networking hardware and storage.

How Prevalent Is the Cloud?

The cloud is becoming increasingly common in business today. According to IDG’s 2018 Cloud Computing Survey:

• Nine out of 10 companies expect to have part of their applications or infrastructure in the cloud by 2019, with the rest expected by 2021
• 89 percent use SaaS in their IT environment
• The average cloud spend for small- and medium-sized businesses (less than 1,000 employees) has doubled since 2016 to $889,000
• Businesses are moving to the cloud to address the following:
  • Improved IT services deliver speed (71 percent)
  • Flexibility to react to changing market conditions (63 percent)
  • Business continuity (58 percent)
  • Improved customer support (57 percent)

Why Is the Cloud So Beneficial to Businesses?

Using the cloud has multiple advantages for businesses of all types. With the cloud, multiple users can leverage the infrastructure and services available in the shared space. At the same time, businesses can control and customize what is used and how it’s used.

Here are some of the major advantages of cloud computing:

• Cost. Cloud services come at a predictable monthly rate, based on what’s selected in terms of capacity and services. Businesses will not need to purchase as much hardware and software. Companies also save on the costs of housing the hardware in on-premises data centers, maintaining those data centers and the hardware, and the power and cooling demands.
• Convenience. The cloud enables your employees to access data and applications from nearly any device that’s connected to the Internet from anywhere. Files, work materials and applications are readily available securely from anywhere in the world.
• Scalability. As businesses grow, so too does the need for additional storage capacity, processing capability or users. Cloud solutions allow for rapid scaling without the need to purchase, configure and maintain additional servers or to manage and staff large on-premises data centers. If the business has seasonal fluctuations, demand can contract similarly.
• Security. Cloud service providers offer enterprise-level digital and physical security, ensuring your data is protected and monitored constantly. If suspicious activity is detected or unwanted threats are discovered, they can be identified, isolated and resolved before any serious damage occurs.
• Recoverability. Natural disasters and cyber attacks can cripple a business. That’s why cloud solutions provide an added safety net for your data, applications and systems. Automated data backups, housed out of the region, ensure that if an incident does occur, your business can be back up and running with minimal if any downtime.
• Collaboration. Cloud solutions allow for better collaboration, especially among teams in different locations. Collaborative tools like Google Drive, Salesforce and Basecamp allow users to create, edit, comment on, share and save documents in shared workspaces that can be accessed at the same.
• Testing. Cloud computing allows companies to test concepts and move faster on special projects without having to wait for cumbersome procurement procedures or incur large up-front costs. New services, products and tools can be tested in the cloud and deployed faster via the cloud’s scalability features.

The cloud is likely to continue to be a source of innovation, efficiency and productivity for businesses large and small.