Business Solutions & Software Group Blog

The term “hacker” has firmly become a part of the public lexicon, thanks largely in part to pop culture and its liberal use of the term. However, the use of the term so frequently has effectively diluted its meaning to “someone good with computers.” In order to keep your business secure against the hackers of the real world, it may help to understand the motivations behind their activities.

Your servers are critical to the successful performance of your business’ technology. As a result, it is important that you do everything you can to keep them secured. Here, we’ve assembled some basic security practices to start you off.

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:

Fishing - a jerk on one end of a line waiting for a jerk on the other end.
Phishing - very similar to fishing, but much more consequential.

While the word phishing is humorous and relatable due to it being derived from the word “fishing”, the consequences of falling victim to a phishing attack are far from comical. Today we will discuss just how serious these attacks can be, and the easiest way to prevent them.

Do you know the phrase, “Locks only keep out the honest?” The idea is that even though you lock your doors, there is only a thin layer of glass and good intentions stopping a criminal from entering your home through a window.

Mobile devices have become a staple in contemporary life, with more business uses added regularly. Unfortunately, this makes them a more enticing target for cybercriminals to go after. To help you keep your phone secure, we’ve assembled a brief list of best practices for you and the rest of your company to follow.

Security threats are commonplace in the business environment, as any organization that turns a profit is sure to hold valuable data that is of use to criminals. Some people have an easier time identifying threats than others, but with so many different types of threats out there, it’s no wonder that some have trouble handling these scenarios. Here is a guide on some of the more common types of malware, as well as what you should do to avoid a dangerous run-in with it.

A decade-old version of Microsoft’s popular database software SQL Server 2008 and SQL Server 2008 R2 is losing support on July 9,2019. If your business hasn’t moved away from the software, you are looking at a few real pressing problems. Let’s take a look at the software and what options businesses that haven’t moved on from SQL Server 2008 or SQL Server R2 have going forward.

Every business has their version of risk management. Nowadays, with all the technology organizations use for productivity, collaboration, and communications, managing risk can often be difficult. There are numerous threats that come from the Internet that could put a damper on productivity, create inefficiencies, or shut down production entirely. Regardless of how large or small your business is, you need to prioritize the security of your computing network.

I recently read a statement from the National Security Agency (NSA) expressing concerns over the risks and vulnerabilities that come with running unpatched versions of older Windows operating systems. First, you know it’s serious if the NSA, an entity in the US who depends on the collection and processing of information, is worried that your personal information is at risk. Second, it’s another in a long line of reasons to not allow your network to fall into such disarray that you can no longer protect it.

Ransomware has become a favorite attack vector for hackers - after all, for them, it’s pretty much a no loss game. They either get paid, or they move on to their next target. Unfortunately, cyberattackers that dispatch ransomware often do get paid, and these payments can sometimes come from a surprising source: cybersecurity firms.

Have you ever wondered what happens when hackers gain access to state-developed malware tools? Well, now you don’t have to; a type of malware called Double Pulsar, that has been utilized in the past by the NSA, was bundled with a Chinese hacking tool and used to carry out attacks on Hong Kong and Belgium in 2016. Needless to say, this threat is unnerving.

Ransomware hasn’t let up. It is important to understand that any organization, of any kind, is a potential target of a ransomware attack - and yes, this includes municipalities. In fact, since 2013, over 170 government systems at the county, city, or state levels have been attacked.

With so much on the line for businesses that deal with sensitive information, security needs to be considered a top priority. Unfortunately, one solution that works for every threat out there doesn’t exist. The right combination of enterprise-level security solutions can help your business secure its important data.

Data is more of a commodity than it has ever been, and more often than not, companies spend a considerable sum on data security. Unfortunately, even the most well-defended organizations still have trouble keeping data safe. 2018 saw 446.5 million records exposed due to data breaches, even though the overall number of breaches dropped by 23 percent to 1,244 total. We’ll discuss some of the most notable breaches that have happened over the first four months of 2019.

Social media plays an increasing role in both the professional and personal sides of our lives. Unfortunately, this means that we all experience an increase in exposure to the many scam attempts that will appear on our screens. Like any kind of scam, the best defense against those that appear on social media is good, old-fashioned awareness and vigilance.

For the modern business a lot of time is spent focusing on network security. The theory behind this action is that there are all types of threats that could be trying to get into your computer network. At a college, you’d expect that, since so much sensitive data, including personal, medical, and financial information--as well as intellectual property--is stored on college computers/servers, that the diligence of IT administrators would be even more conspicuous.

With Microsoft betting on Windows 10 to be their #1 OS for the foreseeable future, it is important for them to be able to sufficiently protect their users from the growing threats looking to make life difficult for businesses from all over the world. Today, we will take a look at Windows 10 Enterprise Security, and how it works to protect businesses from harm.

Messaging applications are critical to the success of the modern business, but it’s important that they don’t compromise security in the pursuit of convenience. There is a specific set of criteria involved with ensuring that your chosen messaging applications are secure.

2018 has been the year of the hack. The problem, so was 2017, 2016, and so on… Marriott International has announced that they have had what could be the second largest data leak in history. They are saying that they are responsible for a data breach that leaked some 500 million records over a five-year span.