We've mentioned in numerous blogs that you need to stick with what you are good at and I cannot stress how important this is when it comes to secure network security services. We have seen numerous companies try to handle their own security and they either do it inefficiently or just plain wrong. Using a managed security service provider (MSSP), like an IT managed service provider (MSP), will provide you better results at cheaper costs. Benefits of a MSSP Cheaper cost. A huge benefit that may not be immediately evident to management is how much cheaper it is to go with…
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Do you think all of the bad guys are sitting in smoke-filled rooms in the Chinese war ministry? Do you think your network is safe if you prevent people from getting to the Internet too openly? Ah, if only that were true. The fact of the matter is that one of your biggest vulnerabilities is sitting among you. Some are malicious and some are accidental. Some researchers believe that the percentage of incidents due to insider threats may be as high as 55%! Long story short -- the average user is a significant source of your IT and data security risk.…
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If you have a managed service provider (MSP) you are already doing the right thing. We have written in the past that in business, it is a good idea to stick with what you are good at and pay someone else for specialties work. You pay for lawyers. you pay for accountants. Pay for IT in the same way. But just as with all of those professions, it pays to periodically check on your MSP to make sure they are doing the job that you are paying them to do. What am I paying for? Many MSPs will help set your…
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You've heard it before -- from us and from, well, pretty much everyone who values security. Patch your systems. If you don't, you are not secure. It's as simple as that. As if we needed more reminding of this global truism, Microsoft just released a new patch for a critical vulnerability in their DNS service. To an average Joe, if they even know what DNS is, this is an entirely unimpressive patch. But to those in the know, this is huge! Nerdy Version: This is a remote code execution vulnerability. The attacker can execute whatever they want on the affected…
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Today is the biggest Internet shopping day of the year in the United States, Cyber Monday. During this day you will be tempted to visit a plethora of online storefronts, hunting for the huge deal on your next TV, computer, article of clothing, etc. Here are a couple tips to remember to keep you safe on Cyber Monday: Secure Browsing. Many e-commerce websites use SSL (https:// in front of the web address instead of http://) to encrypt the transmission of sensitive data to and from their storefront. The reason for this is that if you are surfing on a public Wi-Fi or hotspot,…
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