The Importance Of Securing Your Wi-Fi

SECURE WI-FI

Wi-Fi. It's a symbol that everyone recognizes, a term that most people are familiar with, yet many business Wi-Fi networks are left unprotected and exposed. Securing your Wi-Fi is more than the avoidance of a slower connection, it is an integral part of being proactive in protecting entire internal networks.

SECURED VS. UNSECURED

If Wi-Fi is unsecured, anyone can access it. The purpose of secured Wi-Fi is that it is only allotted for individuals who have been granted access. If the Wi-Fi is not secure, many individuals have no problem taking advantage of the connection or the information that comes with it. According to a study conducted by Symantec, 25% of individuals surveyed have accessed a Wi-Fi network without the owner's permission, and 8% admitted to guessing or hacking the password. Once someone is connected to an organization's Wi-Fi connection, there is a greater chance that they can gain access to an internal network.

IMPLEMENTATION

In terms of implementation, organizations can increase Wi-Fi security by using a strong password users must type in to access the Wi-Fi. For even more security, businesses can keep Wi-Fi traffic and their internal network separate. That way, even if someone happens to connect to the secured Wi-Fi, they won't have access to internal data. Another protective measure that is highly recommended is implementing a separate Wi-Fi network for internal staff and anyone the organization wants to give access, while having a separate guest wireless network for visitors.

WHY IT'S IMPORTANT

If Wi-Fi isn't secured, someone could accidentally or maliciously access an organization's internal network. Once within an internal network, malicious access could result in stolen data, the shutdown of devices, encryption of data that the organization would have to pay to get unencrypted, inputting keyloggers on the network to steal users' passwords, and the list goes on. These vulnerabilities can be extremely costly, which is why taking the extra step to secure your organization's Wi-Fi network is important to protect the business at large and its' users.

Wi-Fi security goes beyond a slow connection, it's about decreasing a huge security risk that could lead to a loss of time, money, and confidential data. If you are unsure about the security of your Wi-Fi network, contact an IT team today to ensure the protection of your technology and information. It can make the difference in regards to the protection of your network.

Your Wi-Fi network can be compromised, but so can your mobile devices. Educate yourself and your team about several signs that will tell you whether or not your mobile device has been hacked by clicking below.

Click Here For Hand-Held Hacking Facts

Topics: Security, Cybersecurity, Business Continuity, Wi-Fi

Cylance: Proactive Protection For Your Business

Cylance Reformatted

As cybercrime continues to evolve, it's time to look beyond traditional approaches to malware detection. 

In this webinar, we will discuss all things Cylance. This power hour covers everything from simple definitions to how Cylance works within an IT environment, as well as how Five Nines utilizes Cylance to protect businesses from advanced malware. 

WHAT YOU'LL LEARN:

  • What is ransomware and malware?
  • Preventing cyberattacks with artificial intelligence 
  • Using artificial intelligence to predict and prevent threats
  • A complete overview of Cylance
  • Why companies choose to utilize Cylance
  • How Cylance works through a technical demonstration

Presenter: 

Ryan Christensen: System Administrator at Five Nines

Sit back, grab some popcorn, and watch this FREE Five Nines Power Hour Webinar: Cylance - Proactive Protection For Your Business. 

Watch the Cylance Webinar 

 

Topics: Managed IT Services, Threat Landscape, Cybersecurity, Business Continuity, Webinars

Be Prepared To Fight Cybercrime With User Training

Cyber Crime Blog Reformatted

In the tech industry today, even the most reliable tools can be used against you. Five Nines has recently discovered phishing attempts that are in the form of an Office 365 verification email. Wouldn’t you be enticed to click on the links in this email?

Phishing Example.png

Unfortunately, just because it is Office 365, and just because many Office 365 tools are hosted online, does not mean it is any safer. When it comes to cybercrime, you must have a healthy paranoia about everything. Anything is open game.

WHAT TO LOOK FOR

A lot of these phishing attempts happen through email, mobile messages, or unprotected webpages. Here are a few quick tips we recommend:

  • Double check the sender’s email address, is it from a suspicious domain? Are there any tiny grammatical errors? (EX. micorsoft-support.com)
  • Why is the sender asking you to click on a link? Is it to avoid negative consequence or to gain something of value? Think twice about whether it’s a link you should be clicking on.
  • Did you receive the email at an unusual time that is not during business hours?
  • Are there misspellings in hyperlinks?
  • Does the attachment in the email relate to the content of the message?

Download The Social Engineering Red Flags FlierWe have put together a complete flier full of even more red flags to look for when it comes to phishing attempts. Download the flier, read it over, and share it with your team. P.S. it’s free.

Keep in mind, phishing attempts may be in the form of reputable organizations and programs, such as Microsoft and their Office 365 software. For consistent FBI updates on current cybercrime schemes, click here. 

WHAT TO DO ABOUT IT

There are a couple of important components that must be put into place to keep your organization protected from clever cybercrime tactics. First, the antivirus you use is very crucial in protecting your business. Five Nines utilizes Cylance, if you don’t know a lot about this antivirus Five Nines just hosted a Cylance webinar, download it here.

Cylance Power Hour

Antivirus aside, one of the more impactful solutions to prepare for potential cybercrime attempts like the one above is user training and awareness implementation. Five Nines believes giving users the confidence to navigate their devices with the knowledge to identify real threats plays a huge role in fighting against cybercrime. It only takes one wrong click to cause a breach in your IT environment.

Situational training is very helpful, as it provides real scenarios of actual phishing attempts and puts your employees to the test to see if they can identify these attempts themselves. Giving your teams the right tools they need to not only be efficient and productive, but also aware and alert will give your IT environment a significant advantage.

If you’d like to see examples of how Five Nines implements user training, click here for our free Gone Phishing webinar recording.

AN ONGOING PHENOMENON

Cyber crime and phishing attempts will not be going away anytime soon, in fact this phenomenon is predicted to get worse each year. It’s a threat everyone needs to be aware of and prepared for.

According to Cybersecurity Ventures, cybercrime is currently the greatest threat to every company in the world. By 2021, cybercrime is predicted to cost the world up to $6 trillion on an annual basis. These costs derive from destruction of data to productivity loss to the restoration of hacked data systems.

The statistics are scary and intimidating, but you don’t have to fight cybercrime alone. Avoid having someone on your team click on something like the email above by implementing user training within your organization.

Five Nines offers user awareness training to make sure all teams are prepared for the possibilities of phishing attacks and other cybercrime initiatives. If this is of interest to you, click the button below and we will start the conversation about how to train your team.

Cybercrime is growing, but so are protective measures. Take action and prioritize cybercrime prevention to avoid being part of the statistics.

Preparing Your Team With User Awareness Training

Topics: Outsourced IT, Managed IT Services, Phishing, Threat Landscape, Cybersecurity

How To Combat Organizational Downtime

ORGANIZATIONAL-1

When it comes to workplace technology, the possibility of downtime is very real and has lasting impacts for organizations who experience it. Downtime is idle time within a business when systems are unavailable, and it is commonly applied to networks and servers. Common causes of downtime are outages, a breach in security of an IT environment, or other system failures.

We'd like to tell you why downtime is a relevant aspect to focus on when it comes to your IT environment, what you can do to focus on uptime, and how to be prepared if downtime strikes.

PAST DOWNTIME

It's all about prevention and detection. According to Cisco's 2017 Security Capabilities Benchmark Study, four in ten companies have suffered an attack that caused them to lose substantial business opportunities. Downtime is not just about losing revenue, studies have shown if downtime isn't handled the right way, it can negatively affect client relationships as well. Preventing downtime is key to business success, which is why you must shift your focus to the present condition of your current IT environment.

WHAT TO DO IN THE PRESENT

It's time to focus on uptime. We recommend implementing a change management process, which is a process you put any IT environment change through to ensure that you're looking through a holistic lens when implementing new technical pieces. It helps you ask the right questions, such as analyzing whether certain departments will be impacted or not. Planning ahead prior to changes in your technical environment will help to avoid disruption.

Consistently tracking and implementing hardware refresh cycles is also an important way to increase uptime. Just because your business technology is still working, doesn't mean you're not putting your organization at significant risk of failure and downtime by not proactively replacing hardware prior to an issue.

THE FUTURE OF YOUR IT: PREPARATION

Expect the unexpected before it's too late. While focusing on uptime, your organization must also be prepared for the inevitable: potential downtime. Taking the time to carefully draft out a disaster recovery plan that will provide a smooth transition from downtime back to production will be a tool you will rely on in the case of an emergency. What are your options for data backup? How will you prioritize hardware and software reinstallation? Who will collaborate with your clients and vendors?

The past, present, and future of your downtime will derive from how proactive your organization is willing to be to achieve the highest levels of uptime. Potentially consider developing a Life Cycle Management Plan to hold your team accountable. If you're prepared you will place trust in your equipment, trust in your team, and trust in your processes. Peace of mind is worth the preparation.

There is a Five Nines Difference in combating organizational downtime. To learn more about the service model that sets us apart, click below for our free download.

Click Here For More Information on The Five Nines Difference

Topics: Security, Outsourced IT, Cybersecurity, Business Continuity

The Future of Financial Technology in 2018

THE FUTURE OF FINANCIAL TECHNOLOGYTechnology will continue to impact change within the financial services industry throughout 2018. According to a survey conducted by Deloitte, there are differing opinions from financial services leaders about how technology will drive change. Over two-thirds of respondents from this audience believed technology innovation will push for change within the industry, while one-half claimed that regulation will be the pressing factor.Regardless of how technical changes will impact the industry - whether it's instant, or gradual, there will be changes not only in 2018, but within the next 5 years.
 

SECURITY

Research conducted by IBM states that the financial services industry was within the top 2 industries targeted the most by cyber-attackers throughout 2017. This means financial organizations experienced 65% more attacks than the average company. This jarring statistic means that financial companies need to continue to take preventative action in 2018. First, don't allow employees to fall victim to a cyber-attack. Implement the right awareness and training to prepare all teams. The 2017 State of Cybersecurity in Small & Medium-Sized Businesses Report by Keeper Security shows that 48% of SMBs experienced a phishing attack last year, so it's recommended to develop a plan to address phishing scams ahead of time. Finally, ensure that all of your cybersecurity tools are up-to-date and working together.

MOBILE PAYMENTS

Mobile payments and transfers will continue to grow in 2018. Millennials prefer the use of their on-the-go digital devices whenever possible, which is why mobile within the financial industry will continue to skyrocket. This digital demand will push the industry to newer heights, as they will have to continue to streamline and implement efficient mobile payment systems. Applications such as Apple Pay and Android Pay, PayPal, Venmo, as well as banking applications will continue to grow in use and popularity, and will need to have the ability to work together seamlessly.

MODERNIZATION

There are many technical resources that banks are using to keep track of their assets. Modernizing core IT infrastructures so that operations run smoothly will become a trend in 2018 as technology continues to be implemented in different ways. Companies within the industry must maximize the use of their tools while minimizing the amount of tools they are using to ease confusion and streamline the overall environment.

Staying on top of industry changes and being open-minded to technological changes is extremely important when maintaining a successful and efficient IT environment. There's a pattern when it comes to workplace technology, change makes users uncomfortable, especially in the banking industry. Organizations don't want to compromise their processes or make their clients uncomfortable. As we have seen technology evolve throughout the years, however, one thing remains clear. Companies always have to evolve their technology eventually.

Be proactive, don't be afraid to make changes, and continue to keep workplace technology top of mind in 2018. Download our free Network Health Check today to briefly assess the quality of your IT environment. 

Click Here For Your Free Network Health Check

Topics: Phishing, Cybersecurity, Business Continuity, Financial

It's A New Year: Predicted Healthcare IT Trends

IT Trends in Healthcare.png

2018 is finally here, bringing new innovation and trends for healthcare technology. The International Data Corporation FutureScape conducted research and developed predicted IT trends for the industry in 2018. We'd like to share our insights on 3 of these key predictions that will strongly impact healthcare IT this year.

MOBILE ENGAGEMENT

Mobile technology is growing rapidly, and will only continue to expand in 2018. According to Health Data Management, digital mobile engagement by patients and providers will increase by 50% by 2019, which means we will be seeing consistent advances in mobile technology this year. Individuals on both sides of the healthcare industry will begin to access medical information on their phones or tablets, which will facilitate new forms of communication. Maintaining patient privacy on mobile devices, as well as application navigation will need to be a priority.

SELF-REPORTED MEDICAL DATA

Patients are gradually starting to become reporters of their own medical data through online patient portals to save time filling out paperwork at the office. The patients themselves are beginning to have the ability to play a role in their medical care by generating their personal data within healthcare systems. This will help them feel more in control of their medical history as they have the information they need at the click of a button. The data that is stored and collected over time will help providers determine a more personalized treatment plan for each patient. The technical aspects behind the scenes will need to be efficient and accurate to utilize these mass amounts of data.

SHARED INDUSTRY DATA

By this time next year, it is likely healthcare companies will have begun to utilize their data and studies to share across their industry. This will help to provide real stories and evidence that may help solve similar medical cases or advance current treatments. This availability of information will push the industry to innovate and grow. IT will play a role in maintaining the quality, security, and ease of access to this information as it is collected. 

All of these adjustments will result in IT teams needing to continue to streamline healthcare technology environments so that privacy, security, and productivity are maintained during the technical advances throughout 2018 and beyond.

 

Want to learn more about remaining privacy compliant with Healthcare IT? Sit back, grab some popcorn, and enjoy the free Five Nines presentation on Privacy - Technology in Healthcare.

 Click Here to Download & Watch

Topics: Outsourced IT, Equipment, Cybersecurity, Business Continuity, Healthcare

What Is Phishing?

Phishing Reformatted-1

We'd like to throw a quick statistic your way. According to the security awareness training platform KnowBe4, 91% of successful data breaches start with a Spear Phishing Attack.  Why is this significant? This number proves that end-users are the vulnerability when it comes to IT security.

Now that we have gotten your attention, we'd like to provide you with a breakdown about what phishing really is, how it works, and how you can avoid being a target and the weakest security link.

WHAT IS PHISHING?

Phishing is when hacker sends an email to a user in hopes that the individual clicks on a link or opens an attachment within the email. Once the link is clicked or attachment opened, the hacker gains access to personal information of that user on that device. Afterwards, they can gain access to the network, and once they gain access to the network they can do the same thing to any computer that's connected to that network. All with just one click.

HOW IS IT DONE?

First Step. You can receive a phishing email despite the antivirus software or extra protection your organization has in place, so you can never be too careful. Hackers can get their hands on thousands of emails by using scripts on large search engines. Then, by conducting a little research through your organization's website or social media platforms, hackers can get an idea of what kind of antivirus software is used within your company. They can then customize an attack to you before sending a flawless, undetected email.

Second Step. Whoever wants to steal your information will reverse the traffic on your network back outside of your organization. To do this, they connect their hidden network directly to yours, making it difficult for your IT security software to recognize and stop.

Third Step. It's important for hackers to make the phishing email seem as real as possible, so that users mindlessly click on the email. This email doesn't have to necessarily come from a stranger. It could be in the form of a friend, spouse, a supervisor, or even a brand.

Once a user clicks, hackers have the power.

PHISHING PREVENTION

Prevention is all about constantly being on the defense. It's important to educate and train all end-users throughout your organization, and it's all about working to make sure your IT environment is properly secured in all aspects.

According to the 2017 Cisco Security Report, 57% of cyber-attacks derive from user behavior, an example being the act of clicking on malicious links within emails. Information is the core of every business and is something that needs to be protected. Company data is too significant to compromise over a phishing email that can be prevented. 

Don't be the next big fish a hacker catches. Watch our FREE webinar that will give you all of the information you need to avoid falling victim to a phishing attack.

 Click Here For The Gone Phishing Webinar

Topics: Security, Cybersecurity, Webinars

Planning For The Worst With An IT Business Continuity Plan

 IT Business Continuity

Viruses strike, hardware fails, users click on things they shouldn’t, natural disasters and theft, the list goes on. When disaster strikes, how much are you willing to lose? Learn more about today's threat landscape, how to protect your business, and how to plan for when your defenses fail.

Miss the NE Tech Summit? Download our free presentation to learn more about how you can implement an IT Business Continuity Plan for your organization. 

Presenters: 

Jeff Newton - Senior Account Executive at Five Nines

Adam Palmer - Senior Systems Engineer at Five Nines

Sit back and learn about the NE Tech Summit Session about Planning For The Worst.

Click Here for Free Presentation Download

 

Topics: Security, Threat Landscape, Cybersecurity, Business Continuity