Though writing and enforcing policies and procedures is probably nobody’s favorite area of IT operations, it’s still a vital part of your business. While creating and following set policies is mandatory for government contractors and HIPAA covered entities, EXP takes it a step further. We recommend all companies and organizations maintain and enforce a basic package of policies and procedures that includes the following points…
Since their creation 1994, SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) certificates have been required for websites that share confidential information. They work by encrypting all the traffic between your web browser and a website, making it harder for someone to track what you are looking at from your workstation.
There is a direct connection between your company’s security and productivity. How? The more technology downtime you experience, the less time you have to get your work done, and the less available you are to your clients and customers. But here’s the good news: with […]
In November 2018 our VP of Business Solutions – Pat Cooke presented a webinar on Right-Sized IT Security
& Compliance. This is now recorded and available to view below:
There was a time when strong passwords were good enough to protect your information. More recent wisdom recommends we use passphrases, which are longer and much harder to crack.
Today, as phishing attempts get more sophisticated, you must adapt accordingly because passwords alone don’t cut it […]
“Imagine a typical Seattle weather day (excluding July and August maybe). You’re heading out for a mixed day of fun and errands that may include visiting the local farmers market, taking the dog for a walk, making a trip to a taco truck, and maybe a hike around Discovery Park. You’ll do some walking, some driving and move between indoors and outdoors. How do you dress for this multi-faceted excursion? Layers. The answer is always layers.”
“The typical computer network usually has a closet full of skeletons. Now, there could be more than one closet in any organization, but here I speak of the IT closet, and its name is convenience. It is filled with seemingly harmless security compromises designed to make work more enjoyable, and in the short term, more productive. Filling this closet usually occurs slowly over time, not overnight, and the effects can have serious consequences.”
At EXP, we strongly believe in the web of protection that must exist to properly guard institutions and their data from these threats. This web is comprised of several things. Many of these are technological tools that keep threats from ever entering your environment, let alone being executed within it. Unfortunately, all the gates, checkpoints and filters cannot prevent human error\action – frequently the last stop on the cyberthreat train. Humans must be informed users of technology for our web of protection to remain whole.
We regularly see cases of successful phishing attacks. Most of them involve people being conned into sharing valuable personal information with unauthorized parties. This is usually done over email but sometimes involves a phone call.
A frequent scam goes like this. You receive an email from someone claiming to work at an organization you trust or regularly interact with such as your bank or a retailer you often shop with. They seem legitimate because they have likely gathered some accurate information about you from social media, your company website, press releases, or other public means. Since they get a few details right, you may be inclined to believe them. But you must dig deeper to determine if the request is legitimate.
You may be asked for personal information that could be used to access funds — credit card numbers, bank account information, passwords, etc. — or even asked to wire money. All this is done, of course, under false pretenses. And it could cost your business a heap of money and hassle.
You probably heard about the ransomware attack named “WannaCry” that swept the world on May 12, 2017. It was the largest ransomware attack to date, affecting millions of people and crippling businesses in more than 100 countries.