Cloud Source

Five Data Protection Measures Every Small Business Needs

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It seems like every month there’s another major story in the news about a large corporation whose data has been compromised by a cyberattack, affecting millions of consumers. The reality is that many of the data breaches causing the most damage never make headlines, because they affect small businesses. Extensive damage hits a company that’s not prepared with a data protection strategy.

There are measures you can put in place to protect your small business against a cyberattack. Here are the five that you should prioritize:

Employee training: One of the most important data protection measures is also one of the most budget-friendly. A few of the subjects you should cover in data protection training are how to use high-quality passwords and protect them, making sure employees know the danger of a smartphone that takes too long to hibernate and teaching them to recognize a phishing email.

Data backup: Completing a regular backup protects your data in the event of a natural disaster, and helps you decline to pay the ransom when you’re hit with ransomware. It’s a good idea to not only complete one backup, but to also have a backup that’s stored locally and then back that up with cloud backup. This protects your data in the event of a natural disaster that affects a wider geographic area.

Endpoint protection: Protecting your network is becoming more complicated because there are so many more devices connected to it, and these devices are also likely interacting with cloud solutions. Endpoint protection involves all of your computers, laptops, tablets, smartphones, and Internet of Things (IoT) devices. Many of these devices come with a firewall program preinstalled, but you should go further with your data protection strategy. An endpoint detection and response program will check for suspicious activity, and then isolate any potential problems for review.

Cyber insurance: It’s a good idea to invest in cyber insurance as a safeguard in case a cyberattack still manages to get through your other data protection measures. It is important to note that cyber insurance alone should never be the sum total of your data protection strategy.

Data recovery: If all else fails, data recovery services may be able to recover data lost through accidental deletion, hardware damage, or a malware attack. Even when your data has been deleted from your hard drive, it doesn’t actually go away permanently. Data recovery services can access the hard drive and reverse the data deletion.

When you need assistance evaluating your data protection strategy, contact us at Cloud Source. Whether you need comprehensive Disaster Recovery as a Service (DRaaS) or an assessment of your current approach, Cloud Source can help you protect your business.

Tips For Your 2018 Disaster Recovery Strategy

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The threats to your data are ramping up as cybercriminals continue to invent new ways of gaining access to systems. Disaster recovery strategies have never been more important than they are now.

It’s not just hackers that you have to worry about. It’s also natural disasters and basic human error that lead to data being compromised. This makes having a disaster recovery strategy key for every organization. Yet about one-third of businesses don’t even have a strategy in place. Given our reliance on all things digital and the threats that make headlines every week, it’s astounding that so many organizations are putting themselves in a position of high risk.

What we know now is that when data is compromised, it’s not just an emergency situation for the IT department. The impact is felt throughout the organization and will affect the customer experience, as well. Without access to rich systems of complete customer information, it’s much more difficult to be efficient and maintain a competitive advantage.

The smart approach to developing a disaster recovery plan is to get key employees from throughout the organization to be part of the strategy team. When people from different departments are involved, they are able to account for things only they know about, which will benefit the overall organization as every possibility is then accounted for.

The disaster recovery plan should include “small” things, like what happens if the internet or phones go down. It also must include “big” things, like what happens in the event that customer data is stolen. All members of the staff need to be aware of what’s in the plan and exactly what steps need to be taken in the event of power failure, natural disaster, etc.

When you have a list of items laid out in your strategy, communicating what needs to be done is easier. Furthermore, a checklist makes the complex processes less complex.

Practice makes perfect, so if you really want to be prepared for the worst, schedule regular scenarios that test your employees. Staging these drills also helps you pin down areas of your strategy that need improvement.

At Cloud Source, we’ve established a cloud-based communications solution for our clients, and safety is among our top priorities. If disaster recovery is on your mind, contact us to find out how we’re able to keep our clients safe, secure, and continuously connected.

Cyber Security: Establishing a Protection Strategy

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Regardless of the size of your organization or the industry in which you’re working, systems and data face cyber security challenges that must be addressed. Working out a protection strategy has to be at the top of the list of IT priorities because the threat is too severe to ignore.

In its simplest terms, cyber security is the practice of keeping all your data protected from cyber criminals who possess the means to hold your unsecured data hostage. However, cyber security can also include protection against power outages and hard drive failures.

Unintentional failures can be safeguarded against quite easily, yet cyber criminals are constantly coming up with new ways of breaking through. For many IT professionals, it’s not a question of if data will be compromised – it’s only a question of when.

Addressing the Weak Links
To err is human. We know this because code developers include unintentional bugs in their work that gives cyber criminals access to systems. However, it’s often non-code writing employees that fail to adhere to cyber security protocols, leaving the door open for attack.

Ongoing training is required to ensure this doesn’t happen, or happens less frequently. Employees need to know what to look for in order to identify a phishing email. There needs to be an established set of rules that are well known to the point of memorization, such as those regarding authentication practices.

Securing the Network
One of the problems with locking down a network so it is fully protected is that doing so can stifle productivity. Access controls are put in place to keep malicious attackers out, but the give and take means you’re slowing down your workflow.

There are tools that can be used to keep an eye on your network, but the process creates a great amount of data, which means alerts can be missed. The advent of machine learning has created a method through which these alerts are missed far less often.

There are also application security protocols that can assist in shoring up weak links, particularly in web application processes. Putting a team in place to monitor application development and deployment is a good idea for ensuring security remains a priority.

At Cloud Source, we know organizations have a tough time finding the right technology for their business needs. We work to simplify the vendor selection process for your IT operations and find the right solutions at the right prices. Contact us today to discuss your cyber security needs.

4 Trends in VoIP to Push Positive Change in the Enterprise

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Changes are happening in the enterprise on a daily basis that can either push a company forward or leave it lagging behind the competition. In some cases, changes force a company to evolve, with effective results. When it comes to communications, trends in the global marketplace are the catalyst pushing such changes. Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) continues to drive change on its own and the latest trends in this space are worth consideration.

Mobility continues to play a role. When evaluating communications technology, it’s easy to set different channels into their own strategy without determining how best they can work together. VoIP and mobility are not separate channels. Instead, people today are using mobile VoIP to the extent that users are expected to reach one billion by the end of 2017. VoIP continues to evolve so as to better integrate and synchronize with mobile devices and 5G is on the horizon, pushing continued innovations.

Security will always be top of mind. Technology continues to be a key area where security is a concern. Networks already have so many vulnerable points, and VoIP introduces another possibility where hackers can find a way in. Fortunately, service providers in the VoIP space continue to scale security measures already built into their platforms. This provides a great visual as to how breaches are being prevented and how technology can be used to accomplish key goals.

5G and integration will set the pace. Like previous generations, 5G will set a new stage for VoIP. The next generation is expected to facilitate higher transfer speeds, stable streaming, and higher resolution in videos and imagery. At the same time, call quality, packet loss problems, and disconnects will significantly decrease. Proprietary systems without integration capabilities are losing ground as APIs (application programming interfaces) open the door to seamless operations across the enterprise. Key integrations allow for the optimization and simplification of operations.

The Internet of Things changes the dynamic. While enterprises will continue to demand unification in all communications (and create significant revenue streams for service providers able to meet their needs), connectivity to machines is significant for all players. The enterprise will be able to re-align the use of manpower, allowing for connectivity in areas that weren’t possible in the past. Smart offices will set the stage and continued innovations will create new potential for efficiency.

No matter what your particular industry is doing, the reality is that communications technology and trends in VoIP are paving the way for evolution. Such changes could mean better operations, increased efficiencies, a distinct competitive advantage, and so much more. To get a better idea of where you need to start, contact Cloud Source. We have the expertise to help you connect your cloud solutions in ways that help you leverage key VoIP trends for better outcomes. To get started on the conversation, contact us today.

The Two Biggest Risks in Your Hybrid Cloud Environment

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Large enterprises implement a hybrid cloud solution with lowered costs, increased performance and agility, and better scalability in mind. They almost never do it in order to improve security. For most companies, the security question is the first topic of discussion once a hybrid cloud solution is on the table.

The implementation of hybrid cloud solutions can reveal gaps in security, and working with multiple vendors with public and private cloud solutions can require extensive monitoring of the security situation. In every enterprise, there are two risks that should be evaluated immediately:

Human administrators: When you’re implementing a new hybrid cloud environment, you need a good handle on which administrators are accessing each part of your public and private cloud, as well as on-premise software. This means you need to conduct an assessment of the level of access your administrators have been granted in the past.

As you know, this can get a little murky. For instance, people are often granted short-term access to a particular application’s guru-level security because a supervisor went on vacation — but most organizations forget to change the security back after the vacation is over. In many cases, there’s good reason not to allow widespread guru-level access to administrators.

Before implementing a hybrid cloud environment, take inventory of the security levels each of your administrators and revert them back to appropriate levels. This may cause some frustration, but security must be the priority.

Data: You need to know which parts of your data are most critical. Depending on your industry, this could be a lot of different things. No matter what business you’re in, your customer database should be considered critical. Take time to evaluate what’s necessary for business continuity in a disaster recovery situation, then determine where that information is located.

If your data backups are not adequately labeled, this could turn into a time-consuming process. Fortunately, there are tools on the market that can assist with data backup identification.

Identifying your security risk areas is a critical step in your hybrid cloud implementation process. If you need guidance in your digital transformation strategy, contact us at Cloud Source. We can help you with each step of the process, from determining areas of risk to evaluating and choosing your cloud vendors.

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Chicago, IL 60661
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