Tag Archives: ITservices

Cybersecurity, Managed IT Services

Quick Tips for Employees to be Cyber Safe

Among all the components that a business needs to operate successfully, cybersecurity has now become one of those essential components. In the wake of COVID outbreak, businesses have stepped up their digital adoption, and threat actors are ready to grab the moment by going after companies of all sizes and industries. The year 2021 will go down in history as one of the most successful in terms of both security breaches and cyberattacks.

No matter what industry you’re in, attackers have no limits on what they may do. They just care about the data they can get their hands on and the money they can get for it. Even now, the attacks are getting more aggressive and smarter. If you are an employee of the company, then you must understand that you are on the front line of information security. Therefore, it’s important to stay on guard to help assure your company’s data is safe and secure. This article will focus on the best practices that employees should try to follow as human factors remains the primary reason for most of the cyberattacks happening in the world. Silly mistakes can bring devastating results and even complete closure of businesses in many cases. So, it is the duty of the employer and the employee too to be aware of cybersafe practices and follow them to remain safe. Let us start with these quick things:

Credit: Pronet Technology

Never Use the Company Email Outside of Work
For the sake of having all the updates in one single email, it is commonly seen that people use their work email for personal use, like for shopping, dining, etc. While it makes life easier, it’s also one of the riskiest things a person can do. Doing so unintentionally can put a business or corporation at risk. Your email can reveal confidential information about your company, which could cause the business to fail.

For instance, Australia’s one of the big universities, i.e., Deakin University was also a victim of cyberattack recently when an attacker used a staff member’s username and password to access student information via one of Deakin’s third-party providers. So, if you’re going to use your business email for personal purposes, think again about it.

Mind Your Clicks
It is human nature to click on pop-ups, links, and ads if we personally receive them to know what value they offer. And, hackers savagely target this weak point of humans, and just with one click, they get access to your company data in a matter of seconds. These can be delivery emails pretending to be from DHL or Amazon, amazing offers, and so on, all designed to entice the reader to click the link. So, if you ever get an email with a link in it that doesn’t pertain to you, I suggest avoiding forwarding or clicking on it, and only notifying your company’s security staff. This would allow your company to put a halt to the attack and prevent it from spreading further at the time it occurs.

For instance, this is the phishing email we received a few days ago where the hacker portrayed himself as the shipment company DHL, but our employees are well-educated about the cyber safe practices and no one clicked on the link. The catch here was that the email i.d. that was used to send did not belong to the DHL company and all our employees realised the same.

Credit: Pronet Technology

Educate Yourself About Phishing Scams
Phishing scams are the most common scams that result in a security breach. Hackers or phishers lure employees to click on links that ask you to enter personal or company information, and once the information is entered, the whole network of the business is exposed to the hackers. It is very crucial to understand the difference between a genuine link and a corrupted one. If you are unsure of the link or email you have received to fill in the details, I suggest you immediately consult your I.T. department to verify. This will help prevent any cyberattacks.

Use Strong Passwords
So, again, to make our lives easy, we all use the same passwords or common passwords at work and in our personal lives. It simplifies our lives and even the lives of hackers too. Keeping common passwords gives an open invitation for hackers to compromise all the accounts using that password and, through them, give access to your company’s or business data. The last thing anyone would want is to be held responsible for such a devastating setback for a firm. So, just be mindful when creating passwords for the tools and software you use at work.

Never Share Passwords
So, another human trait is to have passwords written somewhere or to share them with someone trustworthy (according to you), which is not at all a good practice. Being humans, you never know when a person’s intention changes and it might be too late before that person misuses the information you have shared. It is a good practice for both personal and professional life not to share passwords with anyone. 

Use 2FA While Logging into Devices, Software, etc.
An extremely safe option to use for staying safe in the present unsafe digital environment. You can try using different apps to have the authentication turned on for all of the logins. This will keep everything safe and even alert you instantly when there is an attempt to hack the accounts.

Make Sure all the Updates are Followed
Another thing that most of us ignore is the pop-up messages that come on our screen to update certain software, applications, etc. Usually, we all ignore or delay updating the installed software or applications, and this opens the gate for hackers to compromise the system from your machine, using your identity passwords, and have access to all your company’s sensitive data. If your company sends out instructions for any security updates, it is wise to install them all right away. Cyberthreats often take aim at your data. I am sure no one would want to be the reason for a cyberattack at their workplace, so next time when you see the update message on your screen, take the necessary action immediately.

Talk to Your I.T. Department
It is a good idea to learn more about the best practices to follow to be safe from cyberattacks online without any hesitation. Your I.T. department or I.T. partners will always advise you the best when it comes to cybersecurity. Reaching out to the I.T. department or person to alert them of any possible warnings is also advised to keep away any threats.

Use the Latest & Relevant Technology
Another major thing to keep in mind is to use the latest versions of tools, software, and technology in the workplace. If the licence of the software, applications, etc. you are using has expired or needs an update, do take the necessary action immediately as these outdated versions are most commonly used by hackers to attack. It is usually the duty of the I.T. department or external I.T. partner to suggest the best technology, but the employees should also be aware of putting forward any demand or need they have when it comes to technology they are using.

You Can Avoid a Data Breach

Having the right knowledge about how to identify spoofed content, links, emails, etc. is very crucial for strengthening your company’s defence against cyberattacks. Always remember: one corrupt click by you could let in a hacker and a single delay or failure to fix a flaw in time could become the primary reason for a cyberattack. So, take it as a part of your job to engage in safe online behaviour.

IT should be the backbone of every business and to help businesses leverage the same, Pronet Technology has been offering the best IT solutions along with cybersecurity tailored to your business needs and budget for more than 25 years now.

CALL US today at 03 9069 2188 to get a free consultation for your business IT requirements.

Stay tuned to our blogs to know interesting IT-related tips and facts.

References:

Graham, J. and Carey, A., 2022. Deakin University cyberattack: Hackers get details for 47,000 current and former students. [online] Theage.com.au. Available at: <https://www.theage.com.au/national/victoria/hackers-get-details-of-47-000-current-former-students-in-deakin-uni-cyberattack-20220713-p5b16v.html?fbclid=IwAR23ya2lPoU0L7_ZxQhFipMEtbQLzlS8hw0sbhU3OuYtiKYriSNnBJps3w4> [Accessed 24 July 2022].

2018. Silver Magic Keyboard. [image] Available at: <https://www.pexels.com/photo/silver-magic-keyboard-1109543/> [Accessed 25 July 2022].

Cybint. 2020. 15 Alarming Cyber Security Facts and Stats. [online] Available at: <https://www.cybintsolutions.com/cyber-security-facts-stats/> [Accessed 24 July 2022].

Managed IT Services

What Is A Managed Service Provider?

What Is A Managed Service Provider?

Managed Service Provider is a strange term. What does it mean and how will it help your business? Well let’s start at the beginning…

OK, so imagine you’re starting a new Pets Online company. To get your business moving you decide to buy yourself and your employees brand-new laptops to increase the efficiency around the office.  

Suddenly your laptop starts acting up and the keyboard periodically stops working. What do you do? Do you look for someone for support or do you try to fix it yourself? 

How about we ask a slightly different question. When you look at the big tech companies around the world who went from the small room (or garage) to the super large offices and a recognised brand, what do you think they did? That’s right, they didn’t waste time or (more importantly) focus, on fixing small things like a laptop or an email server going down. 

Let’s talk about the three things that define what exactly an MSP is. What are the top challenges IT leaders face today and what are the benefits of using an MSP to support your IT. 

So what is an MSP? Let’s go back to the issue that you were having with your laptop’s keyboard. How do you go about fixing it, is there someone that you can call, can you email someone for support or can chat live with an agent online? 

If these services sound familiar to you or you have used them in the past, you’ve most likely used services provided by an IT department or an MSP. Essentially an MSP runs your IT department for you and they provide you with EXPERT QUALIFIED people who process the technology and keep it all running smoothly for you. A MSP provides you with cost-effective solutions that help you stay within your budget. 

But my laptop isn’t going to break down every day. Why would I need a MSP all the time.

Good point! So let’s talk about the top challenges the IT departments face today.  

THE FIRST BIG CHALLENGE – Pace of IT Change

The first challenge is changing technology. Technology is changing at such a rapid rate and with the advancement of this technology it’s actually changing the way companies are having to operate.  What was the best option last year often is not the best option this year. What your IT guy learned at university was out of date before he even got his degree.  

The change in IT today is so fast that most MSP’s develop methods to monitor the changes and track what are currently the best solutions.  

Where this becomes important is when you are upgrading technologies or introducing new systems. If you only run a small (or none) IT department, how will they ever get the information they will need to make these types of decisions.  

At Pronet we are constantly in this upgrading game. With our large group of clients, there are always several of them in the upgrading cycle and so we are always at the forefront of what is needed and what works best. This also keeps us aware of pricing and whether a deal is a good or a bad one.

THE SECOND BIG CHALLENGE – Work From Home

We are seeing more and more companies adopt a remote and mobile workforce allowing their employees to work from home. With the Coronavirus this has increased off the chart. What is great about work from home is that there’s a major upside to it. In fact 66% of managers have claimed that their employees are actually more productive while working from home. 

Now imagine when one of these work from home employees has an issue with their laptop, or the internet won’t connect or their email won’t load or their password stopped working. How do they fix it if your IT is not prepared to support them in their homes. That will negatively impact the productivity of your employees hence impacting your company’s performance. 

To work from home effectively there needs to be a set of systems put in place. We monitor all those systems to make sure that you get a smooth integration with the people working from your office.

Work from home definitely has a heap of benefits not the least being the saving of office space which is literal money saved every month.

THE THIRD BIG CHALLENGE – Accessing Data

If you don’t know it yet, we are in the age of data. Google and Facebook have led the charge to show us what happens if you first collect data, then use technology to farm it.  

Your company will have access to enormous amounts of data and what most people are doing is ignoring it. They just basically throw it all away.  

What an MSP can do is help you understand what data you have coming in and then most importantly how to collect it, store it and farm it. All legally of course.

Taking advantage of this level IT is what really separates the allsorans from the winners

SUMMARY

It is unusual for someone to be great at multiple things.  In fact, when superstars try to cross into others fields they soon learn that being great at one thing is hard enough.

Let us assume that if you are starting your new Online Pet Store then, hopefully you are the best there is on Online Pet things. Hopefully, you have a new angle of looking at things or a new way of buying or delivery. What would be unusual is if you were also an expert in all things tech. IT is changing at a super speed at present and it looks to be getting faster and faster. Things are moving towards work from home, which also brings with it a set of problems that become magnified quickly if not treated early.

Capturing data and then optimising that data for use is the latest part of IT. The companies that are doing it are finding themselves at the forefront of the winning players. Finally, as you achieve what you have always wanted for your company, a solid growth, having a MSP looking after all your tech lets you focus on what you’re best at.

We have the ability to hire experts specifically for each project we are working on. If your company needs a rare expert to run a system then we are in the position to hire that person and manage them for you.  This again lets you focus on the money side of the business and let us make sure everything turns on and works each time you need it.

Using a MSP saves you money and hassles. We stop things from going wrong BEFORE they go wrong.  This is probably our biggest compliment we receive each month from different clients. When we get early warning that a system is at capacity or going to break we can head it off before it breaks. If we miss the breakage then we are onsite within an hour or so to get everything back to order.

Looking forward to the future. I hope you get all the systems you want. If you have any questions, give the team Pronet a call at 039062188

 

Cheers,

Nick Cheung 150 x 150Nick CheungDirectorPronet Technology