Prevent a HIPAA Breach: How to Prevent Data Breaches
In 2016, the Health Insurance Portability & Accountability Act (HIPAA) collected over 23 Million in Civil Money Penalties (CMPs) related to businesses violating patient data privacy provisions. Over half of the cases involved organizations who failed to even have a proper risk assessment conducted. The cost for violating HIPAA privacy protections continue to grow, which is why we decided to provide a list of the most common violations, as well…
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Business Continuity Solutions: New Year, New Approach to Disaster Recovery & Backup Plans
One of the essential components to any business revolves around the protection of their data. Continuity in the event of an IT disaster, or even minor downtime, is critical. Ensuring your business can access critical information in those moments, as well as having the ability to recover can save thousands of dollars per hour depending on the size of your business. No More Tapes… The traditional approach to backup and…
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Cybersecurity tips: 5 Things Every Small Business Should Know
Nearly every business believes the unfortunate data breaches and attacks only happen to others; that the overall risk of an attack on your business is low. Why would anyone care to target me? The truth is that hackers would love nothing more than to gain access to your sensitive company data. It’s why we decided to develop a list of 5 things every small business should keep in mind through…
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Small Business Cyber Security Plan: Why Your Business Needs a WISP
Not having a written information security program (WISP) for your business could be putting your data at risk of not only theft, but substantial legal/punitive damages. The laws in Massachusetts enforce strict guidelines to safeguard any personal information of individuals stored on your network. Sadly, many SMBs brush it off as a minimal danger that is unlikely happen to them. Despite studies that show the assumption to be untrue, in…
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IT Management Services: 5 Things to Look for in a Managed Service Provider
The role of IT in up & coming businesses often becomes an afterthought. One day, you are a small team with a singular goal, with a lot of hard work and a bit of luck, your business begins to thrive; staff assume more and more responsibilities to keep things moving smoothly, before you know it, the office manager is the internal IT expert. Sound familiar? Perhaps it is time to…
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Network Security Best Practices: Could the Real Threat to Your Business’ Network Come From the Inside?
Today, the number of types of cyber-attacks which threaten the security of your businesses are endless. We’ve discussed the greatest weakness in network security being users before, but the focus was in a non-acting participant being coerced into clicking on a malicious link or opening a dangerous attachment. We often focus so much attention to building a secure network wall that we neglect the very real threat from within. According…
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What are the Advantages of IaaS & Cloud Computing?
While the reasons behind considering a cloud based network infrastructure may vary, businesses across all industries and sizes are turning to the cloud to scale their organization. The adoption of cloud services is accelerating at a much more rapid pace than previously anticipated, with a considerable amount considering an Infrastructure-as-a-Service (IaaS) environment. But what are the benefits to cloud, and more importantly, what does IaaS mean? I sat down with…
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5 Holiday Cyber Security Tips to Keep Your Information Secure This Season
There is a certain amount of accepted risk associated with shopping, especially during the holiday season. Identify theft and fraud have become an accepted risk for many online and retail shoppers. This year is thought to see an even greater level of attacks aimed toward the consumer market, ranging from malicious sites exploiting your data for ransom, to capturing credit card information. The hacker’s approach is to seek the easy…
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Fraud Detection: Identifying Tech Support Scams
We’ve all received unsolicited calls before, most offering complimentary services or attempting to sell a product. However, a growing trend in gaining access to an otherwise secure network involves deceiving a caller into divulging pertinent information, or worse, control of their computer to install malware. How It Works: This alternate approach with initiating a hack by speaking on the phone revolves around our heightened sense of awareness and skepticism for opening…
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DDOS Mitigation Strategies: Lessons From a Recent DDOS Attack
Last month, huge parts of our internet essentially shut down; from Amazon, Twitter, and Spotify, to Netflix and Reddit. One of the biggest takeaways from the attack is the realization of just how susceptible our fragile internet truly is. The graph below shows just how quickly and to what extent the United States’ internet was wiped out. Understanding how the attack occurred, the root cause, and the best ways to…
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Cyber Security Policy Starter Kit:
10 Critical Policies That Every Company Should Have in Place
