Logical Talk

With Microsoft ending support to several of its products in January 2020, many businesses are left scrambling for solutions. While many of the technology giant’s products reaching the end of support (EOS) next year are operating systems (OSs), other applications, essential pieces of software, are vulnerable, too, if they’re not appropriately evaluated. Called line-of-business applications (LOBs), these programs need to be updated if the OSs they’re operating on is either upgraded or migrated to the cloud.

What you should know about LOB applications

Basically, any program essential to the running of your business is a LOB application. These applications tend to be a little bit larger than other applications on your network. LOB applications are generally divided into two categories: department and industry.

Within your organization, to function properly, departments use certain applications on a day-to-day basis. For example, to accurately keep track of your finances, your accounting department, more than likely, uses an accounting application, such as QuickBooks, so for this particular department, accounting software is a LOB application.

Then, there are LOB applications for specific industries. For example, if you own an architecture firm, your architects are using CAD software — such as AutoCAD — to design, modify and optimize structures. For […]

No doubt about it: The interest in cloud computing is continuing to grow. As the market expands, IT professionals across the board are working day and night to minimize potential security threats associated with the technology. Going into the new year, there are a few points SMBs should consider before partnering with IT professionals on the cloud.

Many are concerned with cloud security, including IT professionals

A Kaspersky Lab report in October 2018 revealed what chief information security officers (CISOs) consider to be today’s top IT security risks: Cloud computing and uncontrolled cloud expansion by line of business (LOB) applications (i.e., software designed to help businesses operate) topped the list. The results of another survey found that 90% of cybersecurity professionals are concerned with cloud security. Specifically, when it comes to cloud computing, respondents cited three top security challenges: protecting against data loss and leakage, threats to data privacy and breaches of confidentiality.

Going into 2019, cybersecurity professionals aren’t the only ones concerned with security in the cloud, especially with regard to one area specifically — confidentiality. For example, in November 2018, the American Bar Association (ABA) released the findings of a survey it conducted of solo and small firm attorneys across the country. […]

Going into 2019, many business owners are more than likely wondering the following: Which technology trends should I keep an eye on? While there’s a lot of hype surrounding a range of emerging technologies in 2019, there are five key trends business owners should pay close attention to if they’re looking to grow in the next year.

Cybersecurity is top of mind for businesses. Without a doubt, cybersecurity is top of mind for many small business owners in the country and across the world. On average, small businesses are losing close to $80,000 a year from cyber attacks. By reporting on security breaches at some of the most powerful companies in the world, the news media is constantly reminding everybody (including small business owners) about how hackers are exploiting system vulnerabilities — the most recent story being the cyber attack on Marriott International, where Chinese hackers collected personal details of nearly 500 million guests. Concerns over cybersecurity aren’t going away anytime soon, especially with cybercrime costing the global economy nearly $600 billion a year.

Business leaders are bullish on AI. Being that AI could contribute $15.7 trillion to the global economy in 2030, techies aren’t the only ones intrigued by the science behind the […]

If you’re a small business owner, you may think ransomware attacks and hackers aren’t something you need to worry about. However, many of these hackers specifically target smaller retailers, precisely because they assume these companies won’t have proper security in place. According to the Ponemon Institute’s 2017 State of Cybersecurity in Small & Medium-Sized Businesses report, the percentage of small businesses that have experienced a cyber-attack in the past 12 months has risen from 55% in 2016 to 61% in 2017. Another study saw a 20.5% increase in attempted cyber-attacks between November and December of 2016.

This information should make it clear that your online security should be a business priority. As online shopping ramps up for the holiday season, changes may need to be made to protect your businesses’ data, as well as the data of your customers. Here are 8 tips to follow so that you and your business can stay safe all year round!

1. Only Collect Data You Need

The best way to keep data out of the hands of hackers is to not have any of that data in the first place. When collecting data from customers, only collect what you really need and only keep it for […]

Relying on backup recovery is a good backup option to have, but it’s equally important to invest in security approaches that help you avoid ransomware in the first place. Here are a few things you can easily do to help ensure it doesn’t come down to you putting all your eggs in the backup basket:

1. Use a multi-layered security strategy: No security tool is 100% effective, but using a multi-layered approach that includes firewalls, antivirus, and behavioral-based malware detection can help ensure that even if one layer doesn’t catch a threat another layer will.
2. Conduct user training, and lots of it: Whether it’s through malvertising, phishing, or social engineering the biggest weak point attackers target is user behavior. Schedule regular training with your users to go over best practices and how they can avoid having their computers compromised by malware.
3. Patch early, patch often: Security software needs regular updates and patches to keep up with new cyber-attacks. Make sure all your security software is regularly updated.

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While all this may look like a lot of bad news, the upside is that there are some quick tweaks you can make to your backup strategy that will make it more effective against ransomware.

1. Embrace 3-2-1 backup: 3-2-1 backup is a backup strategy that requires you to have three copies of your data in two different locations, one of which is offsite. Making your backup 3-2-1 compliant ensures that even if one copy of your backup is encrypted by ransomware you’ll still have at least one off-site copy that can’t be touched.
2. Use both image and file backup:  Image backup creates a snapshot of your computer that allows you to restore your computer to a state it was in at a previous point in time.

A single image file is easier to easier to manage and quicker restore than thousands of individual files which will help reduce your RTO. However, a file-based backup will allow you to recover single files more quickly than a whole system image. So, if your user needs a critical document right away you can recover it for them while you restore the rest of the image.

3. Test, test, test: As a best practice, testing out how long it […]
   

While it’s true that restoring from backup is the best option when you’re hit with a ransomware attack there are several things to think about when you use backup as the core of your ransomware protection strategy.

Recovery point objective (RPO): Recovery Point Objective is the timeframe dictating how often backups are created. It also informs the dates and times you can recover from. If you take weekly backups and you suffer data loss you can restore that computer exactly as it was a week ago. If you take daily backups and suffer data loss you can restore your computer as it was the day before.

It’s important to understand what your RPO is and how much data you could stand to lose if you were hit with ransomware and had to recover from your backup.

Ex: If your RPO is a week and your backups occur on Sunday, ransomware hit on Saturday is going to wipe out a week’s worth of work. If your RPO is 24 hours, on the other hand, at most you’re going to lose a day’s worth of work.

Recovery time objective (RTO): Recovery Time Objective is the rough amount of time it will take to restore a computer from backup […]

When faced with a ransomware attack the current wisdom is if your computer gets infected and it encrypts your files you have three basic options:

1. Pay the ransom
2. Restore from a backup
3. Cut your losses and nuke the computer

Of those three choices, backup is obviously your best option. Assuming everything goes well, you’ll get your data back and you can get back to work knowing you dodged a bullet.

But remember, just because you have a backup in place doesn’t mean you’re protected from ransomware. Recently, members of the Spiceworks IT community shared their experiences with ransomware in a brief survey. While most reported backing up their data, only 42% could fully recover everything that had been compromised or encrypted.

Relying solely on a backup as ransomware protection is like using your emergency brake for everyday driving: it may get the job done but it’s going to be messy.

The truth is, restoring from backup isn’t always going to go smoothly. There’s also no guarantee it’s going to be comprehensive. It’s a much-preferred option to paying the ransom, but to make sure it’s a viable option there are several things you need to prepare for and consider. Otherwise, if or when ransomware does hit, you […]