Tag Archive for: Cyber Security

Defending Against the Dark Web – Dark Web Monitoring

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Every year billions of identity records find their way onto the web through data breaches.  This represents hundreds of millions of compromised online accounts, with much of this data finding its way into the depths of the dark web.

While good password management practices are crucial, they only go so far in terms of protecting your data, as your information can find its way onto the dark web through no fault of your own.  The scale of the problem means that it’s inevitable that your data will, sooner or later, end up on the dark web.  Once it’s there, there is no getting it back, but by knowing it’s there you can take action to secure online accounts before serious harm can occur.

 

Dark web monitoring – your last line of defence against Dark Web criminals

Dark web monitoring services scour the corners of the dark web where stolen data is frequently sold using tools called “scrapers” and “web crawlers.”  These services monitor the dark web and can be used to spot stolen information such as:

  • Usernames
  • Passwords
  • Email Addresses
  • Credit card numbers
  • Financial Account information
  • Personal ID numbers

They monitor activity across various types of dark web locations, including:

  • Chat spaces and Forums
  • Blogs
  • Social media sites
  • Web Pages
  • Peer-to-peer sharing networks
  • Web Services, servers and file transmissions

Beware of the difference between Dark Web Monitoring and Dark Web Scans.  Scanning tools allow you to scan the dark web at a point in time, whereas a monitoring service operates continuously, meaning there’s a greater chance of spotting stolen data early, enabling damage-mitigating action to be taken.

As soon as your information is discovered on the dark web you’ll be notified and can then take the necessary steps to secure your account(s).

 

What action should I take if my information is found on the dark web?

Change Passwords

You should change the password of the affected account as soon as possible.  If any other accounts share the same (or similar) password ensure you change these immediately too.

 

Contact your bank and inform them of the situation (if applicable)

If financial information is uncovered on the dark web you should contact the relevant Financial service provider and explain the situation.  Affected accounts will be frozen and remedial action might involve opening new accounts with new cards.

 

Examine account statements (if applicable)

Examine recent account activity for suspicious transactions.  Notify your bank or card provider of any transactions that you didn’t make to avoid being held liable.

 

Monitor your credit reports

If the online criminals gather enough articles of identifying information they may be able to use it to commit identity theft.  Often criminals use a stolen identity to apply for credit cards and take out loans in the victim’s name, so examine your credit reports and look for loans, card applications and other activity that you don’t recognise.

 

Dark Web Monitoring is not a ‘fix all’ solution

Dark Web Monitoring helps you catch data that has slipped through the net into the criminal underworld, however, it has its limitations.  Monitoring shines a light on the more accessible areas of the dark web, areas identified as being hotpots for the trading of stolen information.  It doesn’t however monitor the dark web in its entirety, as it would be impossible to routinely monitor the vast number of possible site addresses that could exist.  It’s also important to remember that monitoring doesn’t necessarily identify information at first exposure, meaning damage could occur to your accounts long before dark web monitoring spots your credentials.

However, combined with a comprehensive data security strategy that includes strong password protection and watertight authentication protocols, Dark Web Monitoring is a useful tool to help you counter the forces of darkness that exist of the infamous Dark Web.

 

Struggling to find a solution that fits around your business?

At Cloudscape, we use our extensive experience to deliver custom-fit technology solutions to SMEs in London and the home counties. Technology should serve your business’ aims and aspirations, it shouldn’t be something to mould your operation around. We are experts in Cloud-computing and we know how empowering Cloud Services can be when leveraged correctly, so let us help you tailor Office 365 so that it works for your business and the unique challenges you face. Call us on 0207 952 8123 or send us an email info@cloudscape.it.

Defending against the Dark Web – How to keep your Data out of the hands of cybercriminals

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Now that we’ve looked at what the Dark Web is and how data can end up on it, let’s explore some of the simple steps you can take to ensure your business’ sensitive data doesn’t find its way into the hands of dark web criminals.

In April of this year, video conferencing platform “Zoom” suffered a data breach which led to the release of over half a million account logins onto the dark web.  Events of this nature are often highly publicised leading users to feel frustrated and angry at their details being compromised, and rightly so!

While you don’t want any of your accounts to be compromised, in some cases damage can be avoided by simply changing your account login details after becoming aware of the breach.  However, this won’t be the end of the story if you and your staff routinely practice poor password hygiene…

 

Recycling is great…but not when it comes to passwords!

For every online profile you set up, you should configure a unique, complex and long password.  Each password should bear no resemblance to that for any other account, and you should avoid using words, phrases or number/letter sequences that have any personal meaning to you.

Ensuring each password is unique is particularly important, as using identical or similar passwords for multiple accounts may allow hackers to wreak havoc across your digital estate using a  technique known as ‘credential stuffing.’

 

What is Credential Stuffing?

Basically, it involves hackers either acquiring or buying a bundle of stolen account credentials and then trying each login on a number of other sites in the hope of gaining access.  This technique leads to success for the hackers due to the fact that an estimated 73% of passwords are duplicated (according to Microsoft).  Even if a user changes their password on the breached account, the stolen credentials may be the key to another account somewhere on the web.

Sometimes the hackers also take the stolen credentials and apply variations to them to gain access to other accounts.

 

Password practice – 15 ways to keep your accounts secure

We’ve outlined the importance of long, complex and unique passwords, but what else can you do to keep your account impenetrable?

Use password encryption

Non-reversible, end-to-end encryption adds an extra layer of protection to passwords in transit and in the event that a data breach should occur.

 

Deploy multi-factor authentication

Multi-factor authentication requires the additional access criteria to be met in addition to a correct username/password combination.  This additional piece of information could be:

  • Something only the authorised user would know. A pin, answer to a security question etc.
  • Something only the authorised user would possess. This might involve sending a code via text message to the user’s smartphone to verify identity.
  • Biometric data. Facial recognition, fingerprint or voice recognition data.

Now widely available, you may be able to activate multi-factor authentication within the apps and services you currently use.

 

Test Passwords

Password testing tools are available online to help you determine the strength of your account passwords.  Microsoft’s Safety & Security Center also contains such a tool.

 

Avoid Dictionary words

“Dictionary Attacks” involve the use of software programs which cycle through tens of thousands of dictionary words in the hope of finding a match.  Sometimes additional characters are added to common words too, so to stay safe it’s best to avoid dictionary words altogether.

 

Keep mobile devices secure

With mobile devices increasingly being used for business purposes, device security has never been more vital.  A lost or stolen device can easily be compromised unless strong access controls are implemented.  Secure all portable devices with pin/password protection as well as a fingerprint or facial recognition controls where available.

 

Don’t ask employees to change passwords frequently

While this may seem counterintuitive, requiring users to change passwords regularly has been shown to increase the likelihood of password duplication.  There also an increased chance of passwords being written down.  Only request that users change passwords when a threat to account integrity is uncovered.

 

Apply special protections to “Privileged Accounts”

Consider using the likes of PAM (Privileged access management software) to apply extra safeguards to privileged accounts, which are prized targets for cybercriminals.  Unlike general user accounts, privileged account credentials should be changed on a regular basis.

 

Be mindful of the information you put online

Phishing scammers often use publicly available information in order to steal account information.  They may use the information you make public via social media or even your business’ website in order to impersonate trusted individuals with close links to your business.

 

Don’t manually record passwords

Recording account credentials on paper or digitally is a risky business.  Such records could end up getting lost or stolen and could give criminals widespread access to your sensitive data across multiple accounts.

 

Guard against malware!

You password management efforts will be for nothing if malware present on your system allows hackers to record your every keystroke.  Deploy technical measures to scan for and deal with malware, such as anti-virus software and vulnerability scans.  Ensure software and operating systems are well maintained to minimise points-of-entry for hackers.

 

Use a Password manager

Password managers allow you to safely and securely store all your account passwords in one place behind a wall of encryption.  Password managers can also be used to create and store highly-secure autogenerated passwords designed to give maximum security.

Just make sure that you set up a strong master password!

 

Struggling to find a solution that fits around your business?

At Cloudscape, we use our extensive experience to deliver custom-fit technology solutions to SMEs in London and the home counties. Technology should serve your business’ aims and aspirations, it shouldn’t be something to mould your operation around. We are experts in Cloud-computing and we know how empowering Cloud Services can be when leveraged correctly, so let us help you tailor Office 365 so that it works for your business and the unique challenges you face. Call us on 0207 952 8123 or send us an email info@cloudscape.it.

The Shady Side of the Internet – The Dark Web

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You’ve probably come across the term “Dark Web” at some point, but what does this somewhat ominous term refer to?

Dark Web refers to sites that are hosted behind several layers of encryption, and because of this encryption, the site operators and contributors remain hidden as it is very tricky to trace a Dark Web site back to the source.  Most of these sites are used for a wholly or partially illegal purpose, as their clandestine nature means morally questionable activities can be carried out under a veil of secrecy and anonymity. Without going into the unpalatable details, many sites on the Dark web are used for purposes such as:

  • The distribution of illegal drugs.
  • Gathering spaces for extremist ideologies
  • The sale of counterfeit documentation
  • The sale of illegal weaponry
  • Human trafficking activities
  • The sale and distribution of stolen goods.
  • The sale and distribution of stolen data.

It, therefore, goes without saying that the dark web is home to some very unsavoury characters.

It is also used by individuals who are intensely paranoid about their online privacy, particularly concerning their communications. While online privacy is a concern for many, there are definitely better ways to conceal private conversations than taking them into a seedy criminal underworld that’s rife with malware.

 

I don’t think I’ve encountered such sites, how do you access them?

You cannot stumble across a dark web site through a Google search, to find the dark web you have to go looking for it.  And while much of the activity on the dark web is illegal, browsing the sites is not – although it’s something we certainly wouldn’t recommend!

Dark Web sites exist behind encryption, so in order to access a site, you have to use the same encryption tool as the site you’re trying to access.  You also have to possess the site’s URL, as you cannot access dark web sites via domain name searches.

Again, accessing the dark web is a risky business and we strongly advise against it.  You may encounter criminals, be exposed to a range of extremely potent malware designed to steal your data or inadvertently engage in activity that could be considered a criminal offence.

 

So why do I need to know about the Dark Web?

It’s important to be aware of the Dark Web from an online security perspective.  As we’ve mentioned, criminals use the dark web to trade illegal commodities, and one of these commodities is stolen data.  Indeed, if you were to suffer a data breach carried out by a cybercriminal there the chances of your data being traded on the dark web is relatively high.

 

How could my data end up on the Dark Web?

Dark web criminals use a number of methods to steal valuable data:

Malware

Hackers use a variety of malware types to harvest data from various settings.  Most types are designed to extract login credentials, particularly those used to access banking sites or sites that allow the hacker to leverage some kind of financial reward from the account information.  Keyloggers, info stealers and banking malware are common examples and are often picked up through malicious email attachments, drive-by downloads and interactions with malicious websites.

Phishing scams

Phishing scams involve the use of social engineering to encourage victims to voluntarily hand over personal information.  The scammers often masquerade as a trusted organisation or someone known to the victim in order to build a bond of trust before requesting information (again, usually login details).  Phishing scams can be avoided if you know what to look out for, so staff training is one of the best way businesses can defend themselves against Phishing fraudsters.

Weak account protections

Hackers use methods such as Brute force attacks in order to gain access to online accounts.  The weaker the account password the greater the chance that such an attack will be successful.  Once the hacker knows your password they might use it to make purchases or steal money from an account.  Alternatively, they could bundle it into a collection of stolen account credentials and sell this bundle on the Dark Web.

Unsecure connections

Techniques such as ‘man in the middle attacks’ allow hackers to intercept data travelling across insecure networks such as public WiFi.  Levels of security on such networks are often low, leaving users vulnerable to a range of attacks.

Sometimes ‘rogue hotspots’ are also used.  This involves the hacker setting up a public Wi-Fi portal that imitates a legitimate hotspot nearby.  These hotspots can then be used to listen in on traffic, distribute malware or even direct users towards malicious websites.

Attacks on large companies

The databases of large corporate entities are a prized target for the most sophisticated cybercriminals.  Social media giants, software-as-a-service companies and financial institutions have to spend large sums of money on cybersecurity, in order to defend the vast quantities of customer data they hold in their servers.  While such breaches are relatively uncommon when they do occur attacks can result in millions of articles of sensitive data being leaked onto the dark web.

 

Struggling to find a solution that fits around your business?

At Cloudscape, we use our extensive experience to deliver custom-fit technology solutions to SMEs in London and the home counties. Technology should serve your business’ aims and aspirations, it shouldn’t be something to mould your operation around. We are experts in Cloud-computing and we know how empowering Cloud Services can be when leveraged correctly, so let us help you tailor Office 365 so that it works for your business and the unique challenges you face. Call us on 0207 952 8123 or send us an email info@cloudscape.it.

The Fort of Cyber Security – What is Data Encryption?

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Encrypt your data before the Hackers do it for you…

What exactly is Data Encryption?

Encryption helps protect data you send, receive and store using any device. Including text messages, emails on your desktop, phone calls, banking information and most importantly, password logs.

It works in a simple manner, by scrambling the readable text so it can only be read by the person who has the secret code or decryption key. Providing data security for personal and sensitive information.

 

Why bother encrypting your data?

Aside from securing your sensitive data, here are the three main reasons to encrypt your data:

 

Internet privacy concerns are very real – Encryption is a key part of securing outgoing and inbound data, making sure the information you send out isn’t readable let alone viewable by anyone other than the intended recipient. Encrypt every single message.

Hacking is no longer a hobby, it’s a big business – Cybercrime is a professional, global enterprise. Large-scale breaches are now demonstrated with ease, purely for the financial gain.

Regulations demand protection – Depending on the industry, certain acts and regulations now enforce encryption as compliance in securing public data & information held and distributed online.

Never underestimate the importance of securing your data; whether it’s from a backup perspective, or from the very beginning. All it takes is one intercepted email and your data could be breached within hours.

 

How do you encrypt data?

Data Encryption is the method of taking plain, readable text, like a text message or email, then scrambling it into an unreadable format — called “cypher text.” Helping protect the confidentiality of online data either stored on IT systems or transmitted over a network.

When the intended recipient acquires the message, the information is translated and reverted back to its readable form, otherwise known as decryption. Usually, in order to gain access to the message, both the sender and the receiver have to use a ‘secret encryption key’, being a collection of algorithms that scramble and unscramble data back to its original form.

There are multiple types of encryption, each designed with unique requirements and security measures in mind.

 

** Get your FREE pinpoint guide on Data Encryption below **

>Download the guide here<

We’re Cloudscape.

We believe you should have the best backup solutions for your business.

We’ll get to know your business and determine the most appropriate solution to meet your technical requirements while being commercially sensible in cost and productive with time.

If you feel that your data isn’t being backed up correctly, please get in touch.

The Fort of Cyber Security – What is Malware?

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The existence of Malware is to cause chaos, don’t invite it into your Business

What exactly is Malware?

Malware is a contraction of malicious software. The pieces of software that are specifically designed with the intent of causing damage to devices, the aim of stealing private data or to simply cause destruction and chaos.

Often designed by a group of cybercriminals or hackers, looking to make money from either selling the software over the dark web, or by spreading the malware content themselves. Regardless of where the malware started from or who spreads it, if it ends up on your PC, it’s not good news.

 

What are the different types of Malware?

Coming in all different shapes and sizes, with a variety of forms, some types are much more harmful than others:

 

Computer Viruses – Anything that’s clean, viruses attach themselves to infect files, spreading uncontrollably damaging anything and everything in its path. Usually appearing as .exe files within your system.

Trojans – Disguised as what you think is legitimate software, or hidden with software that was once legitimate. Acts discreetly and creates back-doors within your security to let malware in.

Spyware – Spyware, as you can probably guess, is malware specifically designed to spy on you, your actions and what you get up to. tracking your browsing habits, noting passwords entered and learning all your security procedures.

Ransomware – Malware that locks down your system, encrypts your files and will threaten to erase everything until you pay a hefty ransom.

Worms – Just a wriggly, if not more with your IT Network. Worms infect entire networks of devices, either locally or across the internet by using network interfaces. Using infected machines as it goes to infect others.

Adware – Not the most malicious in nature, simply aggressive advertising software that undermines your security to serve you an obscene amount of pop-ups, which can allow other malware content to sneak in.

How do you prevent Malware?

When it comes to preventing malware, it’s more advised to follow rules to block it in the first place, instead of trying to find a cure to remove it from your IT systems after. There are a few common-sense practises to follow to avert malware from entering your infrastructure.

 

Don’t trust anyone online; Hackers have and will use social engineering to specifically target you, including strange emails, sudden alerts as well as fake profile and special offers too good to be true. If you don’t know what something is, don’t click on it.

Check your downloads; From official storefronts to dark websites that lurk in the corner of the internet, wherever you plan to download a file, be cautious that it could still be infected, regardless of where you found it.

Ad-blockers are the key; With advertising so prominent on websites, not all of them are what they seem. Hackers can use infected banners to trigger downloads once clicked, be wary to click on any that seem enticing.

Browse carefully; Sticking to trustworthy sites is always the best way forward. Malware can be found anywhere, but mostly in small, locally hosted websites with poor security standards in place, don’t run the risks.

 

Even if you follow all the steps, there’s, unfortunately, no guarantee that you’ll remain malware-free. Given the fact that worms have evolved from the depths of the ground to travel across your IT network infecting machines as it goes, no one is deemed safe.

** Get your FREE pinpoint guide on Malware below **

>Download the guide here<

We’re Cloudscape.

We believe you should have the best backup solutions for your business.

We’ll get to know your business and determine the most appropriate solution to meet your technical requirements while being commercially sensible in cost and productive with time.

If you feel that your data isn’t being backed up correctly, please get in touch.

The Fort of Cyber Security – What is good Password Security?

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A password is a drawbridge to your entire digital world… don’t make it weak

What exactly is good Password Security?

Passwords are the digital keys to your online network of almost everything; friends, family, work and your financial accounts. If you take the risk and disregard the strength & integrity of your passwords, you’ll probably find that many other people also know what it is.

The aim is to form a memorable, yet strong password that won’t be easily broken. The two most important passwords are those for your email and social network accounts, if someone has access to your email, they can ‘forget password’ their way into all of your other accounts. Enabling them to scam your friends with dangerous links, fraudulent messages asking for money… Passwords are important, it may be the last line between you and a cybercriminal.

 

How do they attack our passwords?

There are various methods that can be used to crack passwords, below is a list forming of the multiple techniques that cybercriminals will use to break into your personal accounts:

 

Dictionary attacks – Using simple files that contain words found in the dictionary, you now understand why you shouldn’t use normal words in your passwords…

Brute force attacks – Similar style to the dictionary attacks, brute force also lets the hacker detect non-dictionary words by working through all possible alpha-numeric combinations, (e.g. aaa1 to zzz9). It’s not a fast process, but it will uncover your password eventually.
Rainbow table attacks – If rainbows were actually hashes of all possible password combinations for any given hashing algorithm, I don’t think we’d appreciate them as much. Opposed to the name, rainbow tables are huge, unwieldy things that require a lot of computer power.

Phishing – The simplest method, get the user to do it for you… just by simply asking for it. (Check out Phishing here).

Social Engineering – As the name suggests, the art of phishing, but gathering the information yourself.

Malware – Such as keyloggers, screen scrapers… pieces of malware that are hidden on your system, recording and scanning your passwords.

Guessing – You’d be surprised how easy it is to guess passwords, a high percentage of people don’t take passwords seriously and will often make passwords from pets names, foods, surnames… it doesn’t take a specialist to figure out ‘Jake1234’.

Never underestimate the importance of securing your data, having multiple, unique passwords for every account you access is vital in protecting your business.

 

How do you make a strong, secure password?

Beginning with the obvious, no dictionary words, names or facts about you, pet names or locations; a strong password is a mixture of letters, numbers, symbols and ambiguous characters. for Example, ‘D56@h]!$vVcs09yH‘. The longer the password, the harder it is to crack.

 

There are various practises that you should stick by in order to maximise security:

 

– Use Two-Factor-Authentication whenever possible

– Use a combination of Capital letters, lowercase, numbers and symbols alike the example above

– Don’t use simple, common passwords… qwerty… or Dog123456

– Make sure your passwords are at least 10 characters long

– Don’t use any speaking words, as seen by the dictionary attack, it’s too easy to crack

– Change your passwords regularly, you never know if you’ve been hacked

 

Choosing a password is entirely up to the user. The best password is one that doesn’t make any sense.

 

** Get your FREE pinpoint guide on Password Security below **

>Download the guide here<

We’re Cloudscape.

We believe you should have the best backup solutions for your business.

We’ll get to know your business and determine the most appropriate solution to meet your technical requirements while being commercially sensible in cost and productive with time.

If you feel that your data isn’t being backed up correctly, please get in touch.

The Fort of Cyber Security – What is Ransomware?

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How to protect your business against Ransomware

What exactly is Ransomware?

Ransomware is a form of malicious software. Which locks and encrypts your computer or device data, then demands a ransom to restore your access.

The cybercriminal uses your own information against you, the files are still on your computer, however, they’re all encrypted and completely out of your control. They give you a set period of time and threaten to wipe the system if you don’t pay, causing many businesses to pay the ransom almost immediately.

Nevertheless, they’re not as kind as you may think… if you pay up and demand access back to your system, it doesn’t mean they will. You’re then out of pocket, still without all your data. Worst-case, if you pay up and they do return your files, they now know you’re able to pay up, don’t be surprised if they lock you out of your data again.

 

What are the different types of Ransomware?

Coming in all different shapes and sizes, with a variety of forms, some types are much more harmful than others:

 

Crypto Malware – The most harmful form of ransomware, the ability to encrypt everything on your system, once it’s started, you no longer have any control over your files, until you pay the ransom of course.

Screen Lockers – Infects your operating system to completely lock you out of your computer or device, making it impossible to access any of your files.

Scareware – As its name states, it’s used to scare you. Fake software claiming to be an antivirus and demands money for ‘finding issues with your computer’.  Some types lock you out but others mostly flood your screen with pop-ups and persistent alerts.

Doxware – Otherwise known has leakware, hackers will gain access to and will threaten to leak all your private documents, pictures and information, most victims will pay once their files have been hijacked.

 

How do you prevent being targeted by Ransomware attacks?

Ransomware is a popular money-making market for hackers and can be hard to stop. Prevention is the most important aspect of securing sensitive data. To block cybercriminals and help safeguard yourself from a ransomware attack, keep these points in mind:

  • Use security software with Advanced Threat Protection; Install trusted security suites to protect your data, you need more than just anti-virus.
  • Keep your Security software as well as your Operating System up to date, on the latest version at all times.
  • Never open email attachments or embedded links without analysing them first, you never know what it might be. similar to Phishing, you can be easily caught out into installing malicious content without you even knowing.
  • Be cautious of emails with attachments that require you to enable macros to view its content, once you enable macros, the malware inside is activated and will enter your system.
  • Use cloud services, they’re fantastic for mitigating ransomware infections
  • Don’t pay the ransom, yes you have a time limit and they’re threatening you with your won files, but a cybercriminal can ask you to pay over and over again and still never release you files, they locked you out, they won’t be kind and let you back in.

 

** Get your FREE pinpoint guide on Ransomware below **

>Download the guide here<

We’re Cloudscape.

We believe you should have the best backup solutions for your business.

We’ll get to know your business and determine the most appropriate solution to meet your technical requirements while being commercially sensible in cost and productive with time.

If you feel that your data isn’t being backed up correctly, please get in touch.

Communication is Key

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Communication is Key.

 

For any business owner or manager, there is always the worry that employees aren’t as productive working from home as they would be if they were in the office.

With internal communication being such a critical aspect to any business; if you don’t know what’s going on things can start to get rather messy very quickly.

 

Introducing, Microsoft Teams.

With the ocean of tools available to us on our workstations, it’s particularly problematic to figure out what’s the best to use. Microsoft Teams can and will solve all of your internal communicational challenges.

Teams is Microsoft’s answer to a single-pane-of-glass application casing a full range of our day to day communication & collaboration requirements.

 

Introducing; Instant Messaging.

Instead of having over 200 emails floating in your mailbox, Teams allows you to chat instantly with your workforce within its single platform environment, across any device that you use. Whether you need to send a message, a file attachment or just a reminder. By uniting the conversation, Teams provides a seamless way to converse individually or as a group without the confusion of numerous emails and countless attachment versions.

 

Introducing; Real-time document editing.

With Teams you’ll no longer have to worry about misplacing or losing track of files; files won’t get lost and rewritten in the email wormhole.

To maximise your collaboration, Microsoft Office Web Apps are all supported within Teams, so you can have several team members working on the same document at the same time.

 

Introducing; Voice/video calls.

You may be thinking: ‘I haven’t got time for all this messaging, can I just make a phone call?’ The answer quite simply is yes.  The Teams app features voice and video conferencing.  It is built from the foundations of Skype and allows you to host calls between 2 or more users.

 

This could be a great opportunity to look at your current processes, with a view to improving them regardless of the Coronavirus emergency. If you are already part of the Office365 ecosystem there are plenty of other apps that you have at your disposal and could use to increase the efficiency of your business.

 

WE’RE CLOUDSCAPE.

 

It’s our belief that you should have the best solutions for your business.

We’ll get to know your business so that solutions can be tailored around your operation.   We are commercially savvy, so we will always aim to find the most cost-effective, time-efficient solutions that meet your technical/performance requirements.  If you feel that your data isn’t being backed up correctly, please get in touch.

Making sure your team can work safely & efficiently

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Let us guide your business to Remote Working!

 

Protect your business at all times.

Protecting your business from cyber-crime should always be your biggest priority. You’ve probably got security covered in your office already – all of your computers have anti-virus software; you use a secure VPN and your data is stored away safely.

 

But what exactly is a VPN?

A ‘Virtual Private Network’ gives you online privacy & anonymity by creating a private network from a public internet connection.

VPNs hide your IP address so your online actions are untraceable. Most importantly, VPN services establish secure and encrypted connections to provide greater privacy than even a secured Wi-Fi hotspot.

 

Why do you need to use a VPN you ask?

Browsing the web or transacting on an unsecured Wi-Fi network means you could potentially be exposing your personal information and browsing activities. Which is why a virtual private network, more commonly known as a VPN, should be a must for anyone concerned about their online security and privacy. Especially from a business point of view.

 

When preparing for a potential office shut down, you may need to provide your employees with equipment and infrastructure in order for them to complete their duties from home. When doing this, it’s best to take this approach: If it’s not secure, there’s no point in having it.

 

In addition to a virtual private network, you should also consider a range of other security precautions such as: multi-factor authentication for all accounts and business accounts to protect information;  ensuring that all employees are using approved devices; ensuring that strict rules are enforced relating to anti-virus software and downloading obscure files if they are using work devices.

 

WE’RE CLOUDSCAPE.

 

It’s our belief that you should have the best solutions for your business.

We’ll get to know your business so that solutions can be tailored around your operation.   We are commercially savvy, so we will always aim to find the most cost-effective, time-efficient solutions that meet your technical/performance requirements.  If you feel that your data isn’t being backed up correctly, please get in touch.

The Fort of Cyber Security – What is a good Data Backup?

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Having a Data Backup is one thing, but a good one…

What exactly is a good Data Backup?

In this day and age, it’s essential to have backups of your entire IT system & infrastructure. With endless possibilities just around the corner, it’s only a matter of time before you lose everything.

The key to backing up your data is simple, just follow the 3-2-1 backup rule.

In other words, just make sure you’ve got more than 3 copies all in unique, separate locations.

You really want to make backing up data a part of your daily life cycle. If you happen to lose your data due to a hardware defect or ransomware attack, having a backup could save your business.

 

Where do you even start with a Data Backup?

There are lots of ways to back up your data. Each way has its own procedure. Still, here are some general guidelines when it comes to making a good backup:

 

Storage is cheap, so it makes the most sense to just back up everything.

Cloud storage offers some advantages over local storage.

The more places your data is backed up, the better.

Don’t underestimate the value of having physical copies of things

Identify what you need to back up.

Backing up isn’t an all-or-nothing proposition.

 

Never underestimate the importance of securing your data, having multiple, unique versions of your infrastructure or lastly, losing all your data to a malicious hacker.

 

What options of backup are available?

There are plenty of options to back up your data. It’s smart to understand the types of backup and get one that suits your requirements:

– External Hard Drives

– Cloud Backup

– Flash Drives

– Online Backup Services

 

A lot depends on the kind of data you’re protecting. Cybercriminals can use seemingly unimportant data and patch it together to commit identity theft. A strong backup strategy can make a big difference in your digital life and give you peace of mind.

 

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We’re Cloudscape.

We believe you should have the best backup solutions for your business.

We’ll get to know your business and determine the most appropriate solution to meet your technical requirements while being commercially sensible in cost and productive with time.

If you feel that your data isn’t being backed up correctly, please get in touch.