How Digital Cleaning Can Improve Your Business Technology
You want your devices to run smoothly and quickly. You want minimal downtime, increased productivity, and decreased costs. One effective way to ensure your technology is aligned with your goals is to conduct a digital cleaning to see where you might be falling short.
If you’re using outdated technology, you risk:
- Increased downtime
- Heightened costs
- Decreased productivity
- Security gaps
A digital cleanup is an opportunity to evaluate your security and find out where your software needs to be updated or enhanced. It illuminates any technology issues you may have been neglecting.
A digital cleaning acts as your alert system, a way for you to find out how you can get your devices running better and determine what you can do to optimize and improve your IT infrastructure.
Here are some digital cleanup items you can check off to improve your business technology.
√ Organize Your Digital Files
Free up space by eliminating files that you don’t need while holding onto the ones you still use.
√ Update Your Software
Check to see that you have the most current version of your software to maintain performance and keep your data secure.
√ Delete Old Accounts
Consider deactivating accounts you no longer use.
√ Use a Password Manager
How many passwords do you have? According to NordPass, you probably have around 100 of them. A password manager stores them on secure servers that aren’t accessible to hackers.
√ Evaluate Your Hardware
Run a diagnostic on your hardware to ensure its functionality and learn about out any issues that need to be addressed.
√ Run Updates
When you get a notification on your device that an update is available, don’t ignore it. Updating to its latest operating system ensures it runs as efficiently as possible.
√ Back Up Your Data
All your devices should be backed up to the cloud every 24 hours.
√ Protect Your Device
By using antivirus and antimalware software, you keep your device safe from phishing scams and other hacking ploys.
√ Clear Your Cache
When you eliminate the cookies that keep track of your browsing history, your devices run faster.
√ Partner with an MSP
If you don’t have the time or manpower to regularly clean your tech, consider partnering with an MSP. Partnering with an MSP means you can hand over your checklist for them to do the work. An MSP makes valuable suggestions and gets you on track with your technology and business goals.
Delval Technology Solutions is a team of professional technology experts who can run diagnostic tests and provide customized IT solutions that suit your unique business needs.
We know your goal is to improve your technology so that your business continues to grow. It’s our goal, too. Let us shed light on how your technology is running and make recommendations on technology solutions that help you achieve the utmost levels of efficiency and productivity.
Leave your digital cleaning checklist to the experts. You won’t believe the results.
Cybersecurity Benefits of Checking Your Tech in Pennsylvania
It’s one thing to have cybersecurity — it’s another thing, however, to have modern, effective cybersecurity that can withstand any kind of breach or cyberattack.
The best way to ensure you are reaping the cybersecurity benefits your software has to offer is by doing regular security checkups. A robust checkup includes making sure your employees are adequately trained, that your sensitive data is properly stored and that you have a plan in place to get you up and running should a breach occur.
Of course, you don’t want a breach to occur in the first place — IBM found the global average of a data breach is just shy of $4 million. And performing regular checks of the efficacy of your cybersecurity is a great first step toward stopping disaster.
There are many positives to doing regular tech checks of your cybersecurity such as:
Educating employees — It is imperative to ensure your employees can identify and sidestep attempts at phishing, ransomware and other attacks hackers have up their sleeves, especially since more than 90% of breaches occur because of human error. Your MSP should be able to provide your staff with ample training, whether it’s videos, posters or phishing simulations that won’t just educate your employees but will also make them your company’s strongest line of defense against a possible attack.
Keeping within budget — Effective cybersecurity isn’t always cheap, but it is far less expensive than the financial wallop packed by a breach or an attack. According to Small Business Trends, the average cost of breach to a small business is more than $25,000. TechChannel reports that one hour of downtime caused by a breach costs a business more than $300,000. Those are resources that should be devoted to running your business and growing your company — not mitigating the effects of a potentially disastrous breach. Worse yet, TechRepublic also found that small- and medium-sized companies that fall prey to an attack or breach shut down for good within six months of the incident. Check your tech and you can better protect yourself from becoming a statistic.
Maintaining good standing — As an entrepreneur, you’re not just building a business — you’re building a brand your customers can lean on and trust. Falling victim to a breach will erode that trust. Whether you’re in finance or the medical industry, clients are going to hesitate trusting you with their sensitive data if you can’t keep your own data secure. Security.org found that one in four Americans stop doing business with a company once it has been hacked. Imagine a quarter of your clientele up and leaving, taking their business — and their money — to a competitor while giving your company negative reviews to anyone who asks. Internally, being a company renowned for weak security and the high frequency at which it's attacked will put a dent in company morale while driving away talented employees and negatively impacting your ability to hire new ones.
Cybersecurity isn’t necessarily a set-it-and-forget-it part of your business. It needs to be updated, maintained and above all, checked. Your cybersecurity benefits will go a long way toward the success and sustainability of your business — if you handle it the right way. If you have any questions or need assistance with putting together your security checklist, please reach out to our team.
Delval Technology Solutions in Pennsylvania has security services and solutions that help you keep up with and stay protected against the latest threats. Trust our expert team to provide services that are scalable, cost-efficient and customizable so they fit the specific needs of your industry and budget. Let us protect your business like it’s our business. Reach out to us today and we can assist you in creating an effective checklist that ensures your security has everything it needs to safeguard your network.
Put your money and focus where they belong — toward the growth of your business.
3 Productivity Tools Revolutionizing Small Business in Pennsylvania
At Delval Technology Solutions, we know productivity tools for small businesses. As technology evolves to better support today’s modern workforce, we’re excited to share what we know and love. If you’re interested in learning about the tools helping businesses work better and smarter, keep reading.
#1. Cloud Computing Solutions
The cloud is redefining modern business, transforming how, when and where things get done. The benefits are numerous, and they all lead to increased productivity and efficiency. Cloud-based solutions provide the flexibility, reliability and security today’s business demands.
Cloud Computing Solutions Support:
Collaboration: Cloud-based tools help teams work faster, smarter and together.
Business continuity: Cloud computing stores information in the cloud so it’s easy to backup and recover.
Flexibility: Quickly scale storage and bandwidth resources up or down as your business needs change.
Innovation: Enjoy state-of-the-art tools without the costly, upfront fees.
Small businesses from all industries report increased productivity, improved security and cost savings after implementing a cloud solution. These service-based platforms offer a wide range of business advantages — all at one predictable monthly fee. For help choosing the right deployment model, implementation and routine management, consult with a local managed services provider experienced in cloud solutions.
#2. Microsoft 365 Applications
Microsoft 365 is a cloud-based solution featuring popular productivity tools like Teams, Word, PowerPoint, Excel and much more. Whether your team is in the office, remote or hybrid, Microsoft 365 keeps your staff connected to each other and working efficiently.
Microsoft 365 Applications Support:
Collaboration: Host real-time video conferences with internal team members and clients, easily and securely.
Anytime, anywhere access: View, manage and update important applications and documents from any internet-ready device.
Communication: Chat, video, call and instant message team members from one shared workspace.
Automation: Automate manual tasks and workflows for reduced errors and increased efficiencies.
Microsoft 365 is one of leading platforms for productivity tools. Manage email, build spreadsheets, organize documents and more with one integrated solution. If you’re considering migrating to Microsoft 365, consult with a local managed service provider first. An experienced partner can ensure you get the most from your subscription, provide a seamless transition and offer 24/7 management and support.
#3. Meeting Pods
Meeting pods are a great way to give your employees more space to collaborate and meet without giving you any of the costs associated with a large renovation or the hassle and headaches of moving locations.
And because they come in a variety of types and colors, meeting pods can make your office more aesthetically pleasing while also increasing efficiency and productivity. From a tech perspective, meeting pods can be outfitted with smart TVs, USB ports, lighting/audio features and other electronic devices and interfaces that create the ultimate virtual conference experience.
Other benefits of meeting pods:
Room to collaborate: Meeting pods will give your employees additional space to collaborate without you having to finance the construction, furnishing and set up of a new boardroom.
Increased privacy: While pods will increase collaboration, they can also be a haven for employees looking to avoid audio and visual distractions or those who are participating in an online meeting or conference call.
Less background noise: Most meeting pods are soundproof, which will allow employees to conduct their business or give an online presentation no matter how loud the office gets.
Confidentiality: If an employee is dealing with very sensitive client information, they can get their work done in the privacy of a pod rather than exposing the info out in the open.
Productivity Tools for Small Businesses
Delval Technology Solutions, Pennsylvania's leader in personalized tech solutions, specializes in helping local businesses optimize their technology. For more tech news and trends, be sure to read our other informative industry blogs, or contact our team to continue the conversation.
Your Business Health Depends on Your Adoption of Emerging Technology
With businesses on a large scale deploying a wide realm of innovative technology solutions, such as artificial intelligence, adoption is crucial to retaining a competitive edge. Technology has always been necessary on a functional level — for tasks, communications, security, and so on. But these days, it can make or break your business. The ready adoption of emerging technology is simply a necessity for business growth and success.
The implementation of new digital technology can help accelerate progress toward business goals, such as financials, workforce diversity, and environmental targets by more than 20%.
And companies that incorporate new technology discover 80% more annual net income than their competitors, according to Oracle.
Top 5 Things a Tech Check Catches
From outdated solutions to cybersecurity that’s not up to the task, there are plenty of convincing reasons to discover where improvements could be made to your IT. A technology assessment will reveal:
- Aging Solutions: If you haven’t updated in 6-12 months, you’re probably using at least one outmoded solution.
- Decision-Making: Lags: 75% of companies that use AI experienced an improvement in decision-making.
- Old Equipment: New technology improves productivity, enhancing workflows.
- Weak Security: Strong security is a must to avert cyberattacks, which average about $200,000.
- Technological Deficits: A technology audit can identify areas that hold your team back.
Agility Matters
When it comes to your IT infrastructure, ask yourself if your technology enhances your ability to make data-driven decisions and if it provides value for your clients. Is it scalable? Do your employees have all of the tools they need to do their jobs successfully?
More than nine in 10 of executive managers believe agility is important to the success of their businesses.
Agility is how prepared you are to adopt available technology innovations. To attain optimal agility, Forbes suggests you have a strategy with objectives, broad agreement on technology path, IT processes in place, and adaptable personnel who appreciate what new technology brings to the table.
While the vast majority of executive managers believe agility to be important to their success, less than a third of executive managers consider their companies to fit the profile, according to Project Management Institute.
Discover the Benefits of Tech Health
The Delval team is asking all of our clients whether the superior technology of AI, cloud, or decision intelligence are options they’d like to explore.
AI — Three out of four companies that have implemented AI experienced an improvement in their decision making
Cloud — The cloud provides an agile platform to develop solutions quicker with no capital expenditure, according to Forbes.
Decision Intelligence — Organizations that are data-driven are 23 times more likely to covert leads. They’re 6 times more likely to retain those leads. And they’re 19 times more likely to improve their ROI, according to Advance 2000.
At Delval Technology Solutions in Pennsylvania, we build your IT infrastructure specific to your business. We provide everything you need to optimize your operations, while addressing your budget, existing security, current technology solutions, and equipment inventory.
We learn about your business to get you poised for success now, and in the future. Our customized evaluation identifies areas where you can improve, grow, and thrive.
Don’t endure the fallout of operating on outmoded technology. Don’t let your competitors gain an edge. Take your business to the next level with our support. Contact us today.
Beyond Backup: Why Choose The Cloud?
Cloud computing has gone from a niche part of IT into the norm for most companies over the past couple of years. It’s become common
knowledge that for backing up information without having to spend money on costly hardware, the cloud is the way to go. However, back-ups are not the only benefits of moving your network to the cloud. Accessibility, portability, and scalability are all benefits as well that can save your business time and money and help you raise the bar for your business….into the cloud.
Let’s start with the integration. In the past, setting up a new server, linking it, installing software, and everything that went with it took days. This meant downtime, manpower being shifted from their usual jobs to helping install and implement the network. With the cloud those days become hours, if not minutes. The cloud offers seamless integration and back up. This means that integration is merely a matter of proper synching and uploading
which can be done easily by an experienced team such as Delval Technology Solutions, while your team works on the things that they need to for your enterprise. What’s more, your software will be integrated as you need it to be, no more having to start from scratch and customize it to your needs. It goes to the cloud just how it exists on your current terminals.
The cloud also makes it easier for your business to grow. Cloud servers have the capabilities for near unlimited storage. If your enterprise takes on more clients, backs up more files, or adds additional projects or employees, the room is easily made without adding extra hardware. What used to take new
computers, hours of setup, and multiple consultations now occurs in just a few clicks, at a fraction of the cost. If you add new users remotely, or in house,
as long as they have internet service and proper credentials, they can access your network quickly and efficiently. For your workers who are collaborating, it can be an issue sending larger files to one another without having to take extra compression steps, which can degrade images and video. However, with the cloud, sending these files is as easy as dropping something into a shared file.
The cloud also offers enhanced security. Now, this may seem counter intuitive. You would think that a process that makes your network more accessible
to your employees would also make it more accessible to hackers. However, this is not the case. A top-class cloud provider, like the folks at Delval
Technology Solutions, will employ someone whose entire job is to make sure that the cloud is secure. They are tasked with monitoring the goings on in the cloud in real time and are security experts. This is not to say that your in-house IT personnel doesn’t know their stuff, but they have a variety of things to focus on. Another thing that adds to the security of the cloud is the encryption associated. For your data to reach the cloud it must first be encrypted. This encryption only deciphers itself when properly accessed. What does this mean for your business? You don’t have to worry about your data floating around cyber-space, as even if it does get out, it will be illegible to anyone trying to read it.
The cloud is also more affordable in the long run. With cloud services you get access to things like subscription versions of the latest software which are easily scalable and available for a fraction of the cost. In fact, adding anything from software, to terminals, to necessary storage is more cost effective in the cloud. This is because you are leveraging cost. The cloud is basically a massive, shared server. Therefore, you are basically getting a wholesale price on data, storage, and software. Why the cloud? Well, it seems the question in this case would be why not? Whether you are looking to scale up, migrate your employees, back up your data, or save money, the cloud is a perfect solution to your data needs. When you partner with a top notch cloud service provider like Delval Technology Solutions, the cloud isn’t merely a thing you look at in the sky, it’s the technology that makes the sky the limit for your business.
Ransomware Concerns Aren’t just Ransom
At this point, everybody has probably heard enough about cyber attacks to get the gist. Hackers come in through a nefarious means. This could range from phishing, to finding a zero day exploit in a server, to just peering over an employees shoulder. From there, they use the way in to steal your data. This includes login credentials, customer information, credit card information and just about anything else that's out there. In the case of ransomware, the most prevalent attack, these hackers hold your data hostage, crippling your organization until you pay up. That sounds bad doesn't it? Well, that's not the only price you pay when you get hacked. Today, let's look at what else costs you when you get attacked.
How much does trust cost your business? When customer or employee information leaks to the dark web, it serves to erode the trust you have built.
This could mean a number of things. It could mean your customers and clients suffering from identity theft, bank account breaches, or having at the bare
minimum to argue with their bank or change all of their login credentials. These minor nuisances and major challenges come back to reflect on your company's security. Many businesses have suffered greatly from lack of consumer confidence. On the employee end, it can mean reimbursement, time lost, and worse yet, a higher turnover rate. If an employee cannot trust and employer with their livelihood and reputation, then they lose much of the incentive to stay with that job. Those factors can also keep other qualified applicants from wanting to join the ranks of your business.
A breach is also cause for investigation. For some that could be just a minor nuisance as they may have a great MSP like Delval Technology Solutions to make sure they are compliant and operating within the regulations that have been set out. If a company isn't up on their compliance, then it can be a far bigger issue. That's when they need to worry about fees and fines levied, costing thousands of not millions of dollars. It can also lead to an organization being shut down completely, depending on the violation.
How much does it cost you, per day for your network to be shut down? This question is a pressing one for many business owners. The cost of downtime is something that can bleed a business dry if it goes on to long. In fact many studies indicate that a business can only sustain three days of downtime without losing catastrophic amounts of money. After that 70% of businesses have to shut their doors completely. You still have to pay your team, even if they are knocked offline by an attack. Your bills, invoices, and internal communications will grind to a halt. You won't be able to get the money from your clients in order to pay your bills and your staff. Your team won't be able to continue and complete their tasks as they will not be able to communicate or collaborate over your network. Your customers who are trying to reach you will be left in the dark. This ripple effect is why making sure you have systems in place to minimize downtime are crucial elements to your business.
This may seem daunting, after all these hackers are working full time to attack enterprises such as yours, and you are working full time on numerous other things involved in running your business. This is where an MSP like Delval Technology Solutions comes in. An MSP gives you access to the resources you need in the fight against hackers. You will have experts on call, helping you plan and manage your network proactively. Your company will have access to top class software and hardware, handling things such as multi factor authentication and real time network monitoring to keep intruders out and your business experiencing uptime, not downtime. Your team, well they will receive monthly training to help transform them from average
employees into Frontline firewalls, helping you keep hackers and cyber-attackers at bay. All of this comes at a fraction of the cost of hiring
just one full time IT technician, and is tailored by experience so you get what you need, when you need it.
How an MSP Can Help You Grow
Tom owns a small financial firm. Over the last few years, Tom and is firm have been making money for their clients. So much in fact, that their
clients are bringing in new clients. He made those clients money, and word ontinued to spread. He had a realization that he was faced with a choice. Did
he stop taking on new clients or accept that he had to take his small firm to he next level. Tom, like many, chose the latter. However, he had a lot of
concerns. One of which was if his current technology was equipped for the job.
Tom isn't a tech expert and as handling things on his own for the most part, which was fine when he only ad a 3 man team. As they get ready to expand, he realized that wouldn't be sufficient any longer. He knew he needed a partner who could handle those things for him, so he could focus on his client and his business, so he called on an MSP. Growing isn't easy, and a great MSP like Delval Technology Solutions can alleviate some of those growing pains.
Time management is important to any business owner. An MSP can save you valuable time during the growth process. It allows you to have a team of experts behind you, taking the guesswork out of what hardware and software would be the best fit to grow you business. They can also help you add users quickly and not only advise you on the proper tech steps to take, but also implement needed changes in an efficient manner. With an MSP, you have a team with up to date knowledge and resources at their disposal, which brings us to the next point.
Tom is a financial expert. He always had an affinity for numbers and trends, and took great joy in helping his clients reach their financial goals. While technically proficient, he is not by any means an expert and he's smart enough to know that. He is concerned with keeping his network secure and his company within the bounds of regulation. By partnering with an MSP, he got his expert guidance. They handle his network, making sure his team's questions are handled in a timely matter, hat his servers are optimized, and that his team can work from anywhere at any time. Tom's peice of mind comes from knowing that his network isn't just managed it's secure. A great MSP, such as Delval Technology Solutions treats cyber security for what it is, a living breathing thing that needs to outpace the criminals. Tom has his network monitored, and the Dark Web combed for data on a monthly basis. They also train his staff on cyber security, making sure everyone on his growing team was prepared to aid in the fight against cyber crime.
An MSP will also handle compliance. Each industry is subject to a series of laws in regards to their network practices. Not only do these laws vary by state in many instances they are constantly amended on top of new ones being added. It can be confusing to stay up to date on these laws
and the penalty for not adhering to the guidelines can cost your company thousands if not millions of dollars. With an MSP you have a team who is on top of the compliance issues and makes sure someone like Tom is within regulation.
This brings us to the final point, and it’s a matter of cost. Adding
IT personnel into your staff is a costly endeavor. Each member of the team will
cost you between $80,000-100,000 a year. Depending on your company needs, one
IT staff member most likely isn’t enough. What if you needed to add an IT executive?
A qualified CIO will run you almost $200,000 a year and requires you to relinquish
some control to them. Tom needed to add more advisors, more accountants, a new
secretary and that was just the beginning. He knew an MSP would give him the
expertise and backup he needed without having to drop hundreds of thousands of
dollars on a full scale IT team. In fact, his yearly contract with an MSP is
under the cost of a single IT person for his team.
The choice for Tom was an easy one. He signed a contract with an
MSP that would be able to fufiill his needs. He did his due diligence, as not
all MSP’s are created equal. Tom found one that treated him like a partner,
ready to work with him to grow his enterprise, instead of as a client. He found
Delval Technology Solutions, and he was glad he did. Now, he was ready to do
what he did best, making money for his clients, without having to worry about
his IT. Be like Tom, contact the DTS team today!
Three Ways AI Cybersecurity Can Benefit Your Business in Pennsylvania
The days of solely using passwords to secure your network and data are over. And your IT team may be comprised of some of the best tech experts you know — but in today’s digital landscape, and with the ever-evolving skill of cybercriminals, it may not be enough to give your Charlotte-based business the protection it needs.
The answer may be found in AI cybersecurity, which is artificial intelligence that picks up where your team leaves off. Implementing AI doesn’t mean you have to fire your IT staff. Rather, it will enhance their work through constant network monitoring and lighten their burden, freeing up members of your team to spruce up your website or carry out other duties to help grow your business.
Here are some other ways AI cybersecurity can make you safer than you have been before:
It Quickly Detects Intruders
AI can teach itself all about your network and quickly familiarizes itself with who is permitted to access to it — and more importantly, who isn’t. Whether through passwords, retinal scans or multiple layers of authentication, AI acts as your company’s ultimate gatekeeper. Unlike humans, who need to carefully vet everyone requesting access and decide on each one, AI cybersecurity does so quickly and without compromising quality, preventing employees and customers from having to sit through long wait times while waiting for access.
It Never Gets Tired
Wouldn’t it be great if hackers had the decency to stick to a schedule? Or how about if they called ahead to let you know what time they planned to infect your network with ransomware? Of course, that isn’t the case. The truth is your company needs network monitoring 24/7/365 — but you and your employees are human and need to rest. AI cybersecurity, however, never drops its guard. Whether it’s 3 a.m. on a Sunday or while the turkey is getting carved on Thanksgiving, you will have the peace of mind in knowing your network is getting effective and efficient cybersecurity. No matter when a cybercriminal intends to strike, AI is ready to detect and resolve the incident long before it starts.
It’s Consistent
Even your best, most reliable employees miss a day of work on occasion. Sometimes it’s sickness, other days it’s car trouble — or they have some well-deserved time off coming their way. AI cybersecurity is always there. It never needs a sick day or arrives late because of a blown tire. You know what to expect, when to expect it. And knowing that AI has your cybersecurity covered no matter the time, day or holiday means you can allow your staff up to serve your customers and enhance your business.
Get the Protection Your Business Needs
Equipping your network with AI cybersecurity is essential. If you decide to outsource your cybersecurity to an MSP in Pennsylvania, make sure it is one that offers the most modern, innovative and up-to-date protection available. It needs to provide your business with round-the-clock monitoring designed to protect your data throughout all hours of the night. Using old, cookie-cutter cybersecurity is your way of inviting smart, sophisticated hackers into your network. Contact our team to learn more about our cybersecurity services and schedule a no-risk, no-cost security assessment.
The Government Response to CyberCrime
Cybercrime is on the rise in the United States. With increases of hundreds of precents and an estimated $590 million dollars paid out in attacks in the first half of the year alone, the threat is growing exponentially, and effecting American businesses. After a massive attack on the Colonial Pipeline which caused a brief gas shortage and other attacks on infrastructure by foreign actors, many wondered when our government would act. Currently there is legislation on the table which we will explore in this article.
The first of these bills has to do with compliance, specifically how long a company has to report a critical infrastructure attack. While CISA (Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency) has asked for flexibility, definite timelines being propose. There are three bills that have been introduced with this at the helm. In the Senate the two competing bills have a 24 and a 72 hour limit on reporting respectively. Critics have claimed that the 24 hour bill doesn't give organizations sufficient response time and takes away needed manpower. In the House, the bill calls for a 72 hour minimum and creates a Cyber Incident Review Board where critical infrastructure organizations must report to.
These are all being proposed to be added to the final draft of the Defense Authorization Bill. Also included in the House version of the bill is a change to the CISA directors assignment. It would make them a non-political 5 year appointee, similar to other intelligence agencies. The bill earmarks $500 million in cyber-security grants at the state and local levels. Further, it includes authorization for incentives for the cyber-security industry to find and report vulnerabilities as well as will implement a cloud based system of information sharing related to cybercrime for government officials.
The Senate has additional earmarks including $21 million dollars in discretionary spending to the CISA head. It allows for the Department of Homeland Security to step in and provide funds and aid in the case of a significant, devastating attack. The Senate has also set the state and local grant to a billion dollars in their version.
These changes can affect businesses that fall under the broad designation of infrastructure. Currently there are over one hundred compliance laws that have been passed in the last year alone between the local and the federal level, on top of the existing compliance laws on the books. While these laws vary by industry, one thing is the same across the board, the fines that come with violating these laws, while varying in amount are constant. Adding a federal mandate would also add a criminal element to not reporting these violations properly.
All this regulation may seem like a lot. However there is a bright spot. Reporting of cyber attacks is up over 60% from 2020. This allows for these attacks and those who carry them out are studied and documented. This allows for companies to strengthen software, create updates that patch vulnerable holes in the network, and cyber security experts such as Delval Technology Solutions to be even better adapt at preventing these attacks.
The fact is, if you are reading this, chances are you aren't a compliance expert. You are an expert in your field, running your business with all of the peaks and valleys that come with it. The best thing you can do, no matter what the outcome of these defense bills, is to partner up with experts.
Having an MSP, like your friends at Delval Technology Solutions, by your side gives you access to experts. These experts follow the trends, in security and compliance, to make sure you stay on the right side of regulation. On top of that you get someone monitoring your network, protecting your endpoints, and helping you make sure that your network and your business are protected. You will have a plan that allows you to be prepared if you ever are attacked while working with a partner working hard to ensure you never are. They even train your staff to ensure that everyone in your organization knows what to be on the lookout for.
Facebook Outage, DNS Servers and Your Business
Last week, a curious thing happened. About twenty four hours after a whistleblower spoke about the algorithms Facebook and it’s associated
properties used and a member of the team rebutted these claims, an outage occurred. Facebook, WhatsApp, Oculous and Instagram all went down for nearly and entire day, and speculation ran rampant as to the cause. We have witnessed massive ransomware hacks, on police departments, sports teams, and infrastructure this year. One had to wonder, was Facebook, a company worth the GDP of many countries that possesses Pentagon level cyber security, compromised to a level in which it couldn’t operate? According to internal sources at Facebook, that wasn’t the case. In fact, it was an issue that happens more frequently then cyber attacks, a DNS server error.
DNS stands for Domain Name Systems. DNS handles many things. The main one is that it allows for computers to translate words in domain names
into numerical data that allows for computers to connect to one another, the internet, and their network. This data is what is referred to as an IP address.
The server translates the requests and sends the user to the appropriate server in the network or on the internet. DNS was created to make the internet easier to use for everyday people. Instead of having to type a set of seemingly random numbers into a toolbar to navigate to a web page or to an internal server, DNS was created to allow the usage of words to get people to their virtual destination. Originally, these arraignments were made by hand, but as the demand and connectivity to the internet grew, it was obvious that was not a system that would work for everyday people.
DNS serves as a way to handle the growing navigational needs of our digital world. The DNS directory is a worldwide directory, stored in it’s
own special servers called dns servers. These servers are interconnected to one another and connected to the internet at large, synchronizing directory
information and making it available to servers around the world.
Internal DNS servers can fail, and when they do, it can shut down enterprises. Last Mondays outage not only blocked access to Facebook and
it’s associated platforms for millions of users, but internally at Facebook it shut down communications. For those who were not logged into their work
stations, they were locked out until the issue was fixed. For others who were logged in before the crash, they were unable to communicate with one another. This compounded the problems faced by Facebook consumers, as the very people who were supposed to be working to get the network back online were unable to communicate via their terminals. In fact, it also locked many at their main campus out of the facilities entirely as the security doors reading the key cards couldn’t communicate with the main server. If Facebook was a house, it was on fire, 911 couldn’t answer the call and the water lines were down.
The culprit for this appears to have been an update to their network that wiped out all of the DNS information that Facebook and it’s properties used for the internet to find Facebook, and it’s consumers suffered as a result. They weren’t the only ones, in six hours Facebook lost 60 million dollars or 222,000 dollars a minute. Facebook may have been able to withstand these outages, but for many companies an outage can spell impending doom. If you are a business owner, you know that downtime is the enemy. How do you prevent an outage? Well, truth of the matter is they are avoidable, not preventable. Making sure you have a DNS network that can handle the volume you need it to is a key component. Load balancing can help split the traffic between servers as to not overwhelm them. There are more procedures, however, if you aren’t a tech minded individual, these are things that may be hard to implement and may not make much sense.
This is where having a strong MSP to run your network comes in. Partnering with an MSP such as the folks at Delval Technology Solutions can
help you alleviate your concerns and ensure that your DNS servers don’t fail. An MSP offers expert level network management and guidance, at a fraction of the cost of hiring an in house team. For more information, feel free to contact us while you are here, or set an appointment and see all of the things an MSP can do for you.