As almost every organization has undergone dramatic changes in their Information Technology (IT) framework over the past few months, we noticed a lot of things: Some good, some bad and some are downright ugly. You need to know about all three:
The Good
By far the best of the good has been how so many organizations have enabled a remote workforce in a secure fashion. Kudos to those who have set up secure connections to their core networks using VPN and their Office 365 environments protected by Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). The strength of security systems is largely determined by the number of factors or layers incorporated. Systems that use two or more different factors are typically considered stronger than those that use only one factor. Additionally, we have seen a good many organizations incorporate MFA into their cloud email environments. Those really doing it right are also backing up their data whether it is stored locally or in the cloud. They are doing “GOOD” work! Let us know if you want to get the goods!
The Bad
Do you know who is out there having a terrific time growing their business during these challenging times? The Bad Guys, that is who. Attackers are leveraging the fact that many employees are working very differently in this COVID‑19 environment and finding new ways to hack into systems to gain access to confidential data and other information. One recent example that almost fooled even us was a “copycat” website setup to look just like the Microsoft Office 365 online portal. The “copycat” site was so good that every link on the page connected to Microsoft except for the “Sign In” button. The “Sign In” button would capture your Office 365 login credentials when you enter them on the subsequent sign in screens and then send you on to Microsoft’s actual portal to login. And you’d be none the wiser. That is “BAD.” Beware! Reach out to us if you need help.
The Ugly
Sometimes it is hard to face facts, especially the ugly ones. And so, we must bring this uncomfortable one to your attention. It involves your staff, specifically the staff you may have furloughed or laid off entirely. In both cases, it “ain’t pretty,” unless you remove the access that all those folks have to your data, your email, and your entire environment. While we do not like to think that a staff member on furlough would do something untoward, especially if they hope to return to work soon, the fact is that we have seen some ugliness already. Now is the time to secure your business from a loss from a trusted inside individual. As we said, this is “UGLY” to think about, but it would not be right if we did not make you aware.
When it comes to the world of IT, we’ve heard it all! Follow Clint Eastwood’s lead and be the “good.” Go ahead, make our day… Contact us and let IT Radix make IT work for you!