IT Problems

IT Consulting – Why It’s Important To Create And Test A Disaster Recovery Plan

February 17, 2016

Both modern information technology and IT consulting have been a boon to businesses, enabling them to process data quickly and efficiently. Computer networks, laptops and wireless devices are essentials in order to conduct business in the digital age. E-mail and VOIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol) telephone systems are major forms of communication. All kinds of data (including orders and payments) are transferred from one business to another via Electronic Data Interchange (EDI). Servers process massive amounts of information and store large quantities of critical data. However, sometimes disaster strikes in a nanosecond and all this technology stops working.

A computer network crash is more than just a temporary misfortune as critical data is essential to the continued operation and even the survival of the affected business. The negative impact of data loss or corruption from hardware failure, human error, malware, or hacking is huge. An article in Information Week states that computer downtime adversely impacts US businesses to the tune of $26.5 billion per annum. A Pepperdine University report says that companies that suffer a network outage lasting longer than ten days never completely recover financially, and roughly fifty percent of them will go under within five years. Therefore, a plan to backup and restore digital information is crucial.

Does Your Business Have a Recovery Plan in Place?

If you do, that’s obviously a good thing, but then you need to determine if your plan is adequate. Here are some recommended steps to create or enhance a disaster recovery plan.

Examine your current plan (if you have one) and assess if the level of protection it provides is sufficient.
Work out the length of time your business can afford to have its computer network be down.
Determine how much data your business can afford to lose.
Look at your current backup system and determine whether it can be improved.
List all of your system’s critical components – servers, other hardware, and software applications.
Document the processes necessary to bring your server(s) back online.
Review your IT staff. Do they have the expertise to handle an unpredictable disaster? If you have a contract with an outside IT service, how fast can their personnel be at your offices?
If your company has on-site servers, look at the control room environment. Is it secure, does it have a backup power supply and effective climate control?

The Importance of Testing

There are quite a few excuses you can come up with for not testing a recovery plan on a regular basis – insufficient funds in the budget, workflow interruptions, not enough time, etc., etc. However, if you don’t test your plan, how do you know if it’s going to work? Don’t wait until disaster strikes to discover that your plan contains flaws. So, test your recovery system and find our how well it works (or doesn’t work) as soon as possible.

Virtual or Physical Servers?

Is it any help to have a mix of physical and virtual servers (which is common these days). The answer is no – accidental deletion of information on virtual servers happens just as often as on the physical type. And, bear in mind that physical servers often run your company’s most critical applications, such as the ones processing payroll data.

Assistance is Available

If designing and testing your own disaster recovery plan seems a little daunting, or you don’t have the staff or expertise to effectively handle the project, please talk to us. We can relieve you from worrying about network crashes and loss of data, ensure that you suffer only the absolute minimum of downtime and have you back up and operational again as quickly as possible.

Image Credit To: Elliot Margolies, A. Golden and Andrew Wippler

Meeting The Challenge Of BYOD-Minimizing Risks With Managed IT Services

November 18, 2015

With the advent of cloud computing and the widespread use of smartphones and tablets, companies today must deal with the issue of employees utilizing their personal mobile devices to conduct company business. According to analyst estimates, the enterprise BYOD adoption rate in 2014 was anywhere from 40-70 percent across all industries. In 2015, the trend continues to grow.

Research released by Osterman Research reveals that for every corporate-issued mobile device, there are now two personally owned iPhones, iPads, and Android devices. This statistic illustrates the fact that BYOD trends are likely to continue.

Inherent risks with BYOD

If the thought of data risk with BYOD adoption keeps you up at night, you are not alone. The possibility of data breach is real and immediate. As more employees use their personal devices for company business, risks can escalate quickly. What are some of these risks?

1. Lost or stolen devices: According to The Security for Business Innovation Council, a group of Global 1000 Information security leaders, the number one concern with BYOD adoption is lost or stolen devices. A smartphone left in a hotel room or taxi may contain sensitive company information. Found by the wrong person, this could represent a data breach nightmare. Osterman Research estimates that less than 1 in 4 devices like this can be remotely wiped by the device owner or the company whose sensitive data may be involved.

2. Vulnerable software: It is likely that your company has a policy to ensure that its internal hardware and software is regularly updated with the appropriate security patches to ensure safety and compliance with applicable regulations. Can the same be said for the personal devices of your employees? Employee failure to apply software security updates can put your company at risk. Third-party applications that are running on the devices of your employees allow you little or no control over software coding errors that can potentially expose your sensitive information to unscrupulous individuals.

3. Unprotected email: How many times a day do your employees check company email with their personal devices? If the employee does not have a PIN code to lock their device, anyone using that device automatically has free access to emails, even those containing sensitive company information.

4. Hotspots: Many employees may use devices that are set by default to identify and connect to open wireless access points when available. If this default setting is not changed appropriately, the device becomes vulnerable to man-in-the-middle attacks.

5. Storage Solutions in the Cloud: Dropbox and similar cloud storage solutions can potentially be vulnerable to unintentional data leakage issues. If your company is not providing a specified, secure storage solution for employee use, it is likely that your employees will, for the sake of convenience, use a less secure storage option which will put your data at risk.

Recommendations for BYOD agreements

If your company allows employees to use their personal devices for company business, it is imperative to craft policies and procedures to ensure the safety of your data and minimize risk. The Security for Business Innovation Council, in their report entitled, “Realizing the Mobile Enterprise”, recommends the following checklist:

Ensure that your employees are responsible for backing up personal data.
Clarify lines of responsibility for device maintenance, support, and costs
Require employees to remove apps that might contribute to data leakage at the request of the organization
Disable access to the company network if a blacklisted app is installed or if the device has been jail-broken
Clearly specify the consequences for any violations to the company BYOD policy

Help is available

Because of the inherent risk involved, you may be less than thrilled with the prospect of allowing a BYOD policy. However, the truth of the matter is that convenience is a key motivator for employees to use their personal devices. Simply put, BYOD is likely a behavior that is here to stay. This being the case, having a well-defined company strategy to manage BYOD risk is essential.

The good news is that you do not have to navigate these waters alone. A professional managed service provider can provide you with the tools you need to address the risk.

What managed service can do for you

Here are a few things that GeekTek IT Services can do to bolster your security efforts:

Design and configure a policy to manage mobile devices
Secure, monitor, manage and support mobile devices and tablets
Automatically configure email, access other settings
Simplify the support of mobile devices

If you would like help with BYOD issues, please contact us. We are hyper-focused on the security of your business, and we will gladly work with you to manage the risks involved with BYOD issues.

Image Credit To: Chris Jagers, Phil Sexton and Carissa Rogers

Watch Out For Productivity-Sapping Tech Cautions IT Consulting Services

October 12, 2015

You’re an entrepreneur who embraces technology. All these modern hardware, software, mobile devices, and apps help get your small business off the ground and turned your enterprise into a going concern among your customers.

But now that you’ve hired an employee or two, you can help but wonder if all this 21st century is actually sapping your productivity. It seems that you’re spending increasing amounts of time looking at funny Facebook videos. And you’ve caught your workers using up work hours searching for mobile phone apps.

You don’t consider it particularly practical to become a Luddite just to boost productivity. PC Magazine agrees and offers several tips for co-existing with hi-tech so your business thrives.

Minimize the Hardware

If one high-tech device does wonders to improve your business, then several must be better. So you not only own a desktop in the office but also own a laptop so you can bring your work to the coffee shop, a tablet so you can read your online magazines, a smart phone to keep in touch, and a connected watch so you can access your phone from your wrist. Each of these devices take time to check for notices, upgrade with the latest features, clean, maintain and store. You have to duplicate what you do with one piece of hardware among all the others.

Instead of dealing with all these time-consuming machines, confine yourself to just one or two. that you can focus on. For example, use a touch-screen laptop to take the place of your desktop and tablet, and rely on your smartphone for more portable functions, such as telling the time or catching up on reading.

Beware Your Time Online

You have the best intentions whenever you go online. You want to check the latest prices on a new paper shredder and you spend hours browsing office furniture, looking at pictures of well-decorated business spaces, and shopping for Christmas decorations. You want to respond immediately to an email your customer sent you but end up spending all afternoon sorting and adding tags to each message and cleaning up your contacts list.

To eliminate these digital time sinks, confine your online meanderings to a limited period each day, perhaps an hour when you first come in or the hour before you leave the office. If you don’t have the discipline to control your Internet access, inexpensive software such as Freedom can block access to websites and apps for set period of time. If you’re not sure how much time you spend online, use an app like RescueTime to track where you’re spending your minutes.

Block Off Your Focus Time

You know that you’re most focused the first two hours of the day or sometime in the afternoon. So that’s when you schedule your meetings. Unfortunately, such interactions among people tend to be highly unproductive as you hem and haw your way through different strategies, analyzing various options, and reaching consensus. So you’ve wasted your most valuable time.

Schedule your interactions at any other time other than when you’re most focused. Block off your most productive hours on your online calendar, so employees and customers know not to bother you then. You can then spend your best times performing tasks that demand concentration or that produce the biggest value for your company, such as determining project schedules.

Technology can multiply the working capacity of people around you and yourself but only if you know how to use it properly. To find out how, please contact us. As your IT consulting service, we can help you define strategies for managing your hardware, software, and network.

Ways To Protect Your Online Information

September 15, 2015

Technology has almost completely converted our world today. Bank statements, receipts, bills, and almost everything else you can name is now online and paperless. While there are a great deal of benefits that come with the influx of technology, there are also dangers associated with the misuse and lack of privacy with your online information. Privacy is a rare commodity now-a-days with interactive websites like social media requesting more and more of your personal information. Most online users are computer literate but not as tech-savy as you would think. It is easy to navigate from your home screen to the internet and execute basic commands on your personal computer, but what about your security software, spyware, firewalls, and your mainframe’s wireless network?

Because we like to give you a helping hand when it comes to complex technological issues, our friends at Tech Land have helped us compile a list of the best ways to govern your personal online information.

Don’t put EVERYTHING in your social media profile

Be advised that the more information you share via social media, the more accessible it is for others to get a hold of it. Yes, there is some information that can link you to others with the same information like your high school buddies for example, but other information like your birthday and where you currently work are easily used against you. If you do, however, want to share this information to only the people you really know, then make your online profile private.

Be cautious of sharing your social security number – even the last four digits

Your social security number is one of the most critical factors that determine your identity. Usually your bank, credit bureau, or your employer will ask for all ten digits, but preferably the last four. You should understand what your social security number is: the first three digits are determined by where your parents applied for your SSN. The middle two digits are a group number, which is the number given to everyone in that geographical area at that certain time. This would be a breeze for an identity thief who is skilled in research. So if someone like that acquires the last four digits of your SSN, then can essentially steal your identity.

Turn on private browsing

Most companies, especially advertisers want to know what websites you visit the most in order to track your browsing and spending habits. Your internet provider gives you the option to privately surf the web. The best part about private browsing is that after you close the internet window your cookies, internet files, and history are all deleted. If you are serious about your privacy and governing your online information, then you should definitely consider this.

Lie when setting up password security questions

When you log into a website that contains even the slightest bit of your personal information, you are often asked identity authentication questions like “In what city were you born?,” “What high school did you attend?,” and the list goes on. I know this may sound crazy, but you need to be aware that facts about you and your history are floating around on the internet. If someone really wanted to access this information, it’s just a google search away. I’m not advising you make up some far away land that you know you’ll forget as soon as you create it, but something slightly off from the truth.

Think of GeekTek as your personal hub for all things IT based. Although they are dedicated to servicing all of your technological needs, you must also take the necessary precautions in protecting your online information. Contact us for more information on governing your online information and using the internet to your advantage.

Photo Credit: Vodafone Innovation Park Labs via photopin (license)

Feeling Overwhelmed By Changing Technology? IT Consulting Services Can Help!

August 31, 2015

As Windows 10 is rolled out, businesses are once again reminded of the fact that technology refuses to stand still. In fact, the arrival of a new Microsoft operating system is likely one of the less-disruptive changes your company will face in the near and mid future. Larger trends, such as the ongoing shift to cloud computing and SaaS, are bringing about much more meaningful changes across all industries. Add evolving technologies like disaster recovery and advanced data security, and it’s no wonder that many companies find themselves confused by the technological landscape. What can you do to discover the right path?

Hiring a company that offers IT consulting is the perfect way to have the best course professionally charted for your business. This will save you or your in-house tech team from having to spend hours of time, and perhaps thousands of dollars, trying to figure out which advances are worth pursuing and which ones are better off ignored. Consultants can also advise you on which technologies are promising but aren’t yet ready for a business environment. Here are a few good things to ask GeekTek IT consultants:

Should we upgrade our office PCs to Windows 10?

Thousands of offices use PCs for everyday tasks, and an upgrade can seriously disrupt operations if it doesn’t go well. On the other hand, keeping the old version isn’t a good idea if that version isn’t meeting current needs. We will work with your business to devise a plan that will allow you to keep up with changes while minimizing that disruption risk. Our suggestions may include backup methods, timing of updates, and the even ways to preserve the ability to roll back to prior versions if the new one turns out to not be ready for prime time.

How much concern do we need to have about data security & disaster recovery?

Data security breaches seem to hit the news all the time, with some companies losing control of the personal information of millions of customers. Even small companies have come under cyber attack and suffered costly breaches. Security companies have leveraged these events to promote the idea that everyone needs to be set up like the electronic equivalent of Fort Knox.

This, however, doesn’t mean that it is a must-have – or even useful – for all companies. Simply put, if your business isn’t storing sensitive personal information or isn’t open to certain risks, it doesn’t need the same sort of protection as one that does so. Be sure to ask our consultants about this technology so that you can make the proper decision about which security measures your business actually needs.

Should we buy software or go with a SaaS version?

SaaS, or Software as a Service, is making huge waves now. In some cases software that was once available for purchase is now only available over the internet in this format. The new paradigm basically turns software into a rental item, but that isn’t all it does. It also frees your company from having to spend time with updates and from most system compatibility issues. Is it best for your business to choose a SaaS option or look for one that you can own and control? We’ll help you arrive at a well-thought answer that considers how the benefits and drawbacks apply to your company.

These are just a few of the big questions that companies are facing today. Our IT consultants will work closely with your company to arrive at the proper answers. You won’t get blanket advice because we make sure we understand your business, its needs, and the challenges it faces before drafting a plan for its technological future. To get started on your custom road map to IT success, just contact us here in Los Angeles. We’ll be glad to answer all of your questions.

3 Security Lessons Learned From the Massive Government OPM Data Breach

July 17, 2015

Before we touch on some crucial IT security lessons (and why it’s so important to have consistent monitoring of your systems), it’s time to take a brief break from your regular programming and tune into some geopolitical intrigue.

If you aren’t up to speed on the massive security breach that occurred in the federal government’s OPM computer network recently, here is a brief summary of the Hollywood-like scale of espionage (as if it were a plot from a “Mission Impossible” film) and foolishness (as if it were a “Dumb and Dumber” sequel) that took place:

The OPM (Office of Personnel Management) is the Human Resources Department for the entire government — millions of employees — which means it stores identifying information from their invasive background checks for security clearances on a vast number of current and former employees — including every active spy — who works for the government.
Despite choosing to store these files on networks vulnerable to hacking, the OPM had no IT security staff until 2013. Yes, you read that correctly. This was accurately reported in Wired Magazine. But it gets worse. Much worse.
The government, as reported by The Wall Street Journal and TechDirt, was not even the one who discovered that they’d been hacked. A cybersecurity vendor — yes, a vendor — was running a sales demonstration for their networks forensic platform at a conference for the OPM. The vendor discovered the active malware mid-presentation while doing the demo. (As TechDirt joked: “Guess their product works, huh? That may go down as one of the most effective product demos ever.”)
It was then learned, also reported by The Wall Street Journal, that the malware had already been active for a year, and that it had been giving China unfettered access to OPM’s files; and the files were not encrypted. But it gets worse (if you can imagine).
The government had already given root database access, which gives you unhindered power to obtain files whether or not they are encrypted, to contractors who were working in China for years prior.
China can now hawk intimate background check information for millions of American government employees to any bidder.
This compromises the identities of intelligence workers and supplies foreign governments with an abundance of information that can be used for blackmail operations or the destruction of a government employee’s credit.

What We Can Learn From This Security Nightmare

Whether you’re a government agency managing the sensitive files of millions of people or you’re a company with a staff of 30 employees, there are crucial lessons to be learned from the OPM disaster:

1. Don’t wait until a sales demo to run a thorough security check of your systems.

In fact, you should have constant monitoring of your networks. Your IT personnel should be capable of consistent proactive and reactive security monitoring from day-to-day.

2. Be careful how/where you store sensitive information.

Some NATO governments refuse to store their most sensitive data electronically. Although you likely will never have to go the extreme measure of maintaining a warehouse full of paper files, the principle is the same: don’t place sensitive data in highly vulnerable locations that are not secured. In addition, always back-up your data in separate locations that cannot be accessed from your network.

3. Choose a trusted IT security team and insist that they document their security plan in detail.

It’s always a good idea to have your IT team document everything they do in writing for you so that your access to their processes and your understanding of your network security is not dependent on them cooperating with you. And if you’re in a situation where an IT company or a disgruntled employee is holding your data hostage, contact our BITS Rescue Team (Bad IT Service Rescue), and we will liberate your data and return control to you.

Contact us for more helpful tips on IT security and building a fruitful partnership with a managed service provider.