Information Technology Latest News and Events Philippines

O365 Threats Protection: What you Need to Know [Exclusive Webinar]

September 16, 2021March 15, 2023 Arby News and Events

Did you know that the FBI has stated that business email compromise (BEC) is one of the most challenging online threats and causes millions in damages each year?

As you adopt cloud-based enterprise applications, such as Microsoft® Office 365®,G Suite™, Box™, and Dropbox™, protecting your organization against such threats is an essential step and you need to be more vigilant about security than ever. While these applications are delivered in a secure manner, you share the responsibility to secure the content that passes through them.

Join Trend Micro and CT Link in this special webinar on O365 Threats Protection with Threat Expert Paul Pajares covering from A-Z all about Phishing, BEC, Ransomware, Malware and Fraud risks affecting O365 email

Key Highlights:

How to protect internal email and allow manual scan to uncover attacks already in progress
How unknown malware is discovered using multiple patternless techniques, including pre-execution, machine learning and sandbox analysis

How to find malware hidden in common office file formats and PDF documents with the unique document exploit detection engine

Get a chance to win GiftAway Vouchers in the Raffle Draw

About Trend Micro

Trend Micro is a leading provider of cybersecurity solutions designed to protect individuals and businesses against various online threats. Trend Micro Security offers advanced security features such as anti-malware, anti-phishing, and anti-ransomware to safeguard against malicious attacks. With easy-to-use interfaces and automatic updates, Trend Micro Security provides comprehensive protection against viruses and other threats while optimizing system performance. With over 30 years of experience, Trend Micro has become a trusted name in cybersecurity, serving millions of users worldwide.

What Is Sandboxing?

What do you need to know about sandboxing?

Benefits of sandboxing
Examples of sandboxing
Sandboxing solutions

Sandboxing is a cybersecurity term that involves putting a suspicious code in an isolated environment — also known as a sandbox — to observe its behavior and activity. This way, it can safely be detonated to see if it’s malicious or not. This method can help you prevent threats from getting into your network. To help you understand what sandboxing is, keep on reading to learn more.

Benefits Of Sandboxing

Cybersecurity professionals use the sandboxing method to detect potentially malicious files and applications. This way, if a security problem or error occurs, it is contained in one area. This can prevent a virus from compromising your device or operating system. Aside from that, sandboxing is also used by software developers to test a new code.

The internet is not short of threats. You or your employees could mistakenly download malicious files or access suspicious websites that can lead to a data breach. Most security tools can only detect known malware. This is why sandboxing is often used on top of traditional measures to detect cyber threats.

Without sandboxing, you’re giving a program free access to all your system resources and data. This is risky if you encounter a threat that doesn’t match any known malware signatures — are also known as a “zero-day threat”. As new threats are appearing continuously every day, sandboxing is an effective method to help you detect these problems before they can do any damage.

Examples Of Sandboxing

Sandboxing is used for situations where you need to execute a potentially problematic code. For example, plenty of web browsers nowadays are designed to automatically run in a sandbox. This way, it can prevent problems when a website exploits the vulnerability in the browser. Several applications and operating systems also use sandboxes by default to protect computers from untrusted code. A sandbox is also utilized to quarantine email and file attachments.

Virtual machines are another example of sandboxing. By installing a copy of your operating system on your computer, you can use potentially risky programs in a separate environment. This way, if malware infects the system, it won’t spread beyond the virtual machine.

Sandboxing is also an important component of the secure access service edge (SASE) model. This model combines Software-Defined Wide Area Networking and security functions in one cloud platform. This way, an organization won’t have to purchase multiple point solutions. Sandboxing is one of the security technologies used alongside secure web gateway, firewall as a service, VPN, and more.

Sandboxing Solutions

Plenty of security tools and programs include sandboxing on their list of threat protection features. This can help users detect malware in documents, email attachments, and other data.

If you’re interested in implementing sandboxing practices in your organization, there is a long list of IT solutions you can use. This way, you can utilize it with other security measures to make your network safe from threats. Here are some suggestions:

Citrix Secure Internet Access

With most companies having a hybrid or purely remote workforce, it’s getting more difficult to secure employees’ online activities. They could accidentally download malicious files or access websites that can introduce malware to your network.

To prioritize productivity and security, one good option is to use Citrix Secure Internet Access. It inspects all the traffic from the internet and runs them into a database of known threats. To detect new threats, files are also put into a sandbox.

Cisco Secure Email Advanced Protection

When it comes to business, email is one of the most important communication tools. Due to that, it has also become an attack point for security breaches. This can be done through spoofing, where a cybercriminal attempts to disguise their emails to look like it’s sent by a legitimate source. When left unaddressed and without proper cybersecurity training, corresponding with such phishing emails can spread malware through malicious links and attachments.

Cisco Secure Email Advanced Protection can help combat malware through its Malware Defense and Cisco Threat Grid feature. It uses methods such as file reputation scoring and blocking, sandboxing, and retrospection to analyze threats continuously. This way, you can identify malware that evades initial detection and catch new threats.

Trend Micro Cloud App Security

Office 365 provides companies access to applications such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. But other than that, it also has multiple features that can improve productivity, enable a mobile workforce, and more.

For additional protection of your corporate files, you can utilize Trend Micro’s Cloud App Security. Aside from machine learning, it also leverages sandbox malware analysis to detect unknown threats. This way malware and other threats coming from remote workers, partners, and mobile devices won’t migrate through cloud file sharing.

Trend Micro Connected Threat Defense

For network-wide protection and detection of threats, another solution offered by Trend Micro is the Connected Threat Defense. A threat could be stopped at the protection stage after running it through its advanced security techniques.

For unknown threats, it uses a sandbox to identify if a file is malicious. After analysis, it uses the Central Visibility feature to pinpoint users who also received the same file — therefore allowing organizations to respond fast before it spreads through the network.

Key Takeaway

Sandboxing is a cybersecurity practice often used with other methods so you can detect and respond to unknown threats. By putting a potentially malicious file or application in an isolated environment, you can observe its behavior and activity. This way, when malware is detected it won’t spread throughout your network.

If you have additional questions on what sandboxing is, you can send us a message here at CT Link. We can help you find and implement the right IT solutions that can boost your organization’s network security.

4 Options To Improve Endpoint Security

August 27, 2021April 20, 2023 blog-manager News and Events endpoint security philippines, forcepoint dlp philippines, options to improve endpoint security

What are your options in improving endpoint security?

Forcepoint Data Loss Prevention
Citrix Endpoint Management
Trend Micro Endpoint Security
Pulse Secure Access Solutions

Whether you’re adding more offices or hiring additional remote workers, your network-connected devices will increase over time. With heavily monitored network servers and websites, hackers shift their focus to these endpoints to penetrate your system and obtain their goals. To prevent this from happening, you can follow these options to improve endpoint security. Keep on reading.

Forcepoint Data Loss Prevention

One of your options in securing endpoint devices is Forcepoint Data Loss Prevention (DLP). It is a security software that allows organizations to have control and visibility over intellectual property, applications, or sensitive data to protect against accidental exposure or leakage, even when off your corporate network.

For businesses that implement Bring-Your-Own-Device (BYOD) policies, Forcepoint allows for secure data exchange through advanced detection controls that follow a risk-based approach. The software continually inspects user behavior in order to identify novel threats to security. It can provide specific risk scores and tailor-fit user controls in order to dynamically address suspicious behavior in real-time. Incidents are prioritized based on a calculated risk level so that the more pressing threats to security will be addressed faster.

Forcepoint focuses its endpoint security features on the user. This means that employees will be provided with critical cybersecurity training through a DLP coaching dialog and in-app tutorials that teach them how to self-remediate data risks. With full monitoring over web uploads, HTTPs, and cloud services, your team will be provided with ample protection when transferring files online or using cloud-sharing apps.

Citrix Endpoint Management

Nowadays, most employees prefer to access multiple devices to perform their work tasks. But with so many touchpoints, securing these devices might be harder for IT teams. Formerly known as XenMobile, Citrix Endpoint Management is a unified endpoint management technology that can solve this problem. Employees can easily enroll their devices to ensure that they access work resources safely. The benefit of this is that personal data can be isolated from company data, so the latter is protected without sacrificing employees’ privacy.

This endpoint management technology solution can help secure devices by using predictive analytics and machine learning technology. Through this process, dangerous user behavior can be detected and addressed in a timely manner. The Secure Mail feature also allows employees to access their email, calendars, and contacts on their mobile devices on the go. Citrix Endpoint Management can be used on its own or with Citrix Workspace, a complete workplace solution for organizations.

Trend Micro XDR

If you want to have visibility and security beyond your endpoints, then the solution you need is Trend Micro XDR (Extended Detection and Response). This technology automatically collects and analyzes your data across your endpoints, emails, servers, and networks to scan for threats faster.

Compared to endpoint detection and response (EDR), XDR has a wider scope of threat detection because it is not limited to the managed endpoints. Trend Micro XDR can provide you all the answers you need in one place such as:

How the device got infected
Where the threat came from and how it spread
The users who are exposed to the same threat

Another benefit of Trend Micro XDR is that it also allows you to outsource experts from Trend Micro. They can help analyze the security alerts you receive and assist you in remediating the threats quickly. This option is great if your company doesn’t have a dedicated security team to monitor and handle the issues.

Pulse Secure Access Solutions

Pulse Connect Secure and Pulse Policy Secure are two solutions that can help your IT Team gain visibility to work devices while still maintaining productivity when implementing BYOD protocols.

Pulse Connect Secure is a mobile VPN you can use to provide secure access from work devices to data and apps in the cloud or on-premise data center. This way, you can authenticate and authorize the devices before they gain access to your company data.

This can be done through dynamic and adaptive multi-factor authentication methods. Your IT Team can also set access policies depending on the role of the user, so the data access is limited to what is essential for the job. Employees can access company resources without the need for software, but only a web browser.

Pulse Policy Secure gives you visibility to endpoint devices so you can implement policies and detect threats faster. It classifies all the endpoint devices and provides behavior analytics. By building baseline behavior profiles, it can detect suspicious behavior. It also implements Zero Trust Principles through authenticating a user, checking the security posture of a device, and only granting the least privilege access.

Key Takeaway

With remote work becoming the norm, endpoint security has become more important for companies. These end-user devices can become an entry point for threats and cause data loss and theft. That’s why you should implement endpoint security solutions to help prevent this problem.

If you’re interested in more options to improve endpoint security, you can contact us here at CT Link! We can help you identify your potential attack surfaces, create security policies based on your needs, run pilot tests, deploy endpoint security solutions, and provide analysis and recommendations.

5 Ways To Prevent Data Loss In Your Company

August 20, 2021April 20, 2023 blog-manager News and Events citrix endpoint management, microsoft intune, ways to prevent data loss company

What are the ways to prevent data loss in your company?

Securing endpoint devices
Utilizing Rights Management Solutions
Implementing Zero-Trust Security
Investing in Backup and Disaster Recovery
Using Next-Generation Firewalls

From disturbing operations, losing sales, and causing downtimes—data loss affects organizations in multiple ways. That’s why one of your priorities is to protect and back up your data. This can be done by securing endpoint devices, using firewalls, investing in disaster recovery plans, and more. Read on to learn more about the ways to prevent data loss in your company.

Securing Endpoint Devices

Whether it’s an office desktop or a remote laptop — work devices used by your employees are indispensable tools for their job. But they also serve as potential sources of data theft and loss. These devices could be accidentally lost, stolen, or compromised by malware. One click on an illegitimate URL or the presence of a malicious insider can jeopardize your data.

This is why securing endpoint devices is vital. One way to do this is by using Citrix Endpoint Management. It helps keep sensitive data away from unauthorized devices. It also has security controls based on device, location, role, and context. With endpoint management, multi-factor authentication can also be enabled before accessing different applications. In this way, user identity is verified in multiple ways to add another layer of security to your data.

Other than that, your IT team can also stay ahead of high-risk activities by taking advantage of Citrix Analytics. This can provide user behavior analytics that can detect suspicious activities and stop malicious insiders.

Another option is Microsoft Intune, which focuses on mobile device and mobile application management. This is applicable to bring-your-own devices (BYOD) and organization-owned devices. You can control how the devices are used, or how your company’s data is protected in personal devices. With this solution, you can see which devices are accessing your company data, remove all the data if the device is stolen, and see reports on users that are not compliant with your policies. Intune can be used with Microsoft 365 products and can be integrated with Azure Information Protection.

Utilizing Rights Management Solutions

Another effective way to protect your data is to utilize rights management solutions. These can control who has access to your company data, so only authorized individuals will be able to view it.

One example is Azure Rights Management (RMS), which is used by Azure Information Protection — a data protection solution. This provides encryption, identity, and authorization policies so company data can be protected across devices. This protection still remains even if the data is sent to a third-party. Additionally, it also allows sensitive files to be shared, viewed, and accessed by others safely.

With Azure RMS, you can also monitor what happens to the protected files after sending them. You will be provided with information on when it was opened by authorized persons or if an unauthorized individual tries to open the files.

Implementing Zero-Trust Security

Weak credentials have a higher risk of being stolen by criminals to infiltrate a network and steal data. Remember that it can only take one hacked account to enter your network — especially if it has higher levels of access privilege. This is why zero-trust security should be a part of your strategies to prevent data breaches.

By implementing zero-trust security, you can minimize the chances of an insider compromising your data. This is done through multi-factor authentication so you can verify every user, service, and machine that is requesting access to your company information. This is adapted to the risk context so a request coming from a potentially risky location will need to go through a higher level of verification before being granted access.

In addition to that, not everyone will be allowed to go to certain areas in your network unless they’re approved. You only need to grant the least privilege needed for the task or the role, so you can reduce the cyber attack surface and stop the spread of malware from the area of attack if it occurs. If you need Zero Trust Security as a service, CT Link can help you integrate, monitor, and maintain it.

Investing In Backup And Disaster Recovery

From accidental deletions, hardware failure, or a natural disaster — data can be lost in a variety of ways. Without a dedicated recovery plan, your organization might experience downtime, financial losses, and a negative effect on your reputation.

To protect your data, it is beneficial to have a backup and disaster recovery system in place. This allows you to bounce back quickly so you can regain your losses and continue your business operations.

One of the most convenient ways you can protect your data is by subscribing to a backup as a service (BaaS). Through this, you will have access to manpower and resources to keep your backup system up-to-date and effective. It also allows you to recover quickly from data loss so you can keep your business up and running in no time.

If you’re looking for backup managed services, CT Link can help you. They will assist your team from start to finish so you can better protect your data. They will help you identify the data you need to protect, establish a strategy for recovery, deploy the backup infrastructure, monitor the backup solution, manage and resolve any issues found, and document all actions that are taken.

Using Next-Generation Firewalls

Data loss can occur due to malware. That’s why one of the most important steps to protect your sensitive data from these viruses is through Next-Generation Firewall (NGFW).

Just like a traditional firewall, an NGFW helps secure connections between the network and the internet. It provides administrators the ability to allow or block traffic based on a set of rules. But compared to the former, it offers additional layers of protection — such as application-level inspection, advanced intrusion protection, and cloud-delivered intelligence.

An NGFW can help prevent breaches so you can keep your company data safe. But aside from prevention, it also helps to quickly detect the presence of advanced malware if it penetrates your defenses. An NGFW is part of the Zero Trust Network design, which is a strategy that companies use to prevent data breaches through the concept “never trust, always verify”.

Key Takeaway

Data loss can lead to financial damages, low productivity, expensive downtime, and a loss of reputation. With threats from cyberattacks and insiders ever-present, you need to strategize so you can prevent the loss of critical data. This can be done by securing endpoint devices, utilizing rights management solutions, using NGFWs, implementing zero-trust security, investing in backup and disaster recovery, and more.

If you’re interested in more ways to prevent data loss in your company, you can send a message here! CT Link can help you find and implement the solution that your organization needs to protect your data.

How To Protect Your Data From Insider Threats

August 13, 2021April 20, 2023 blog-manager News and Events how to prevent data breach, how to protect data from insider threats, how to secure data

How can your organization protect data from insider threats?

Provide anti-phishing training
Manage who has access to your data
Implement User and Entity Behavior Analytics

Whether it’s malicious or unintentional, insiders can put your data at risk, disrupt operations, and damage company reputation. But with the right strategies and IT solutions, this problem can be prevented. Keep on reading to learn more about how to protect your data from insider threats.

What are Insider Threats?

The first thing you should know about insider threats is how they happen. Breaches can occur due to financial motivation, retaliation, or plain carelessness. These types of threats are difficult to detect because a user is given access to the system and data of an organization as part of their job.

Depending on the position and task of an employee, they might be given the privilege to view sensitive information on a daily basis. They may potentially abuse this right to steal information for money, compromise the organization, and the like.

Insider threat detection is made even more complicated because they take place within your network. In order to reduce the risk, here are some things you can implement in your organization.

Provide Anti-Phishing Training

Not all insider threats are motivated by ill intent. Some employees become compromised insiders simply because they don’t have enough knowledge of the risk they pose to the organization.

For instance, they could be targeted by a phishing attack without knowing it. This happens when they’re contacted by a cybercriminal posing as a legitimate institution through email or text message. Employees are lured to provide sensitive data or to open links that trigger a malware download.

This incident could also happen through a phone call. Your employees might receive an unwanted call from an IT helpdesk, in which the caller asks them for credentials before the call can proceed. When this happens, outsiders can gain access to your system and steal information.

This is why regular anti-phishing training is important for all organizations. Managers can simulate personal training programs with each employee, in order to determine who are vulnerable to attacks. To supplement this, employees can also be taught how to spot phishing attacks through collaboration with other employees as well as timely reporting of incidents.

Manage Who Has Access To Your Data

One of the ways insiders can become dangerous is when individuals are provided access to all data in the organization. In this situation, employees can abuse their credentials knowingly or unknowingly. But by managing who has access to your data, you can better secure it. This can be done through the principle of least privilege (POLP).

POLP works by only allowing users the bare minimum privileges that are needed to perform their roles. For example, an employee who needs to enter information into a database only requires the ability to input information. They don’t need to be provided with anything else—such as administrator rights. By implementing POLP, the spread of malware and cyberattacks can be minimized. Instead, any potential breach is contained in a limited area where it first took place.

Some organizations also implement just-in-time (JIT) access, by limiting a user’s access to applications or systems to a predetermined period of time. By allowing access on an as-needed basis, you can minimize the privileges that insiders can take advantage of.

Implement User and Entity Behavior Analytics

Lastly, organizations can also implement User and Entity Behavior Analytics (UEBA) to protect data from insider threats. It involves analyzing user and machine data so that threats could be detected in an organization. By collecting data over a period of time, normal and anomalous behavior could be differentiated. This can help spot security activities that can’t be detected by traditional tools.

For example, when an insider with privileged access is planning a cyberattack, it could be hard to detect. But with UEBA, a baseline, or the typical behavior of a user is established—so it could detect abnormal activity.

Exabeam offers UEBA solutions to help you detect and solve insider threats. It can provide timeline analysis and session stitching so you can tie together unrelated activities to form a complete story. This allows you to get the whole picture of the security events. Other than that, it also provides lateral movement detection, to view the attacker’s journey through the network. All of these features can be automated, so your staff can do more with less time.

Key Takeaway

Detecting insider threats through normal techniques can be a challenge. This is why if you have staff that can compromise your data because of a lack of knowledge, it is important to educate them on how they can prevent an attack. Ensure that you’re only giving the least privileged access required for them to perform their role. Finally, with the help of UEBA, you can track abnormal activity in your network so you can address it promptly.

If you want to know how to protect data from insider threats, you can contact CT Link! We can help you choose the IT solutions that allow you to minimize and prevent this problem in your organization.

4 Information Technology Problems In The Healthcare Industry

August 6, 2021April 20, 2023 blog-manager News and Events Citrix virtual apps, information technology problems healthcare industry, Trend Micro, Unitrends

What are some information technology problems in the healthcare industry?

Increasing need for data storage
Vulnerabilities to ransomware
Risk of data loss
Telemedicine and BYOD

With the advancement of technology, the medical field has grown by leaps and bounds. But despite that, there are still information technology problems that the healthcare industry continues to face. Medical devices are still exposed to vulnerabilities, there is a growing need for long-term retention of patient records, and many others. This article discusses these problems and the best ways to mitigate them. Read on.

Increasing Need For Data Storage

Over time, healthcare facilities accumulate an increasing amount of files in their system. With higher-quality laboratory imaging files, data from medical devices, and a growing collection of patient records, the need for larger storage capacities is vital.

But the main challenge for most healthcare facilities is how to quickly scale up without exorbitant price requirements. Most hospitals utilize on-premise data storage but the cost of getting physical servers can be overwhelming. Add to this the cost of maintaining power supply, cooling mechanisms, and more.

That’s why numerous healthcare institutions move towards a more cost-efficient option—cloud storage. This requires less capital investment because organizations can scale up and expand depending on their needs. They can start with a smaller space and gradually increase it as the need for storage grows. Cloud storage solutions also lessen management costs through simplified monitoring and reduce the need for on-premise hardware.

Vulnerabilities To Ransomware

Healthcare data and applications are necessary so healthcare employees can provide proper patient care. Cybercriminals know this, which is why they target these in exchange for ransom. Ransomware is a type of malware that blocks users from accessing data and applications until payment is sent to the criminal. For instance, you might encounter encrypted files and will only be given a decryption key upon settling the ransom.

This type of malware can spread in a system in a variety of ways. Employees could accidentally download it when accessing compromised websites or when clicking on phishing email attachments. These messages try to duplicate legitimate organizations, so users might click on them without checking or verifying their authenticity.

To combat this problem, it is vital to train healthcare employees on how to avoid malicious sites and files. Other than that, IT security measures are also critical in order to detect and isolate suspicious files.

For example, anti-ransomware solutions like Deep Discovery Email Inspector from Trend Micro help detect ransomware from malicious email. Detection is done at the entry point so that the attacks can be blocked before they can even begin. This is made possible through custom sandboxing and other techniques to facilitate the blocking or isolation of such emails.

Another challenge in the healthcare industry is the vulnerability of operational technology (OT) systems and devices — such as CT scans and ultrasound machines — to threats. Since patient outcomes heavily depend on these devices, a disruption could be problematic. Malware could enter the devices and compromise the facility’s computer systems. Fortunately, Trend Micro’s OT solution, the TXOne, can help protect these machine’s entry points from any such threats that can hamper their functionality without downtimes.

Risk Of Data Loss

Because data is crucial to healthcare facilities, many take steps to prevent data loss. But this could still happen due to human error, computer viruses, and hardware destruction. This could affect patient care and lead to downtime. Data loss could also affect the reputation of an organization and trigger legal action from patients.

This is why aside from having additional storage, having backups of important files and data is necessary. Recovering lost data can be expensive, time-consuming, and impossible to completely do. But with a backup, files and applications can be restored faster for smooth continuation of operations.

In some cases, however, criminals also target backups. Fortunately, solutions like Unitrends doesn’t just offer backups, but also ransomware detection and recovery. Backup data is stored in an immutable format, which means that it can’t be accessed by ransomware. This way, it remains safe and ready for recovery. Aside from that, Unitrends also utilizes artificial intelligence to analyze ransomware infections during every backup.

Telemedicine And BYOD

Gone are the days when pagers were the main communication device for healthcare workers. Today, smartphones are the gadget of choice to interact with team members, streamline workflows, and access patient information. By allowing medical workers to use their own devices, healthcare facilities can enjoy huge savings while benefiting from increased work efficiency.

With the pandemic not ending anytime soon, outpatients and physicians can have virtual consultations too. This means that health workers need to have access to their facilities’ electronic health records remotely. This way, they can document e-visits properly and provide continuous care for their patients.

One of the best ways to make telemedicine possible is through the power of cloud computing. This allows health workers to access applications and files that can make work from remote locations possible. With cloud security solutions available, healthcare organizations could secure endpoint devices so physicians can work efficiently whether they’re at the hospital or at home.

A reliable way of accessing the cloud is by using Citrix Virtual Apps. With this, doctors can do work on their tablets while on their rounds and access work from their computers at home. From getting patient information, collaborating with other doctors and patients, and providing patient care anytime — health care workers can do all of these remotely, on the field, or at the hospital. These can all be achieved with regulatory compliance and meeting all HIPAA (Health Insurance Portability Accountability Act) standards.

Key Takeaway

With an increase in data, ever-present cyber threats, risk of data loss, BYOD protocols, and telemedicine on the rise, the need for advanced IT solutions is vital for the healthcare industry. These can help organizations reduce the risk of downtime and provide high-quality care for their patients.

If you want to solve these information technology problems in the healthcare industry, CT Link can help you! You can send a message here today so we can assist you in choosing an IT solution that is fit for your needs.

5 Industries That Will Benefit From Microsoft Azure

July 30, 2021October 17, 2023 blog-manager News and Events benefits of microsoft azure, Hybrid Cloud, Microsoft Azure

What are the industries that will benefit from Microsoft Azure?

Manufacturing
Healthcare
Financial Services
Retail and E-commerce
Government

Some companies look for minimal hardware onsite while others look for hybrid cloud solutions. From additional storage, data security, and more — different industries have varying needs and challenges that need to be solved. The good news is, Microsoft Azure is a cloud platform that provides numerous services for different requirements. Keep on reading to learn more about the industries that will benefit from Microsoft Azure.

Manufacturing

When it comes to the fast-paced manufacturing industry, some companies that haven’t improved their IT processes have been manually tracking productivity, machine condition, and more. But with so much data in play, organizations need efficient tools to classify and make sense of a breadth of information.

With Microsoft Azure, however, companies can get access to business intelligence (BI) tools so that data can be converted to easy-to-understand visualizations beneficial in decision making. For instance, data on the machines can be turned into useful information about when to replace parts—which can help in optimizing equipment operation and maintenance. This way, companies can focus on making fact-based decisions instead of guessing.

Healthcare

From patient records, CT Scans, X-ray reports, human resource information, and more — one of the challenges of the healthcare industry is data storage. Most healthcare facilities depend largely on on-premise data storage to keep and manage these data. But as the amount of information increases over time, this means that hospitals are required to add more physical storage. With limited space on the site, the cost of having additional servers and buying hardware is high.

But with Microsoft Azure, healthcare facilities can get access to additional and cost-effective cloud storage solutions. It is easily scalable, so organizations can meet their increasing need for storage over time. Organizations can start with a smaller space and eventually add more cloud space as the amount of data grows.

Financial Services

Banking and financing institutions need to protect their customer’s sensitive data. But security remains one of the leading industry challenges for financial services. If credit card numbers, addresses, and other important information are accessed by the wrong people, this could lead to irreparable consequences.

With cyber threats ever so present, organizations need to implement security measures to protect their data and applications. Fortunately, Microsoft Azure also offers security features that can be beneficial to financial institutions. This is made possible through their yearly investment in cybersecurity research and development.

For instance, Azure Information Protection can help clients to classify and protect their documents by applying labels. This enables organizations to limit access to sensitive information and protect it using encryption. Other features like the Azure Security Center also use AI to quickly identify threats to help you automate remediation.

Retail And E-commerce

One of the challenges faced by retail companies nowadays is reaching more customers online. Almost everyone is making their purchases through smartphones and other mobile devices due to the fast shipping and overall convenience. This is why retail institutions need to provide both offline and online experiences to customers.

Microsoft Azure can help you connect with Mobile Backend as a Service (MBaaS) so you can provide a better mobile experience to customers. You can build applications in the cloud, have them tested on real devices, and monitor for real-world usage all in one place. This gives companies the ability to release better apps and high-quality shopping experiences to customers faster. In an industry where customers can quickly shift to competitors, the ability to move quickly and easily is of peak importance.

Government

Government institutions are required to keep track and manage a colossal amount of data. This will only continue to grow, so data management is becoming a challenge. Aside from storage, loss of files is also a problem. Due to human error, disasters, and more, important information can be erased permanently. This can pose problems for citizens and government organizations when it occurs.

Fortunately, Microsoft Azure also offers a backup solution and disaster recovery service. This is scalable according to the present and future needs of government institutions. Data is also protected against ransomware through multi-factor authentication and other security features. In case of data loss due to accidental deletion, retrieval is easy by enabling the soft delete function. A faster disaster recovery strategy can also be executed in order to reduce downtimes.

Key Takeaway

With business intelligence tools, additional storage capabilities, security features, MBaaS, backup, disaster recovery solutions, and many more — a wide range of industries will benefit from Microsoft Azure. Aside from manufacturing, healthcare, financial services, retail, and government, Azure can provide IT solutions that can fit different industry requirements.

If you need Microsoft Azure services in your organization, don’t hesitate to send a message to CT Link! We also provide managed services so you can focus on other IT Tasks while we take care of adjusting system parameters, monitoring the health of the service, and many more.

Why Do You Need A Data Backup And Disaster Recovery Plan?

July 23, 2021April 20, 2023 blog-manager News and Events Data Backup, Datto, Disaster Recovery, Unitrends Backup

Why do you need a data backup and disaster and recovery plan?

Human error
Cyber threats
Natural disasters
Hardware failure
Lost or stolen devices
Business continuity

Aside from losing important files and information, data loss can lead to downtime and lost revenue. Unexpected situations such as natural disasters, cyber threats, hardware failure, and employee errors can lead to the loss of important data. Recovering these without a backup plan can be difficult if not impossible, so having one is a must. If you want to learn why you need a data backup and disaster recovery plan, keep on reading.

Human Error

One of the most common causes of data loss for organizations is human error. Employees might accidentally delete an important file and cause major problems for the entire business. While this problem is significantly reduced by training your workers, even the most careful person could make mistakes.

Fortunately, data backup solutions are dependable whether you lose a single file or a whole file folder. For instance, with Unitrends EndPoint Backup solutions, you can benefit from continuous file and folder backup over an internet connection. It provides point-in-time rollback so you can restore files and entire sites after an accidental delete. You can choose from several file versions that are saved on the cloud.

Cyber Threats

In the event that your security is bypassed and your files are affected by ransomware, a backup solution can help mitigate the damage. This is a type of malware that can prevent users from accessing your system. It can also lock computer screens or encrypt specific files. Ransomware can affect all industries—from healthcare, automobile, financial services, technology, education, oil & gas, and more.

Solutions like Datto Workplace offer a Threat Detection and Management feature to help detect ransomware infections, quarantine them and revert the affected files to the previous clean state. In addition, any security incidents are also reported to team administrators for easier cybersecurity management.

Natural Disasters

From storms, fires, and floods—you can only do so much to stop natural disasters from causing permanent damage to your IT infrastructure. In most cases, businesses shut down because of the costly downtime. Other than typhoons, a power outage can also lead to data loss because your employees may potentially lose their work in progress.

It is vital to have multiple backup solutions—such as on-site, off-site, and cloud backups—so you can retrieve your data in worst-case scenarios. If you encounter a natural calamity, Unitrends offers a business continuity and disaster recovery solution that can help you rapidly recover data so you can resume your critical operations immediately and keep downtime to a minimum.

Hardware Failure

If you don’t have your data backed up to your cloud, you are more vulnerable to data loss caused by hardware failure. Hard drives can malfunction due to overheating, water damage, power surges, impact when dropped, and exposure to magnetic fields. The files can also become corrupted and affect your business operations.

With Unitrends EndPoint Backup, however, you can protect all your organization’s files and retrieve them from the cloud when needed. Other than that, it is beneficial to have a high availability clustering solution in your organization to minimize downtime. This way, you will have two servers instead of one. In case your active server fails, a clone or the passive server will take over so you can meet your uptime goals.

Lost Or Stolen Devices

With remote work in place, you have limited visibility where your employees take their computing devices during work. Working at home is one thing, but the risk of lost or stolen devices is high in public areas. For instance, laptops can be stolen when left unattended in cars, airports, or restaurants. This can affect your employees’ work in progress or lead to a permanent data loss without a proper retrieval plan.

For this situation, Datto allows you to disable a lost device or wipe the data so you can prevent outsiders from accessing your business information. With files backed up to the cloud, you will also have no problem retrieving them from another device in the future.

Business Continuity

In the event of a data loss, your business could suffer multiple consequences. Without your critical files, your productivity can be disrupted. It might take time to recover, so you can experience downtime which can lead to lost sales. In most cases, you might never retrieve data that was lost.

This incident can also negatively affect your reputation in the industry. Losing data also means a loss in customer confidence – they may think that you’re unable to protect their sensitive information properly. With a prolonged downtime and service interruption, loyal customers have a higher chance of switching to a competitor. That’s why the quicker you can recover data, the better you could protect your business, retain customers, and provide more value to your industry.

Key Takeaway

There are multiple reasons why you need a data backup and disaster recovery plan. In the event of a data loss due to human error, natural disaster, cyberthreat, hardware failure, or lost or stolen devices, these can help you bounce back immediately and continue your operations with minimal interruptions.

If you’re interested in implementing a data backup and disaster recovery plan, you can contact CT Link! We offer backup as a service so you can perform quick recoveries if needed.

5 Benefits Of Moving To Microsoft Office 365

July 16, 2021April 20, 2023 blog-manager News and Events benefits of moving to microsoft office 365, Microsoft Cloud, Microsoft Office 365, Microsoft Security

5 Benefits Of Moving To Microsoft Office 365

What are the benefits of moving to Microsoft Office 365?

Provides additional storage
Supports remote productivity
Offers security features
Cost-effective solution
Designed for every organization

Microsoft 365 provides office applications, cloud services, and security. It is used by individuals, families, small businesses, and enterprises. This article will talk about the advantages it gives to organizations that decide to use it for business purposes. It enables employees to work remotely, provides security features for the cloud, offers additional storage, and more. Keep reading for the benefits of moving to Microsoft Office 365!

Provides Additional Storage

File storage is one of the most important components you need to think of when running a business. Data will pile up over time as you continue to process your financial reports, update your written policies, and more. Your on-premise storage might seem enough for now, but someday you will need more. This is where cloud storage from Microsoft Office 365 comes in.

With Microsoft 365, you will get access to OneDrive, which is a cloud storage and file-sharing solution used by numerous businesses. You can view, edit, and share files using your laptop or mobile phone so working on the go is possible. Your files are backed up and protected so you can recover them in the event of accidental deletion.

Supports Remote Productivity

With Microsoft 365, you can share and work on files together with your team, which makes collaboration much more convenient. These files can be accessed from any device and location as long as you have an internet connection. You can also edit the files offline and they will be automatically synced when you’re online. Only those with the right permissions can access the file so you can securely share documents.

With these features, gone are the days where you have to manually send word files back and forth with a coworker. You can also share mailboxes, calendars, and more! But aside from file collaboration, Microsoft 365 also allows you to communicate with your team seamlessly. With Microsoft Teams, you can have a meeting with numerous users, host a webinar, and chat with your team on the go!

Offers Security Features

Now that you know how Microsoft 365 improves productivity, you might be wondering how secure your files and data are on the cloud. The good news is, your files are encrypted during storage and transit. You can control the users that can access your data with security groups and custom permissions. You can also set up multi-factor authentication to require your team to comply with extra verification requirements before logging in to their account.

Other than that, Microsoft 365 also gives you access to privacy and security controls to protect your employees and customers from phishing and malware. For instance, when you receive files and attachments, the Safe Attachments feature checks for threats before the email is even delivered to the recipients. In addition to that, you can also set up custom anti-phishing policies to protect specific users, groups, and domains.

Cost-Effective Solution

Every organization needs to consider its expenses in order to make a profit. Fortunately, Microsoft 365 is a cost-effective solution from a business standpoint. Because it runs on a subscription basis, you only need to spend money on features that will be useful for your business. Fortunately, there are a variety of plans you can choose from depending on your needs. This way, you will get the best value for your money even if you’re on a budget. This helps you plan your IT expenses for the year ahead.

As a bonus, upgrades are done automatically, so you won’t have to purchase additional software and have unexpected expenses. These are done at predetermined intervals so your IT team can have more time for more important tasks.

Designed For Every Organization

Microsoft 365 is used at home, businesses, enterprises, and different types of industries. With all the productivity and security features available, you will surely find a plan that can fit your needs.

For the business plans, up to 300 users can have an account. But if you manage a large organization, Enterprise Plans is your best option. With this, an unlimited number of users can take advantage of the services you avail of. Aside from these, Microsoft 365 education solutions are also available for teachers and students.

With these options, your organization — whether your business is on the startup or scaling up phase — can benefit from improved productivity and security, while reducing costs.

Key Takeaway

From additional storage, team collaboration, security, reduction of expenses, and more—these are just some of the benefits of moving to Microsoft Office 365. With so many useful features to avail of, you will find the right ones for your organization.

If you’re interested, CT Link can help you implement the services you need when moving to Office 365! Send a message here so we can help you out today!

4 Benefits Of Cisco Meraki

July 12, 2021April 20, 2023 blog-manager News and Events benefits of cisco meraki, Cisco Meraki, features of cisco meraki

What are the benefits of Cisco Meraki?

Simplified management
Scalability
Workforce support
Safe and secure environments

The changing demands for businesses have increased the need for more advanced IT solutions. In addition to that, cyber threats are becoming more deadly and problematic. How can you effectively manage and secure your business network without too much complexity? Simplicity, scalability, reliability, and security—these are some of the things that Cisco Meraki cloud-managed IT solutions can offer. Read on for the benefits of Cisco Meraki!

What is Cisco Meraki?

Cisco Meraki offers centralized cloud solutions and other products so users can manage all network devices through one safe and easy-to-use platform. Their products have been implemented in a wide variety of industries such as education, manufacturing, healthcare, government, retail, hospitality, financial services, and even small businesses.

Simplified Management

One of the perks of using Cisco Meraki products is the simple and easy management they can provide users. You can control and monitor routers, switches, and security devices from a single pane—which is the Meraki dashboard. But aside from managing devices, they can also be used by your IT team to oversee network permissions, users, network analytics, and more.

The centralized management feature can significantly reduce the management burden for your IT Team. Cloud management is possible from any location, so your team can work remotely—which makes the number of on-site visits low. Cisco Meraki also provides automatic firmware updates, patches, and the like, on a regular basis. With these benefits, your team can focus on other tasks while benefiting from an up-to-date cloud platform.

Other than that, Cisco Meraki allows administrators to view the entire WiFi network and restrict sites and applications as needed. One platform will allow you to control and manage operations from anywhere.

Scalability

Scalability is one of the factors why more and more businesses are moving their workloads to the cloud. From a business standpoint, this allows an organization to quickly grow and adapt to meet changing demands. This enables them to maintain a competitive edge in their industry.

Cisco Meraki gives your business the opportunity to scale up in order to respond to changing needs. The good thing is their products can be conveniently added, removed, and moved according to your situation. For a growing company, their solutions can be implemented in order to speedily add capacity and comply with demands.

This is one of the reasons why Cisco Meraki products are perfect for all types of organizations. They can solve a number of IT-related issues through cloud controllers, enterprise management, cloud security, and many more. These solutions are adaptable and configurable to your business’ needs for better efficiency and productivity.

Workforce Support

With the recent pandemic, social distancing and remote work have become the norm for most companies. With employees working in the office and at home, you need an IT solution that can provide centralized visibility and widespread access.

Cisco Meraki can be utilized for both remote or a hybrid workforce. It helps employees have a secure and consistent work experience, whether they’re in the office or at home. They can collaborate and access business applications no matter where they are.

Cisco Meraki can also provide a better IT cloud platform for workers. They offer next-generation WiFi, SD-WAN, and switching technologies. This gives 100% connectivity and a seamless experience for users.

Aside from these features, applications and devices can also be secured whether your employees are in the office or at home. You can allow the use of personal devices because Cisco Meraki enables device monitoring and location tagging to receive important information on device health and security.

Safe And Secure Environments

When migrating to the cloud, one of the main concerns for organizations is security. To prevent data loss, Cisco Meraki offers state-of-the-art solutions. These security capabilities are analyzed and developed by the world-renowned security research team—Cisco Talos.

From basic firewalls, VPN connectivity, or advanced security solutions—Cisco Meraki’s security options can match an organization’s specific needs. Both on-premises and cloud data will benefit from world-class security.

To help your IT team oversee security events, they can use the Meraki dashboard for monitoring threats. This allows them to secure people, devices, and assets from one platform.

Features like the Cisco Meraki Air Marshal can provide real-time wireless intrusion prevention and forensics for users. This scans the environment for real-time threats and implements preemptive actions according to configured preferences. The built-in forensics tools can provide thorough analysis after the initial threat assessments. You will be notified of any potential threats via email and SMS and you can also customize real-time alerts depending on your situation.

Key Takeaway

Cisco Meraki has numerous features to offer your organization. From security, reliability, simplified management, scalability, and more—the benefits of Cisco Meraki are many. If you want an easy and secure way to manage your workloads in a hybrid or remote work environment, their technologies can help you do so.

Are you interested in Cisco Meraki? You can send a message here at CT Link so we can help you find the solution that matches, scales, and adapts to your organization’s ever-changing requirements.