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Your Network Security To protect your network, you need to ensure that you have the proper solutions in place. Between network security appliances, virtual private networking (VPN) clients, and firewalls, any potential points of egress can be covered against issues. These defenses will help to minimize the number of threats and other risk elements that enter your network. Once coupled with the following solutions provided by White Mountain IT Services, you can know that your business data and network security are strong.  Network Monitoring In case any threats do manage to breach your defenses, you need to ensure that you are able to detect and identify them. By equipping whatever IT management resource you have with the tools to keep an eye on your network and its health, your security will be improved through vigilance. This is one of the best-known advantages of enlisting a managed service provider, as an MSP will take it upon themselves to proactively work to prevent threats by keeping an eye on your technology infrastructure and its health. Mobile Device and Endpoint Management As many people are working remotely, especially nowadays, the capability of your business to retain some control over its data is a necessity. Utilizing solutions like mobile device management and endpoint management can give you this control, enabling you to dictate the data and applications that these devices can access. This way, you can better ensure that your data is protected, and your resources are secured. Security Training and Management Of course, you also need to be sure that your team knows how to protect your business to the best of their ability, and that they understand how to respond to any threats that make their way in. This will require you to evaluate your team?s preparedness and test them in simulated events to ensure that they are able to protect your business. You?ll also need to figure out how to meet the compliance standards that your industry is beholden to, specifically in terms of the security that is demanded for you to uphold. Threat Management and Detection Finally, you need to do everything you can to minimize the amount of threats that materialize and catch those that have slipped by. Using the solutions available today, you can reduce the amount of threats that darken your door in the first place. There are also tools that can help you to locate any threats that have slipped past your defenses so that they can be mitigated. White Mountain IT Services is ready to assist you in implementing these solutions. To get started, reach out to our team by calling (603) 889-0800.

The Importance of Broadband Access Consider how prevalent the Internet is in everyday life right now: more and more is now handled online. This makes it challenging for many people in areas where broadband Internet connectivity is limited (or even nonexistent) to do very much at all?let alone shop, communicate, or as we tend to focus on, work remotely. The past year or so has made the severity of this lack starkly apparent, with many people and businesses struggling under their current connectivity limitations. This is part of the reason that the FCC is reinvigorating an application that was originally launched back in 2013 and asking the public to install it on their mobile devices. The FCC?s App This application, fittingly called FCC Speed Test, will assist the FCC in evaluating which areas have the most prescient need of better Internet service quality, enabling them to more effectively fund the areas that need more help. Available on both Android and iOS, this app tests your mobile device?s upload and download speeds, as well as its latency, on either a Wi-Fi or cellular connection. By default, these tests take place once every 24 hours?although you can configure these tests to occur when it is most convenient, and how much data that can be consumed during these evaluations. This app also allows you to test your connectivity speeds, plotting them out over time and by geographic location. In terms of privacy, the app collects a few different identifiers?location, IP address, operating system, device type, and ISP?but no personally identifiable details are recorded. You?re also able to complain about your Internet speeds to the FCC directly, enabling them to collect even more actionable data. Check out the FCC?s FAQ page about the application to learn more. Hopefully, this resurgence in interest in accessible and equitable Internet access will prove fruitful, bringing the utility of the Internet?s full capabilities to more people and organizations. In the meantime, we?re here to help New Hampshire companies do as much as they can with the IT that is available right now. To find out what your technology could be helping you accomplish, reach out to White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800.

Let?s consider how the implementation of insider threat detection methods could have minimized the damages that You allegedly inflicted on these companies. You?s Story Xiaorong ?Shannon? You, a naturalized US citizen and PhD in Polymer Science and Engineering, has worked in the industry since 1992. From December of 2012 to August of 2017, she worked for Coca-Cola as a principal engineer for global research, moving to the Eastman Chemical Company to work as a packaging application development manager from September of 2017 until June of 2018, when her employment was terminated. During her tenure at both companies, You had access to secrets that a limited number of employees were privy to. In the case of Coca-Cola?s secrets, You had retained them (despite affirming that she hadn?t in writing) and submitted them to the People?s Republic of China as part of her application for the country?s The Thousand Talents program in 2017. This program has been used before to introduce advanced technologies to China, with the Department of Justice having had some success in prosecuting these cases. What Xiaorong You Allegedly Did According to the case that You now faces, she retained this information by simply uploading data to her personal Google Drive account?or when dealing with particularly sensitive documents and physical lab equipment, she simply used her smartphone?s camera to capture images (bypassing the scrutiny of her employers? information security teams). Once she had secured this information, You worked with a Chinese national named Xiangchen Liu to form a company in China that would use these trade secrets to generate its own profits, using an Italian BPA-free manufacturer to incorporate the stolen technologies onto their own products. The theft of this technology has had an impact on various companies, including Coca-Cola and the Eastman Chemical Company, as well as AkzoNobel, Dow Chemical, PPG, TSI, Sherwin Williams, and ToyoChem. Originally brought up on charges involving the theft of trade secrets in Tennessee?s Eastern US District Court in February of 2019, You was subject to another indictment in August 2020 that filed charges of economic espionage. How You?s Employers Could Have Stopped Such Activities Let?s take another look at some of the dates we just went over: You?s employment at Coca Cola ended in August of 2017, while her indictment for crimes that allegedly took place during her time there didn?t happen until February of 2019. This suggests that the discovery of her activities at Coca-Cola didn?t occur until long after the fact. This fact is indicative of two reasonable hypotheses: Coca-Cola lacked the tools to detect such activities in real-time, making it far more difficult to prevent protected and sensitive data from successfully leaving the corporate environment. Coca-Cola also lacked the policies that could have prevented non-authorized devices from entering the workspace or otherwise being kept in proximity to sensitive company data or infrastructures. While old-fashioned, the concept of taking photographs of such information is no less effective for its age. By comparison, You?s considerably rapid termination from the Eastman Chemical Company would suggest that their data protection standards were much more robust than Coca-Cola?s were at the time, enabling the company to identify a security issue and properly investigate it much faster. Just imagine how much the total damages?which now equate to about $119.6 million, as a reminder?could have inflated […]

A Technology That Sums Up the Times With the need for technologies to support state and federally-mandated social distancing guidelines, video conferencing was a clear choice to be utilized as a core component of a business? coordination and communication strategies. It quickly became way more than that as people used the technology to stay in touch with loved ones and friends as the pandemic made it risky and irresponsible to gather together.  For the business, the video conferencing tool became one of its core technologies. Except, many businesses went into the pandemic with a video conferencing solution that wasn?t going to work for the needs of a business with a dispersed workforce. Let?s take a look at five of the features that a business needs out of a video conferencing solution if it is going to be an effective tool used to conduct business: Voice over Internet Protocol –  VoIP is one of the most valuable tools a business can adopt as it uses your business? Internet connection to fuel an enterprise-level telephone system. Some hosted-VoIP platforms make available one-button video conferencing that makes it super simple for your staff to utilize to have meetings, get clear communication, and still have the capabilities to run the communications platform your business needs.  Supports Multiple Users – Standard messaging platforms provide the ability to video chat with someone, but for the business, you need to be able to support as many people as you expect to meet at one time. Sometimes that can be 20 or more people. While many of today?s top solutions support multiple webcams and have a feature that automatically switches to the person that is talking/presenting, you will want a video conferencing solution that can hold its own so that your organization?s remote meetings don?t suffer.  Recording Capabilities – It may be overlooked, but being able to record and save all meetings is a big factor for businesses. Companies should look for a solution that saves your recordings to the cloud where more of your staff can benefit from them. Screen Sharing – Many people need visual representation of concepts for them to be effective. Any good video conferencing solution will provide the ability for users to quickly and easily share their screens. This is great for presentations or just times when your team can benefit from a visual aid. HD Video – Speaking of presentations, having the ability to have your meeting come through in HD makes for a much better and more professional-feeling experience. There are plenty more options that you can get in today?s video conferencing solutions. In fact, some solutions are customizable with integrations that can give your business the most bang for its buck, especially if your staff is working remotely more often than you?d like.  To talk to one of our consultants about getting a solution that is right for your business, don?t hesitate to give the IT experts at White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800 today. 

Why is a Clean Computer Better? Think of it this way. If you have one pan and you use it to cook regularly, you?d wash it every time you cooked a new meal, right? If you didn?t it would pick up stuff from everything you?ve cooked and it would make the food you cook next taste weird. Cleaning your computer works the same way. The more you use it without cleaning it, the more dust and residue builds up in the machine and it affects the way the computer works. How Often Should I Clean My Workstation? Unlike a pan, you can get away with not cleaning your computer for a while. You should definitely clean it at least once a year, but it?s really a good idea to open it up and at least blow it out with some canned air every quarter (four times a year) or so. It also matters where the computer is located. For computers that are in an industrial environment, in the presence of pets, near or on carpet, or used regularly by children (or unhygienic adults) should be cleaned more often. Either way, you should plan on giving it a good cleaning at least once a year. We recommend having a professional do this for you – if your office workstations are starting to look pretty dirty, it might be a good idea to give us a call at (603) 889-0800. Cleaning Your Computer?s Components You will need to approach cleaning each part of your workstation differently. Let?s start with some things that you absolutely shouldn?t do:  Do not spray any liquid directly into the computer. Spray a cloth and wipe instead. Do not use a vacuum, as it can create a damaging static charge. Use compressed air to blow away any debris. Don?t allow fans to spin freely as you are cleaning them, as it could actually damage them. Don?t clean your computer while it?s turned on. Now, let?s go through how to clean the various parts of your workstation. Your Workstation?s Case Keeping your workstation?s case clean assists airflow. You will want to use a lint-free cloth to wipe down the exterior to help minimize dust on the outside. Working to the inside, you will want to use a can of compressed air to clean out any dust and debris.  The Peripherals Keeping the rest of your workspace clean is important, even your keyboard, your mouse, and your monitors. You will want to use lint-free cloths and compressed air. If you must, you can use diluted rubbing alcohol to wipe down hard surfaces. At White Mountain IT Services, we continue to provide the information that users need to properly use and look after their technology, call us at (603) 889-0800 today if you have any questions or comments.