What is a Firewall?The firewall is your first line of defense against online threats. It analyzes the traffic that goes to and from your network, making sure that any threats that are identified are not allowed passage. You can think of it like a bouncer for your network, making sure that only the data that you want gets in, and that any data you find threatening stays out of it. As defined by Gartner?s IT glossary: A firewall is an application or an entire computer (e.g., an Internet gateway server) that controls access to the network and monitors the flow of network traffic. A firewall can screen and keep out unwanted network traffic and ward off outside intrusion into a private network. This is particularly important when a local network connects to the Internet. Firewalls have become critical applications as use of the Internet has increased. In other words, it keeps the bad stuff out while still allowing you to browse the Internet and take advantage of your web connection. In today?s online society, a proper firewall is an absolute necessity, even for the average PC user. Computers and other devices aren?t nearly as wary about sharing their information as they should be. This is generally why businesses integrate separate security solutions that are crucial to the success of operations. Why You Need OneThe Internet is full of threats of all kinds, including viruses, malware, spyware, and so much more, all of which that can put your organization at risk. These threats can steal information, render your infrastructure inoperable, lock down your systems for ransom; the potentials are, quite literally, limitless. This is why it?s so important to keep threats out of your network, and promptly eliminate those that do infiltrate it. Furthermore, if your organization handles sensitive data, like Social Security numbers, credit card information, and personal records, the last thing you want is for your business to be subject to the immense fines that come from violating HIPAA, PCI, and other compliance regulations. The key benefit of using a firewall is that you?re taking a proactive stance against threats that could potentially derail your entire operation if left unchecked. By keeping the threats out of your infrastructure in the first place, you can effectively limit the damage done to your business. This is why it?s a best practice to integrate a firewall, as well as other aspects of cyber security, including antivirus, content filtering, and spam blockers. All of the above can be found in a Unified Threat Management solution that?s designed to keep your organization?s network threat-free and functional. To learn more, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

The primary problem that so many small and medium-sized businesses run into is that their budget often cannot accommodate the services required to achieve the efficiency levels of an enterprise. However, thanks to modern technology management solutions, this triviality is almost completely in the past. Here?s a quick rundown of how you can optimize your infrastructure to meet your specifications, all without breaking the budget, thanks to outsourced IT management solutions. Software as a ServiceMany vendors are turning to Software as a Service offerings that are designed to eliminate the up-front costs of implementing mission-critical software that?s vital to the everyday success of your business. Examples of this include your business?s chosen productivity suite, like Microsoft Office 365. Basically, instead of purchasing the software for your entire team, you pay a monthly rate that gives your team access to all of the great pieces of software that they need to fulfill their responsibilities. Hardware as a ServiceHardware as a Service (HaaS) is when your technology infrastructure (servers, workstations, routers, etc) is procured, managed, and maintained by a managed service provider. The primary benefit that this type of solution offers is that your business isn?t spending exorbitant amounts of cash on expensive new technology. Instead, you only make monthly payments that are designed to transform the huge capital expenses of purchasing the latest innovations into operational expenses. Infrastructure as a ServiceOne of the greatest ways your business can save money in operational and capital expenses is by taking advantage of Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS) offerings. This is, essentially, cloud computing, where the tools your employees need to function on a daily basis are hosted online in the cloud, and deployed over your business?s Internet connection. Basically, the cloud is your business?s key to cutting out unnecessary operational costs. If you virtualize your software and hardware infrastructure and host it in the cloud, you?re mitigating costs associated with energy and maintenance. You can take these savings even further by hiring an outsourced IT provider to take care of your IaaS offering, making it a valuable investment. Is your organization ready to save money and optimize its infrastructure with ?as a service? offerings? For more information about what the latest technology services can provide for your business, contact White Mountain IT Services.

According to a report that was commissioned by cloud business app provider Intermedia and concocted by Precision Sample, the people tasked with keeping your IT infrastructure and network secure are the most likely to ignore industry best practices concerning network security. The study produced some concerning numbers, including 32 percent of IT staff respondents admitting that they are more than 10 percent more likely to to give out their login credentials than your normal worker. Intermedia VP of Identity and Access Management, Richard Walters explains. It?s nearly always that technical people are the worst offenders. They know how to get around various controls that an IT team will put in place. It?s sometimes done with the best intent, but nevertheless with a complete lack of consideration for the risk or security implications. Additionally, over one-quarter of IT professionals polled said they?ve permeated IT systems to which they were no longer allowed access to, and over 30 percent said that they would absolutely take data from a company they were leaving if they thought it could personally benefit their careers. This is over three times the amount of business professionals under the same circumstances. Overall, 93 percent of polled participants admitted to some sort of insecure IT practice; a striking number that had a myriad of negative results, including data breaches, regulatory compliance failures, and deliberate sabotage. These scenarios can leave an organization exposed to potentially devastating positions. At White Mountain IT Services, our managed IT services can alleviate nearly all of your potential IT disasters, including situations like a complacent technician sharing information they clearly shouldn?t be sharing. Our certified and trustworthy technicians remotely monitor and maintain your network to proactively squelch potential problems before they come to fruition. Our techs are well versed in industry best practices and understand exactly what it takes to keep your organization?s IT safe. To learn more about our managed IT services, give us a call today at (603) 889-0800.

In IT, redundancy refers to the safeguarding of your business?s technology infrastructure, primarily its data. Organizations that have redundant IT infrastructures are capable of guaranteeing that their data is securely stored elsewhere in the case of an emergency. Essentially, achieving data redundancy is the same as taking proactive measures to keep your information safe in the event of a catastrophic data disaster, such as the failure of a mission-critical piece of hardware, or the theft of vital information from a hacking attack. Considering the fact that most businesses that fail to recover from a data loss disaster declare bankruptcy within a year of the incident, your business has no choice but to ensure that your organization?s data is as redundant and secure as possible from both internal and external threats that could result in data loss, like user error, hardware failure, and hacking attacks. What we?re proposing to you is that you take advantage of a complete data backup and disaster recovery solution that?s optimized for data redundancy. The ideal backup solution takes multiple snapshots of your business?s data throughout the workday, so you can know with confidence that your backups are as recent as possible, minimizing data loss and mitigating the damage of such incidents. This data should be sent to multiple secure locations, like a cloud-based data storage unit or a secure, off-site data center. This helps preserve your data from hackers and other disasters, should one location be destroyed or rendered obsolete. Of course, having backups of your IT infrastructure and data available on a whim is only so useful if you?re having trouble rapidly deploying them. This is the second important piece of a data backup and disaster recovery solution: the recovery itself. You want your data to be restored as quickly as possible to ensure that you experience minimal downtime. In fact, with White Mountain IT Services?s backup and disaster recovery solution, you won?t have to worry about the deployment of your data post-disaster. The BDR device can act as a temporary server in the event of a hardware failure, automatically deploying your data backups and effectively taking the server?s place while you search for a quality hardware replacement. How?s that for redundancy? For more information about how White Mountain IT Services can make your life easier with our technology management solutions, give us a call at (603) 889-0800.

Ransomware and DDoS attacks are finding themselves increasingly more popular in the cyber world. The idea is that hackers can use DDoS attacks to take down an organization’s infrastructure, rendering it inoperable until the attack subsides. In the meantime, hackers make offers to the target, demanding a certain amount of cash for the attack to stop. In theory, paying the ransom should end the assault and allow for a swift recovery of service. But what happens when the target coughs up the change, and the hackers continue the attack anyway? This is a question that organizations absolutely need to consider before giving into any hackers? demands. Even if you pay up, there?s absolutely no guarantee that the attack won?t continue to happen anyway. That?s just not how the real world works. In many cases, you?re dealing with seasoned criminals who want to see you squirm for no reason. For all you know, the ransom could just be adding insult to injury. In a worst-case scenario, hackers will accept your payment and continue the attack anyway, elated at the suffering they are causing. This was the case with ProtonMail, an encrypted email service based out of Switzerland, that fell victim to a massive DDoS attack on November 3rd. ProtonMail was initially threatened by a group of hackers called the Armada Collective, but they shrugged off the threat, thinking it no cause for concern. Its servers were overloaded with so much traffic that operations ground to a halt, to the point where even real messages were incapable of being delivered. As reported by ZDNet: The encryption service says the assault reached 100Gbps and not only attacked the ProtonMail datacenter but routers in Zurich, Frankfurt and other locations linked to the ISP — eventually bringing down the data center and ISP. This not only took down ProtonMail, but other companies were affected, too. Supposedly, ProtonMail only paid up the $6,000 ransom due to the others affected by the attack, but either way, the attack didn?t let up. Their noble sacrifice was for nothing, and that?s $6,000 that can?t be taken back; that?s without mentioning the cost of the downtime caused by the attack. Basically, we recommend that you don?t take action or give in to hackers? demands until you?re absolutely sure that there?s no way around the issue. Contact White Mountain IT Services, your trusted technology consultant, before making such a decision. When it comes to attacks like these, be it from ransomware or the threat of DDoS attacks, it?s best to always take preventative measures before these issues take root and grow into true problems. One of the most important first steps is to institute a security awareness training program for your staff.  A good starting point is to review the White Mountain Crypto Alert and the Cyber Security Toolkit, which is full of links to free tools and software to help keep your network safe. For more information about how your business can take the fight to criminals, give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800.