First and Foremost, Update the Access Credentials It?s no secret that networking hardware comes with factory-default device names and passwords preconfigured. Many may make the mistake of simply putting these devices in place and not changing these defaults?a mistake that leaves the network fundamentally insecure. Here?s the thing: generally speaking, the default credentials for just about any device can be found online. So, if a cybercriminal happens to find out what model of device you have?not difficult if you don?t change the displayed device name, or SSID, it becomes a simple matter to look up the keys to the castle. Change the device?s displayed name, change the password, and you?re already in better shape. For extra security, set your router to not broadcast the SSID at all, and have your team members type in the name of the network they?re trying to access. Create Dedicated Networks for Different Purposes Modern networking hardware can commonly support numerous discrete networks simultaneously, meaning that different devices being used for different needs and different access permissions don?t need to share the same network. This hugely benefits your security, as it helps ensure that a visitor to your business would find it much more challenging to introduce a threat to your operational network, whether or not they meant to do so. Creating a dedicated network for any Internet of Things devices is recommended for similar reasons. These devices, while undeniably handy, can potentially serve as an access point for a threat. Keeping them in a separate network helps protect the rest of your network and assets from any unpleasant influences. Limit Which Devices Can Access Your Network For especially stringent Wi-Fi security, there?s another setting for you to consider. Every device that can connect to Wi-Fi will have its own hardware address, known as the Media Access Control/MAC address. See if you can set your router to only provide network access to devices with MAC addresses that you?ve approved beforehand. That way, you can confirm precisely which devices can be used on the network, reducing the chances that a threat is carried in on a mobile or otherwise Internet-connected device. White Mountain IT Services is here to help you make the most of all of your technology, productively and securely. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more about what we can do.

To do so, we?ll review what Gmail and Microsoft Outlook allow you to do?and don?t forget, we?re here to help you do these things should you need assistance with this or any aspect of your IT. Securing Emails Sent Via Gmail Gmail offers a few options to help you protect your messages. Firstly, you can seal an email message behind a password that will be delivered to a mobile number of your choosing. This is called Confidential Mode, and prevents the recipient from doing much more than reading and replying to your email. They can?t copy, forward, download, or even print the message with it activated. Using it is simple: Open Gmail and start a new message by clicking Compose You?ll find a small lock icon at the bottom of the message window. Clicking it will activate Confidential Mode. You can then set an expiration date for your message, with the options One day, One week, One month, Three months, or Five years. You can then protect your encrypted message via a SMS Passcode, where you set the access code and can have it sent directly to the recipient?s mobile device. If you skip the password option by selecting No Passcode, recipients will only be able to view the message, not download or copy from it. This entire process also applies to the attachments that are paired with the email you?ve protected. Businesses utilizing a paid Google Workspace account also have a form of encryption (S/MIME, or Secure/Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions) applied to emails as they are hosted on a dedicated email server. Securing Emails Sent Via Outlook Outlook comes with a feature that you can enable, called Open Message Encryption, that can be accessed through any email provider, both protecting it from interception and preventing it from being forwarded or printed by the recipient. Applying it to a message is also rather simple, in either the web or desktop application: In the Outlook Web App: Start a new message by clicking the New message button. Click the Encrypt button you?ll find in the message window. Above the To button, you?ll see the option to Change permissions. Select it. You?ll be able to select the appropriate level of permissions for that message. Complete your message, and click Send. In the Outlook Desktop App: Navigate to the Home tab and select New Email. A message window will appear. Click into the Options tab. Click into Permissions, and select the appropriate permissions to apply to the message. Complete your message, and click Send. It?s Important to Embrace Every Security Option Available We can help you to do so, too. Give White Mountain IT Services a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more about how we?ll assist you in securing all aspects of your business.

What Exactly Is Cloud Computing? Cloud computing is actually pretty straightforward. It is a computing environment, hosted on a remote server and accessed through the Internet. Nowadays, there is very little computing that can?t be purchased as-a-service, and the benefits are apparent. Basically, someone doesn?t have to purchase the underlying hardware to host data, applications, and even processing and can scale their IT to their specific needs. What Type of Cloud Options Are Available? Since cloud is a broad term, companies can use the cloud for just about anything they need. Let?s take a look at some of the most common use cases for cloud computing in the business world: Cloud storage – Data storage is a big deal for most businesses. You need a compliant, secure, and available place to keep your business? data. For a long time, businesses were reluctant to use cloud-based storage options as there were questions about the viability of their security and their reliance on an Internet connection, but today, there are many great options that provide even the smallest business reliable and secure storage with guaranteed uptime. Cloud backup – Most of today?s prominent data backup services rely on cloud platforms to ensure that data is available in the face of a disaster. With these situations becoming more commonplace, and with data?s value to an organization what it is, having redundancy in the cloud makes a lot of sense for most businesses.  Cloud hosting – Today, there are cloud service providers that offer all the processing a business could ever need. This option essentially replaces centralized servers for cloud-hosted ones, providing any computing setup a business needs.  Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) – Software-as-a-Service has become one of the most utilized methods of application delivery in modern business. Essentially, a business pays a subscription fee for access to a piece of software. It allows them access to many applications that they may not have the budget for and can be scaled up and back quickly. SaaS covers a lot of ground: from business telephone, to productivity, business management, marketing, and much, much more.  A Brief Look at Why the Cloud Is Great for Growing Businesses For small business owners, the benefits of cloud computing might just change the way you feel about service-based computing. Let?s go through some of the major benefits here: Accessibility – Cloud computing allows businesses to deploy their computing resources to their employees (and in some cases even their customers) wherever they are located. This has huge benefits as it allows a distributed workforce to all access the same applications and data without the business having to physically host the underlying infrastructure. Improved Collaboration – This method of computing provides unparalleled consistency and access to documents and other files; as well as the ability to work directly with others over separate connections. Scalability – One of the most valuable parts of cloud computing is the near-instant scalability of any cloud-based platform. If you need more space, accounts, etc. You can acquire it/them in minutes.  Saves Money – Since you only get the computing you need, you aren?t wasting valuable capital on systems that are majorly underutilized, saving money in the process. Redundancy – Most cloud platforms come with built-in redundancy. This means that outages are minimal. With better uptime, you can get […]

Let?s begin by examining the purpose of cybersecurity compliance standards. Why is My Business Required to Meet Certain Cybersecurity Benchmarks? Similarly to the codes that a new construction needs to abide by as it is built up, modern industries are beholden to various requirements from the federal government, state governments, local governments, as well as industry groups and different sources of authority. Many of these requirements relate back to cybersecurity. Why? Not just because cybersecurity is so incredibly crucial for a business, which it of course is, but also because your cybersecurity?s influence doesn?t end at your business. Consider for a moment the kind of data you collect and store as you go about your daily operations. How much of it could potentially be used in the interest of cybercrime? Any payment information you have stored is a target. Personally identifiable information on your clients and staff alike is a target. Data you?ve collected or generated about your business itself is a target. Your business is a target. Not just for the data and resources it has, but the fact that this data and these resources can then be used to victimize other parties. Therefore, it is important that all, or at least as many as possible, businesses uphold a set minimum level of cybersecurity. That?s where these regulatory benchmarks play their role. By applying gentle pressure to businesses, these regulations and requirements help to ensure that there is at least some level of overall cybersecurity achieved by these organizations. These kinds of compliance standards are effectively a means of putting a digital safety net over different industries. Unfortunately, unless you have actively been pursuing your compliance needs (and even then) there is a non-zero chance that you might have missed something. The thing is, this is all it takes for your business to be fined?and these fines are just the start of your troubles. Failing to meet your compliance obligations could potentially result in a litany of consequences, ranging from financial penalties, to loss of reputation, to legal troubles, to a loss of your privileges and capabilities as a business. For instance, consider how much business is done via credit and payment cards at this point. In order to accept these payments, an organization needs to be in compliance with the standards and practices set by the PCI DSS, the Payment Card Industry Data Security Standard. If an organization isn?t, and cardholder data is breached, the Payment Card Industry Security Standards Council could very well fine the organization, increase their merchant fees, or even disallow them from accepting payments via cards at all. This is just one example that happens to apply to most businesses. How many other regulations are you beholden to that involve some aspect of your business? cybersecurity? We?re Here to Help Ensure Your Cybersecurity is Compliant to All Applicable Requirements White Mountain IT Services has experience in managing the IT needs of businesses around New Hampshire, which includes the process of maintaining compliance to the assorted laws, rules, and regulations that must be followed. We can be here for you as well. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.

What Are Some Password Best Practices? In a list format, we have put together some password best practices for your review: Use complex strings of characters: Your passwords should consist of both upper and lower-case letters, numbers, and special characters. The longer, the better: If you have more characters in your password, there are more opportunities for a hacker to get it wrong. Your passwords should be easy to remember, but hard to guess. Opt for passphrases rather than passwords: To make your passwords easier to remember, you can use a passphrase. The passphrase is basically an upgraded password variant that is harder to guess, but easier to remember. For example, if you were to use a favorite 80?s movie, you might pull a famous line from the movie along with the title and tie it together. For example, if your favorite movie of all time is Short Circuit, you might make your passphrase Sh0rtCIRCUIT#5isALIVE!86 Use different passwords for each account: You should be using different passwords for each of your accounts, just in case one of them gets stolen. After all, if you use the same password for every account, you?ll have to change every single one of them anyway. With these practices, you can make more complex and secure passwords. In addition to these practices, you can consider some of the following to make using them easier and more efficient. What Else Can You Do to Protect Your Online Accounts? To capitalize on the benefits of password security for your business, we recommend that you take things just a hair further with additional policies and technology solutions. We recommend multi-factor authentication and password management solutions to get the most out of your password and authentication policies. With multi-factor authentication, you can use additional authentication protocols alongside passwords to maximize security. Your average multi-factor authentication tool will utilize two of the three methods: something you are (biometrics), something you have (smartphone, USB key), or something you know (a password, PIN, or passphrase). In comparison, password management tools take what you have applied to your password security and make them that much easier to manage. Password managers store your passwords in an encrypted database where they are protected by a master password. You can then call the passwords as they are needed when you access your accounts. Password managers often have the capability to generate passwords for you, just in case you need some help with your complex passwords. It makes using complex passwords and passphrases that much easier. White Mountain IT Services is here to help outfit your business with the security and productivity tools it needs. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn more.