Recent Blog Posts

  What are the Cyber Risks of Remote Workers Returning? So, what are the specific security risks associated with remote workers returning to the office. A few issues to consider: Dormant malware. For the last few months, very few employees have been connecting to company networks. In particular, the habit of walking into the office and switching their phone to company Wi-Fi is likely to be a problem. Why? Because there has been a significant increase in campaigns distributing malware to devices, and this malware may stay dormant until the device is connected to a major network. IT may not have been able to monitor devices as much as they would like with workers absent. Instruct employees to run malware scans and similar on devices before coming back to the office. Company equipment might not be properly inventoried and, in some cases, may be mislaid. Employees might, in the rush, have grabbed extra monitors, keyboards, webcams, etc, and not told IT they were taking them. Enlist everyone’s help in tracking down errant equipment, in a non-judgmental manner. Stranded machines, such as desktops, left in the office for the duration were probably not booted up. This might result in them not having been updated or patched. Run all patches and updates on these systems before returning them to service. Employees violating app policies. Not everyone was ready to provide their employees with all the tools they needed to work remotely. Check devices for unauthorized apps and programs. Company devices may have picked up malware from the lack of protection that comes from being behind a consumer-grade, rather than enterprise-grade firewall. Some businesses ran out of VPN bandwidth, with the inevitable result of employees connecting “naked” to company networks. A sudden rush back to work could overwhelm IT, resulting in not enough staffing to cover the demand, run scans on devices, etc. Over the work from home period, employees may have become stressed and sloppy, or forgotten protocols that were once second nature. The return to work, thus, results in a spike in cybersecurity risk that needs to be addressed. What Should Companies Do? Thankfully, there are things companies can and should do to mitigate the issues caused by what is likely to be a somewhat chaotic return to work. It’s important to involve employees in the process and to understand that the problems created by the sudden departure are not anyone’s fault. Companies should: Make use of the phased return. Although servicing both remote and on-site employees could be a challenge for IT teams not used to doing so, phased returns allow for a certain number of devices to be checked at a time. Ideally, have IT come into the office early and go through the stranded machines, applying patches and making sure everything still boots up and runs. Run endpoint detection each device as the worker returns. (Again, make use of the phased return so you aren’t trying to do this all at once). This includes personal devices included in a BYOD policy. Limit phones and other personal devices to the guest network until they can be checked. Run all updates that need to be run. Mobile device management can help limit the access unchecked devices have to the network. Audit apps found on devices and either validate them or […]

The Risks of a Lost or Stolen Device Asset Loss Data Exposure Network Security Breach Employee Identity Theft The first thing every business should consider when authorizing mobile-device use is security. Mobile devices access secure accounts and apps, often with auto-logged-in employee accounts. These devices may also be stocked with proprietary business data or employee’s personal data. In the wrong hands, any of this can become harmful if used or exposed. Not only do you lose the value of the device, you also risk losing security of your company’s sensitive information. Protect clients, employees, and the company by knowing how to handle the risk of lost or stolen devices.   Prevent Lost Devices with Tracking Methods Mobile devices are occasionally misplaced, checked out by the wrong person, or taken to school by someone’s child. Lost devices are a normal part of business that provides phones or laptops to their team. Sometimes, things get lost. Sometimes, they’re lost in plain sight or right where they should be. Sometimes, they’re wedged between couch cushions and a disaster is averted with a simple tracking method. GPS Location Tracking External Tracking Tag Key-Finder Chime Emergency-Only GPS Tracking Software The most advanced and useful tracking method is GPS tracking. All wifi devices have limited GPS-style tracking, while all phones have internal GPS for precise positioning. These features can be activated and fed to your control panel to identify the location of a lost device. You can usually narrow it down to a street address, and sometimes the side of a larger building. This is enough to assure you if a device is A) lost at home, B) lost in the office or C) somewhere it shouldn’t be and possibly stolen. There are two concerns here. First, you must never use GPS tracking continuously – as this can qualify as invading an employee’s privacy or collecting dangerously personal location data. Instead, only turn on GPS tracking for emergencies or — in some industries — during work hours. The second concern is power. If the device dies, is turned off, or is wiped, then your GPS software will not activate. Install a Tracking Tag A tracking tag is an external GPS, wifi, or RFID tag that helps to locate non-GPS items. These are useful for devices without GPS and in-case a device is powered-down. Tracking tags are most commonly used as “Key finder” products, but are useful for anything you want to track. GPS tags are best for legal purposes, while RFID is the most precise indoors. Install a Key-Finder Chime Another key-finder type is a simple remote-control chime. For smaller device, consider a key-finder in the case that can help employees find a misplaced company device.   Prepare for Stolen Devices Sometimes, devices are stolen. There is a market for the hardware and for the data that might be harvested from anyone’s stolen device. These can be thefts of opportunity, targeted thefts, or even roommates who borrow too casually. Whatever the reason for device theft, it’s vital to first protect the data on the computer, then the login access, then to try and recover the device itself. Advanced Passwords Remove Authorization Kill-Switch and Brick GPS Tracking Advanced Password Strategies The more password protection on each device, the better. Require a lock-screen with a real password – […]

Planning the Migration Planning is critical to the success of your Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration. It all starts with evaluating the status of your Google Workspace environment and knowing what your organization uses. This goes a long way in helping you formulate a suitable migration approach. Most organizations prefer “lifting and shifting” data to prevent potential losses. Others prefer to migrate essential data such as cloud files and emails. This allows them to create their new solutions from scratch after migrating. Thanks to the differences in Microsoft’s and Google’s data handling approaches, there’s an inherent risk of losing conformity. For this reason, understanding the differences between the two cloud environments can help you craft a suitable migration approach and increase your chances of success. It will also be easier to set and communicate your expectations with your end-users. The migration is likely to affect most aspects of your organization. You should also consider your data structures, workflows, collaboration, and compliance requirements. Backing Up Your Google Workspace Data It’s essential to back up data in your Workspace environment before you start migrating to Microsoft 365. Data backups are critical because: They protect your data from ransomware and accidental or intentional deletions during the migration. Backups make the migration safer and quicker. You can conveniently restore your data in a matter of minutes. You can use your backup as a cheaper version of 0365 Litigation Hold or Google Vault. Remember that the migration process always has the risk of data loss. Even if you hire a managed service provider to oversee the migration, the chances are that they’ll back up your files before mapping and transporting them. After moving your data from Workspace to Microsoft 355, it’s essential to keep backing it up to prevent potential data loss down the line. What Migration Tool Should You Use? There are dozens of native toolsets you can use when migrating to Microsoft 365. These help you migrate your data into the platform from Google Workspace and other environments. Besides these tools, you may want to utilize third-party migration tools that suit your organization’s migration goals. The essential considerations for choosing a migration tool are: The supported migration environments. Data security, privacy, and compliance with regulatory standards (PCI-DSS, GDPR, HIPAA, etc.). What will and what won’t be migrated. Support availability and options. Endpoint configuration and management. Licensing cost and options. Indeed, leveraging third-party tools and managed service providers for your migration may come at a cost, but it makes things more straightforward. With the right migration tool and MSP, there’ll be less post-migration stress. Finding a Suitable Migration Strategy After finding the migration tool of your choice, settle on a strategy to drive the process. There are three main Google Workspace to Microsoft 365 migration strategies. These are: Pre-staged cutover. Big-bang migration. Co-existence migration. Pre-Stage Cutover is undoubtedly the most used migration strategy and helps you move most of your organization’s data. It also allows for space and time to complete other critical tasks related to the migration. This helps reduce the time required for system cutover. However, this strategy comes with the risk of the changes on the source failing to replicate to the destination. Most tools will only help you to copy data instead of syncing it. The Big-Bang migration strategy often gets […]