The Threats Many devices on the Internet of Things have security problems. You?d think that they wouldn?t be much of a problem since they often have limited functionality. For example, a connected thermostat has a limited number of options (on/off, temperature adjustment). In fact, whether it is a CCTV camera, a smart refrigerator, a connected toy–anything that comes with Internet connectivity–is a potential threat to your home or business? network. There are a myriad of reasons for this. They include: Insecure web interface – Every connected device has an integrated web interface that allows users to interact with the device. If not properly secured, these portals can allow unauthorized users to gain access to the device. Insufficient authentication procedures – Connected devices may have ineffective control mechanisms built in that could, if leveraged by hackers, provide unauthorized parties more access than they should be allowed if it were properly secured. Insufficient encryption – If the data that the IoT device gives off isn?t properly encrypted, it can be intercepted and compromised. Insecure network services – Vulnerabilities of where the network connects to the device can offer unwanted entities a pathway to infiltrate the network or the device. Lack of cloud or mobile security – Some devices come with cloud-based functionality, while others run off a mobile device. If these constructs aren?t properly secured, an IoT connection could present a pretty potent vulnerability. Insecure software or firmware – Often IoT devices lack the ability to be updated. Unfortunately threats don?t stop being developed and it can be a matter of time before a once secure device has a glaring vulnerability. Lacking Physical Security – If a hacker can alter the physical makeup of an IoT device he/she can gain access to the device?s settings, creating an avenue for major security problems. Fixing Threats For every threat there is a remedy, but really the best thing you can do is to be conscientious about the device you are connecting to your network. Every connected device could be the device to cause major problems for you. The industry is split about how exactly to secure crucial computing networks from the threats the IoT presents. The generally accepted strategy to manage the IoT is one where the more things can be controlled from a central hub, the more secure the system will be. While it does make management easier, this strategy doesn?t completely provide the kind of comprehensive risk-based solutions needed to mitigate any IoT-fueled corruption. By not first doing a full risk assessment, especially these days, there is a decent chance of catastrophe. After all, security is about dealing with real threats. The main problems are that most IoT-connected devices don?t come with comprehensive security and they can be altered by a network-attached user pretty easily. Take the driverless car. There is going to have to be a major enhancement in the way that these systems are protected if we hope to utilize automated systems to drive actual people around. Since the driverless car is effectively on a public network–and is not behind a firewall–it will need to have its own encrypted system in order to keep it from getting hijacked. This brings us to one of the best ways to secure an IoT device on any network: ensure it is placed behind […]

Here, we?ll go through the steps that you should consider taking order to protect your business from potential disasters caused by the weather. Have a PlanFirst and foremost, you need to create a comprehensive plan that outlines the processes and procedures that will ensure the survival of your data. While you are at it, you should implement procedure to protect your business? other crucial resource: your employees. This plan needs to cover a variety of scenarios and how each should be addressed, along with general emergency policies, like: The conditions under which the plan will be activated. The chain of command. The locations of emergency equipment around the office. Evacuation routes and meeting areas. Who is responsible for what procedures (including those that pertain to external visitors to the office). This plan should also contain a detailed outline of other matters, including a strategy by which to communicate with your customers and clients to keep them informed about how you are handling the situation. It also doesn?t hurt to keep a copy of your company?s insurance policies with you as well. You also want to make sure that your employees are familiar with your emergency procedures, so that they know what they need to do and where they need to go if some weather disaster strikes and causes the business to close for any length of time. Preparing Your Business ItselfOnce you?ve ensured that you are prepared to get any human personnel out of the building and to safety, you need to consider how you can ensure that your business is protected. Ideally, you may be able to continue operations despite the storm, but if situations arise that make that impossible, you have to have a plan for continuity in place. We recommend a few different technologies to assist you with this, as they are well-suited to business continuity needs. CloudThe cloud is one of the most effective ways to protect your data and enable your business? continuity. The cloud makes it possible for you to store your organization?s crucial data off-site, away from the risks that a given disaster (in this case, a hurricane) presents to it. Traditionally, a business? data is often stored in more than one place, but with a cloud-based backup system, it is redundantly backed up in data centers far from your business. This ensures that a disaster doesn?t destroy both your in-house data and the backup you have in the cloud. With your data backed up in the cloud, it is not only safely protected, you can continue to work with it from wherever you can establish a secure connection. In order to get a backup solution that you know will work for your business continuity needs, you will want to routinely test your cloud-based backups. MobileThe opportunity to do so much computing with a device that can be easily moved around makes mobile devices an essential component to your business continuity plan. After all, even if your data is safe in the cloud, you need a device in order to access it. Having an established Bring Your Own Device policy in action, or distributing work devices to your employees could both help to meet this need; and, as a result, put your organization back in operation much more quickly. Your mobile device is […]

It is important to keep in mind that while our approach will address your workforce as a whole, you will probably find it more effective to review the needs of each department, or even each employee. After all, differing responsibilities may require different capabilities – a system that works just fine for someone who mostly works in data entry probably won?t be enough for someone who produces media on the regular. Of course, other factors may lead to differing requirements, as well. For instance… Step One: How Mobile Are They? Your first determination will need to be based on your average employee?s typical work-related behavior. If they need the ability to go mobile, a desktop workstation just isn?t going to work for them. You may find that laptop computers are a better choice for your company because of this. Laptops may also be beneficial if your company culture, weather conditions, or nature of your business leads your staff to work remotely. On the other hand, if your staff is more or less tied to their desks in the office during business hours, a desktop solution may be the better option. This factor really all depends on how much time ?on the clock? is spent working in one place. The more mobility that is necessary, the more likely it is that a laptop is the better choice. Step Two: What Do They Need to Do With It? This ties in closely with the first consideration, yet expands to include the other scenario we referenced above, comparing the needs of data entry to the needs of media production. This is also where it may make more sense to examine your users? needs on a case-by-case basis, unless your entire team is engaged in the same kind of work. What programs are the ones that your employees will need to use? Once you?ve identified these programs, check the minimum requirements. Whatever you get should be more than capable of meeting these requirements. After all, these programs are likely to be updated, and you don?t want to find yourself having to prematurely replace your systems because they can no longer handle your business-essential software. The recommended specifications will give you a better idea of what you should look for, and if that only helps so much, you can always ask the help of a professional. Step Three: What Will Work for Them? Finally, you need to consider the final variable in this equation – your employees themselves. While this probably won?t be what makes (or alters) your final decision, you should at least know what their preference would be. If it just so happens that their preferences don?t mesh with your plans for your company, there are other ways to use technology to achieve the same outcome. From a Bring Your Own Device policy to remote monitoring and management to remote solutions, there are ways to keep your employees happy and your business productive through the tools that you leverage. White Mountain IT Services can help you put all of these methods into place, and more. Contact us at (603) 889-0800 for more information on what we offer.

What a Smart City Should Be On the surface, a smart city sounds like a great idea. Using technology and heavily leaning on Internet of Things principles, a smart city collects data and leverages it to improve public services, inform the local government?s actions, and generally improve the population?s contentedness. Traffic flows more smoothly, infrastructure is better maintained, and life is good. At least, in theory. There is an unfortunate tendency for consumer-focused IoT devices to be vulnerable to attack, a trait shared by the systems that control a smart city. The Effects of an Attack To fully grasp the influence that an attack on a smart city could have, it would help to take a closer look at some of the systems that a smart city would have in place. As we’ve established, the motivation behind a smart city is to improve the population?s quality of life, a goal that requires data collection and analysis to be reached. This data will be collected via sensors that examine a wide variety of factors, like the weather, traffic conditions, and even air quality and radiation. While this data would once be delivered to human decision makers, automated systems would be able to make changes to resolve any issues. For example, if traffic was starting to become congested in a certain area, the surrounding traffic signals could be automatically manipulated to relieve the gridlock. The trouble starts when these systems don?t have enough security to keep them safe from cyberattack, potentially leaving the city?s infrastructure wide open. In a preliminary study of three companies that could supply the systems that a smart city would be built upon, their products had 17 basic vulnerabilities – and we?re talking very basic vulnerabilities, like easily-guessed passwords, avoidable authentication requirements, and bugs that could let in malware. Why This is Important Speaking in a geopolitical sense, enacting a smart city with vulnerabilities like these is like painting a target on one?s back. You only have to look at the fairly recent attacks on both the energy grid and electoral systems of the United States for evidence that infrastructure and civic systems are considered very fair targets. While there are actions in process to shore up these vulnerabilities, opening up metropolitan areas to attack through obvious security flaws would not be a good idea. Of course, we don?t mean to say that scaling the Internet of Things to a metropolitan scale is inherently not a good idea, either, it?s just there needs to be more security protecting the well-being of the populace that lives there. The same can be said of any business that relies on Internet-connected technology. If the devices and network components that a business uses aren?t patched and secured, that business is vulnerable. White Mountain IT Services can help. Give us a call at (603) 889-0800 to learn about our security solutions and how they can protect your business.

Evernote, Explained Evernote is essentially a cloud-based virtual filing system that allows users to create and organize an assortment of file types, saving them as ?notes? within ?notebooks.? A variety of its capabilities make it well-suited to business use, including support on a computer and a mobile device, integrations with other business-friendly applications, and its capacity for collaboration. Evernote is available in a few tiers, with a free version, a paid premium version, and another paid business-centric version. This final tier delivers a few features that are unique and useful to a business audience, such as administrative capabilities and Spaces, a means for direct collaboration. However, we?ll instead focus on the free version, which has plenty to offer a business user as well. Speaking the Language To better appreciate Evernote?s organizational capacity, it helps to understand its internal terminology. Notes – a note is how Evernote refers to any document, in any of the formats that Evernote plays nicely with. This includes typed-up text, content clipped from the Internet, or visual content. Notebooks – a notebook is what your notes are stored and organized in by category. Tags – a tag is a keyword that you can add to a note, allowing it to be searchable via that keyword. These keywords allow notes to be viewed as a collection, even if they exist in separate notebooks. Openly Available Features As we said, the free version of Evernote, while not designed for business use, has no shortage of features that a business user would find extremely handy for their work processes. Shareability – Any content that you have on Evernote can be shared with anyone else, whether or not that person also uses Evernote. While this power would need to be used responsibly in a business setting to maintain security, this could also be a useful feature to leverage. Assistant Compatibility – For those users who rely on Siri or the Google Assistant throughout the day, they can be used to navigate Evernote and edit your notes by voice command. Scrapbook-Style Note-Taking – If you happen to find pertinent content while surfing the Internet, Evernote also has a browser extension that lets you pull whatever it is into the correct notebook. Self-Management – Evernote offers various capabilities that can assist in organization. From to-do lists to built-in reminders, you won?t miss another deadline. Is Evernote a good fit for your business operations? It could be! For any of your other IT-related questions or needs, don?t hesitate to reach out to White Mountain IT Services at (603) 889-0800!