When you turn on your device?s Wi-Fi capabilities, do you ever take the time to look at some of the names of your neighbors? connections? You?ll see some rather boring names as well; some might just use the name of their organization or the family?s name, or even just the default SSID used by the router. The fact of the matter is that a wireless network name that?s easy to gloss over is a best practice for network security. The users who go out of their way to name their Wi-Fi networks something nonsensical have the right idea–making your SSID something that?s easy to miss is a great way to protect your network against possible infiltrators. Think about it this way; if a robber was trying to break into your home and he knew the address, it would make it much easier for him to do so. On the other hand, if he doesn?t know your address and only knows that it?s on a specific street, he?ll have to do some guesswork, which could make all the difference in preventing a robbery in the first place. If there?s one website that showcases just how important an inconspicuous Wi-Fi network name is, it?s WiGLE. This service collected information from the countless wireless networks and places it in an online database that users can search through. WiGLE also offers the ability to map, query, and update the available databases. The information collected by WiGLE can be used for a myriad of purposes, such as research projects, journalism, site surveys, educating the public, analyzing wireless usage, and locating networks that you can connect to while you?re traveling. Now that you know this tool exists, have you asked the important questions yet? If your information is being collected, is it at risk of being stolen and used against you? Should you be worried about someone being able to find your network through an online application? If you don?t want it to be available to the public, how can you remove your information from WiGLE? The service has answered all of these questions in its own FAQs section: ?If your network is in WiGLE and you don’t like it, we’ll take it out immediately, but you should look into making your network harder to detect AND more secure; remember that you’re the one bombarding passers-by with your signal. We aren’t affiliated directly with any particular community or interest (other than our own), but we applaud the efforts of the people who wrote the stumbling software that feeds our project, the people looking to use wireless in innovative ways, and especially the community of people who just dig wireless network access and dig sharing it.? What do you think about WiGLE? If it has you concerned, perhaps it?s time to take a look at your organization?s network connections and see what can be done to reinforce them. To learn more, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.

What?s Being Done?Wells Fargo has created an initiative that lets members access their accounts through an ATM, even without their ATM cards, through a mobile device. The application in question allows the account holder to receive a temporary pass code that they can use at a Wells Fargo ATM alongside their PIN. At the time of this writing, while Wells Fargo is certainly the one leading the pack in terms of app-based ATM access, there are others who are following suit. These organizations include Chase, Bank of America, and Citigroup, all of which have already started to implement similar measures for their ATMs. However, that?s just the beginning. Wells Fargo?s ATMs also feature near-field communication (NFC), which lets their users access their funds without the need of their card. Users can also use their mobile device to scan their fingerprint, alongside entering their PIN. Only 40 percent of the ATMs are currently equipped with this feature, but it seems to be a great way to help card users in a pinch. Will These Advancements Work?These advancements might be a great way to help users stay more secure, but criminals will still find ways around these functions. This is apparent, as six times as many ATMs have been compromised since 2014. Scammers are also taking advantage of cameras and card skimming technologies to steal information when a bank member accesses an ATM. Some of the more advanced card skimmers can be inserted directly into the ATM?s card scanning mechanism, giving thieves direct access to individual?s account information and security credentials. Even schemes like pinhole cameras can let hackers get a great view of a user?s PIN or card number. To make matters worse, hackers might try to sabotage machines that don?t have their devices installed on them. This forces bank members to use the devices that have been tampered with, putting themselves at risk. Therefore, if you see a group of ATMs and only one of them works, you may want to avoid using it. Even those who have chip-based cards aren?t safe from hackers, as scammers can use a method called ?shimming? to steal the information located on the chip. While this is somewhat rare to encounter, chances are that hackers will eventually be able to streamline the process and it will become more popular over time–especially considering how common chip cards are now. That?s not even mentioning that the chip cards still have magnetic strips, which means that they might decide to just swipe the card. A Couple of ProblemsKeep in mind that ATMs are still rather vulnerable to scammers for a number of reasons. For one, these security features often are only added to the machine?s features rather than replacing old or ailing ones. For example, the Wells Fargo ATMs that allow for temporary PINs will still allow for access with less secure methods. Considering how there are only about 20 million Wells Fargo app users out of their 70 million members, there?s a majority that are still using less-secure features for their banking purposes. Even further, this assumes that those 20 million app users will bother to take advantage of them in the first place. Sometimes a habit can be hard to break, especially when you?ve been using the same technology for so many years. Regrettably, some […]

Today, we want to talk about something that not a lot of businesses would want to think about. What would happen to your organization if it were to suddenly experience a hacking attack? While security solutions can go a long way toward protecting your organization, you still want to make sure that you?re not relying solely on your security tools for protection. Rather, you should always stay vigilant, even if you don?t think something could go wrong. Don?t Get ComplacentWhen you?re protected behind enterprise-level security solutions, it?s easy to think that nothing can harm your business or its data. After all, if you have a Unified Threat Management tool actively monitoring your organization?s network infrastructure, surely nothing could go wrong? right? The unfortunate truth of this matter is that threats will still find ways into your organization?s infrastructure, regardless of how proactive you are about its security. Viruses and malware created by hackers are constantly evolving to wrestle control of your business?s technology from you, so it?s your responsibility to make sure that your solutions are capable of adapting to trends in security. For an example, let?s take a look at threats like trojans or spyware. They will often plant themselves in your infrastructure so as not to be detected. The primary function of these threats is often to steal data or create a window for remote access, so they will be designed to avoid detection from security solutions. The only way to ensure that these threats don?t infiltrate your network and lay low, hidden somewhere, is to monitor access in real time–something that?s often better handled by trained security professionals than an automatic solution. What Happens If Your Security Fails?Let?s face it; nobody expects their security to fail, especially when you go the extra mile to implement powerful enterprise-level solutions. While automatic security measures are enough to protect against minor threats, customized attacks directed right at your business will most likely be able to find a way around them. Plus, keep in mind that you and your IT administrators are not the only ones who will be dealing with cybersecurity threats. Your employees will be, too. Hackers know that the weakest link for many organizations is their staff. A classic example of this is what your employees would do if they received an email that looks a little out of place. Does the employee know how to identify spam messages? If not, they may accidentally click on a link to ?claim their prize,? where they will fill out a form and hand over all of the information a hacker needs to steal their identity. Furthermore, they could accidentally hand over sensitive information. This is why it?s crucial that your business trains employees on how to identify all kinds of threats, including phishing scams, CEO fraud, and spam in general. Network Security is Part of Business ContinuityThe only way to guarantee that your business can continue functioning in the wake of a cyber breach is to ensure that your business continuity plan includes hacking attacks. How can you recover if an unexpected hacking attack exposes sensitive data, or causes you to lose it entirely? White Mountain IT Services can help you with our Backup and Disaster Recovery solution (BDR). If your data is stolen or rendered useless following a hack, restoring it with […]

Intrapreneurs are employees that have the ability to see beyond the task at hand. They see the big picture in correlation with the goals of the company and they?re inclined to come up with progressive ideas that will benefit the entire company, including your bottom line. Tim Beerman, CTO at Ensono, provides CIO with a good profile of an intrapreneur that business owners will find valuable. ?These are the employees who want to get their hands dirty and are often the first people to volunteer for a job. Intrapreneurs are not content with the status quo. They often see how things could be part of a bigger picture and come up with ideas to realize this new vision.” With this description in mind, can you think of anybody in your office that has intrapreneural tendencies? To assist you further with identifying intrapreneurs and understanding how valuable they can be for your company, consider the following: Intrapreneurs motivate those around them, challenging others with a fresh perspective and honest feedback. Intrapreneurs are loyal and always look for ways to instill positive change in their organization. Intrapreneurs have the drive and skills necessary to be successful outside of your business, yet they choose to stay and use their skills to grow your company. Intrapreneurs consistently challenge the current business model and invite disruption, motivated by wanting to see the company improve. Intrapreneurs have the ability to spot inefficiencies in the workplace and they?re willing to introduce unconventional ideas and take risks in order to resolve issues. Identifying intrapreneurs should be easy enough; they?re motivated, loyal, and think outside the box. The challenge then for business owners is what to do with them? It may also be a challenge for business owners to embrace such an employee and their ideas, instead of feeling threatened if they come up with a way of doing something that?s better than the way it?s always been done. How can you take intrapreneurs seriously in such a way that encourages them to step up and share their ideas? It?s crucial that you have communication channels in place that allow for this. Otherwise, the employee?s ?intrapreneurial spirit? will be crushed, they?ll see no value in speaking up, and they?ll either put in the minimal effort required to perform their job or move on to another company that values their ideas. Or, worse yet, the ignored intrapreneur will find the motivation needed to become an entrepreneur and start a new company that grows to become a major competitor of yours. Yikes! When it comes to making sure that intrapreneurs have their voices heard and their good ideas implemented, IT professionals can be of assistance. Beerman explains, “An intrapreneur might see inefficiencies within his or her company’s workflow, but may not necessarily have the experience to fully develop a solution. The IT department can then act as a partner to find the right recommendation. When intrapreneurs and IT teams are communicating regularly, there are more windows of opportunity for collaboration. Innovation and collaboration will eventually become business as usual, once initial bridges are crossed.” Implementing this kind of collaboration between intrapreneurs and your IT department may require a major shift in your company culture. Although, seeing how intrapreneurs have the potential to bring some substantial ideas to the table, it?s a […]

We understand that not every organization will be prone to tsunamis or earthquakes, but there are plenty of other disasters that could derail your business? operations indefinitely. Here are just a few of them, and what your business can do to prevent them from being the last disaster it suffers from. FiresAny organization that works with machines running off of electricity will be subjected to the risk of an in-house fire. This could happen for a number of reasons, like overloading a power strip or an unattended candle. A fire can spread quickly, wiping out any physical infrastructure that your business relies on–including your office. Power SurgesMost businesses these days rely on their technology to a certain extent, which puts them at the mercy of electrical storms. Something as sudden as a power surge could fry any unprotected hardware in your office. Just like that, you?ll have a bunch of useless workstations that need either heavy repairs, or to be replaced entirely. That?s not even mentioning all of the downtime that this causes, or other parts of your infrastructure also being damaged by the storm, like your furnace, air conditioning, etc. In this case, one unfortunate event snowballs and escalates into a big problem that can put your business on the line. Hardware FailureWhen businesses talk about natural disasters, they often forget one that could affect all businesses–hardware failure. Technology doesn?t last forever, and in the case of a mission-critical server or workstation failing, it could mean data loss for your organization. Furthermore, it would be very costly to replace technology that has failed, and that?s not even mentioning compatibility issues that could result of such an overhaul. The Solution: Business Continuity and BDRAll of these situations result in a similar outcome: the inability to work following a nasty disaster. To resolve these issues, businesses have implemented business continuity solutions that focus on Backup and Disaster Recovery (BDR). With a cloud-based BDR, you can know with certainty that your business?s important data is backed up and stored virtually in the cloud, multiple times a day, in a space that?s both secure and easy to access. BDR allows for backups as often as every fifteen minutes (or more frequently), and restoration directly to the BDR device should the need arise. You can trust us when we say that it?s the best defense against unforeseen events that put your business in harm?s way. To learn more about BDR and business continuity, reach out to us at (603) 889-0800.