In the process of setting up remote staff? - Is your office infrastructure at risk?

VPNs are a great way to create a secure tunnel between remote sites if you and your IT staff have control over ALL of the technology involved.

However, if you are allowing VPN access from personal equipment without providing your remote staff with company managed assets, then you are most likely taking a huge risk with your security and opening your office up to attack vectors beyond your control.

Amidst COVID-19, Is Telecommuting an Option For Your Business?

You already know that we are here to help you fight computer viruses, but did you know that we can help your business fight the effects of COVID-19 as well?

Not sure where to start? With the high possibility of Oregon's 'Stay Home, Stay Healthy' order coming through, Systech Consulting can help you determine how your staff can perform work from their homes.

The End of Windows 7 and Server 2008

January 14, 2020 marks the end of a yet another era. After a decade of hard labor, one of the most beloved Microsoft operating systems is about to retire.

If you have not performed those upgrades yet, it's pretty imperative that you take that time now, because you don't have much time left.

Systech Consulting Office Update

Our signs and vinyls are up. You'll find our sign on Garden Valley intersecting NW Highland St. where our office is located!

Our work van also has new vinyls. All of this might just be normal every day business stuff, but we're pretty excited!

How much does IT cost you?

No matter what business you're in, you've always had some definitive factors to consider: location and rent, marketing and sales, goods and services, supply and demand, management and staff. These days, you need to add in email, hosting, software and computer hardware, firewalls and security to that list. The reliance on technology grows less and less subtle as the impact of an outage or a security breach can force your business to a halt. On top of the cost of technology, you also need to consider the cost to maintain it's operation and a best effort to guarantee and keep it operational. That best effort can spiral out of control if it isn't managed properly, but there are ways to keep it simple and the cost can be easier to determine than you might think.

There are many ways your business can approach Information Technology, but here's a few major factors that you should look at.

New Member Joins Systech Consulting!

We are always looking for like-minded people. Individuals in the industry who know their way around the proverbial block whether for a partnership or cooperation in business ventures, joint task forces, new projects or to join our team. Today, I would like to welcome Victor Fejeran to Systech Consulting in leading our sales department and taking the reins from our severely overworked technical staff.

Surveillance Solutions, No Strings Attached

The one year deadline is almost upon US government agencies since Congress had placed a ban on video surveillance and telecommunications equipment manufactured, produced, and sold by Hytera Communications Corp., Hangzhou Hikvision Digital Technology Co., Zhejiang Dahua Technology and all subsidiary/affiliates of these companies. According to an article on Bloomberg, the August 13 deadline will most likely not be met. These brands have been re-branded and white labeled with parts mixed in and sold by Panasonic and Honeywell International Inc, and our government agencies are having a difficult time navigating what equipment they actually have in production. Why the ban? Oh, just the usual backdoors giving unauthorized access to international spies! That and possible peeping toms, I suppose.

Happy 243rd birthday, America!

With the 4th of July just around the corner, we wish everyone to have a happy and safe holiday. We have come very far in the past two and a half centuries, both as a nation and as a species. There are some days where it feels like we're taking one step forward and two steps back, but nevertheless here we stand. Don't ever let that discourage you, just remember that when you're preparing to take a huge leap forward, it's normal to take a step or two back.

As with every anniversary, we tend to reminisce the past and wonder about the year to come. This past year, we've fallen into a long chain of warnings and alerts due to the current state of priorities. I'd much rather discuss the wonders of the future, but there's too many items that need attention first.

What to do about passwords.

Microsoft recently announced that they are changing their stance on password policies. Following their requirements, companies had policies in place that forced employees to change their passwords every 30-90 days depending on whatever was deemed appropriate. Did you really trust your employees to create passwords every 30 days and remember them? We know that most of you out there just increment the number at the end, or even worse, tape the new and fancy password to your keyboard. At least your company forced you to change it every 30 days. That way, if someone stole your password the next day, or obtained your old post-it from your trash bin that you freshly ripped off the keyboard, would only have 29 days to access your account... genius.

Apple has been releasing press on their own single sign-on button - akin to Google and Facebook logins (I suppose I should also mention Yahoo's Account Key solution). These solutions might be the future of how we handle security in logging to the vast multitude of sites flooding the internet. Whether you decide to remove your forced password changes, use a password manager, single sign-on services, or multi-factor authentication, keep in mind that somewhere along that chain a password is still necessary.

Cyber crime continues to rise. Do your part and fight!

GoldBrute botnet, Wannacry malware, BlueKeep vulnerability, VIM/NeoVIM vulnerability, Android smartphone backdoors, social engineering attacks, even Samsung telling consumers to scan their QLED TVs regularly for Malware. It's seemingly the talk of the town. If you're reading this, hopefully your first reaction is, "Ugh, enough already, tell me something I don't know." If that isn't the first thought that came across, then enjoy this summer with a little reading here, some patching there, and an upgrade or two in between.

There are more cyber criminals than there are cyber security experts. One must obviously be more lucrative than the other. You don't have to become a cyber security expert to fight cyber crime, but there are still things you can do to join the fight.

Severe Windows XP/7/2003/2008 Vulnerability in 2019, Security Updates Available

Microsoft announced a severe vulnerability with some older versions of Windows last month. If you are still using Windows XP, 7, Server 2003, or Server 2008, make sure you take the time to follow Microsoft's instructions to patch your systems. All links are provided below which you will need to manually download and install as versions like Windows XP have long been out of Microsoft's extended support. Windows 7 is still under extended support, however, after you process your Windows Update, take the time to verify that the proper security update is installed.

The vulnerability, CVE-2019-0708, could allow malware to proprogate and spread with the potential deadliness of 2017's WannaCry Ransomeware - which as we know, infected a quarter of a billion computers in 150 countries costing billions of dollars in financial loss.

Smile, You're Possibly on Candid Camera

For users of WhatsApp, your mic might be on as well. Go start the update for the newest version and let that process while you continue to read this post.

We all know that reality mimics science fiction because it's fun and lucrative. Sometimes we even surpass sci-fi - the flip phone, for example - been there, done that. With the abundance of science fiction franchises out there, some of which is easily recognized as outside the realm of current possibilities. Other Hollywood heists, however, might cause us to be jaded and drop our guard as to what's actually possible. As much as there is to marvel in the promises of technology, keep in mind that as technology develops, so does the capability to hack your private information.

Look out for Auto-Renewing Contracts

We are an impatient generation of result seekers and next clickers. EULA? Terms and Conditions? No, thank you. This isn't really meant for me to read, is it? Because it's written in a foreign tongue. Your legal team has no doubt spent hours wording and rewording whatever makes up this fine print, but show me the check box; let me start on your captcha; tell me where to sign; give me my service. After all, do we have any choice in the matter? I'll read fiction, maybe some news, rumors and product descriptions, but if there's a next button - that takes priority. If I were you, however, I'd read the rest of this post.

Data Backup and Recovery

The 3-2-1 Backup Strategy Explained.

The 3-2-1 strategy requires that maintain a total of 3 copies of your data. Two of these copies are kept on-site, in smaller offices this is typically on the system being backed up for quick recovery of data and the other on a SAN or NAS so that they can be recovered on-site using a separate system in the event that the local workstation/server fails. The third copy should be stored off-site, and it is recommended that it be stored encrypted. The third copy is your golden record and is utilized for disaster recovery, it is there in the event you suffer a natural disaster, fire, theft, or multiple system failure.

Protecting Yourself from Social Engineering

Social Engineering is the act of manipulating an individual into divulging confidential information or offering unintended access. Individuals attempt to take advantage of a victims tendencies, utilizing psychological manipulation and various other techniques often leading to a victim providing data, infecting computers with malware or opening links to infected sites.

Both businesses and consumers lose billions of dollars every year to Social Engineering attacks.

At Systech Consulting, the security of our clients is very important. We go to great lengths to protect our client's data and information, utilizing state of the art technologies to ensure that backups are encrypted and safely stored, that systems have the latest anti-virus updates and patches, and that client firewalls and intrusion prevention systems are always at work in protecting their infrastructure.

Systech Security Advisory

Please be advised that over the last few days, we have received multiple calls from clients stating that they received a call from "Apple Support" regarding the security of their iCloud account.