Risk Management Archives - NuTech Services LLC

Nov, 2022

You Need to Address Risks Head On

Nowadays, there seems to be risks at every turn that can negatively impact your business. Obviously, some are more concerning than others, but ultimately you need to find solutions to every problem you have to ensure that it can run routinely, let alone efficiently. Let’s take a look at some of the risks the average small business faces and what technology can do to help you circumvent these particular issues.

Network Security

One of the biggest problems that businesses face is the prospect of having their network breached by cybercriminals. The concern is that because there are so many people looking to steal data or illegally access your network to siphon money, data, and leave your business holding the bag, that you need a comprehensive plan to keep your network secure.

These days, IT threats come in all sizes. There are marginal threats that can slow down your business’ growth to ransomware that could have a marked effect on your ability to operate. That’s why it is crucial to ensure that you are doing everything you can to protect your business from cyberthreats. Three of the most important are:

Employee training – Most threats that negatively affect a business hit your employees in some way first. Making sure that they know how to spot a potential phishing attack; how to make, and when to update, a secure password; and how to securely handle data is critical.
Security software – The deployment of security software is more in-depth for businesses than it is for individuals, but it’s the same concept. Deploying antivirus and anti-malware tools can help eliminate threats; spam protection can cut down on the amount of time-wasting and potentially dangerous messages your staff is exposed to; firewalls can help eliminate threats entering your network; and content filtering can keep staff off of potentially dangerous websites.
Data backup – One of the best ways to ensure that no threats have longer lasting effects on your business is by ensuring that important data and applications are backed up locally and in the cloud.

Physical Security

More people are working remotely, sure, but many businesses are trying to maintain a company culture with employees working from an office or other location. With crime on the rise, it’s important that every business has the security tools in place to ward against theft and other physical security problems. You may be surprised to know that a lot of data breaches start because of a physical security breach.

There are several strategies and tools that NuTech Services can help with to maximize your business’ physical security. They include:

Digital cameras – One of the best deterrents to those interested in breaching the security of your business are cameras. Security systems can go a long way toward protecting all of your investments.
Access control systems – Not every employee needs access to every part of your business. Putting in advanced access control systems can help keep unauthorized people out of certain areas and can produce sophisticated logs that can help you ascertain when problems happen if one does pop up.
Digital signage – Sometimes not having clear signage can inadvertently cause security problems. Digital signage is continuously customizable and more affordable now than at any time in the past.

Keep Your Business Secure

At NuTech Services, we can help your business be as secure as possible from a litany of threats. If you would like to talk to one of our knowledgeable consultants about how we can help you get your security where you need it to be, give us a call today at 810.230.9455.

Sep, 2021

You Need to Reduce Your Exposure to Insider Threats

One of the most difficult things to do in business is to imagine a scenario in which someone you trust puts your organization at risk. We focus so much on the external threats that the internal ones often go unnoticed. How can you make sure that your organization does not fall victim to the several different types of insider threats out there? Let’s take a look.

Insider threats are more difficult to identify due to the fact that identifying them means figuring out which network activity is acceptable and which activity is not. Gartner identifies four types of insider threats, many of which don’t necessarily have malicious intent. In fact, some are just byproducts of gross negligence for network security and rules. Here are the different types of insider threats and why they are so dangerous.

Those Who Are Tricked

Gartner identifies this category as the “pawn,” or those who are tricked into becoming complicit with a hacker’s desires through the use of social engineering or phishing schemes. In this case, the insider threat is unaware that they are being taken advantage of by the hacker.

Those Who Cooperate

There are some insider threats who cooperate with third parties to disclose sensitive information or trade secrets. This type of threat, called the “collaborator,” is dangerous in that they can leak important information with the express intention of harming your business for their own personal gain.

Those Who Make Mistakes

Some folks just don’t take security seriously, a mindset that leads them to make mistakes while trying to avoid adhering to company policy. These workers are placed in the “goof” category, or those who let their arrogance and negligence lead them to make mistakes. Goofs might make choices that benefit themselves at the expense of the network’s security.

Those Who Act on Their Own

While many insider threats do emerge in part due to the efforts of others, there are some who simply act on their own. These threats are called “lone wolf” insiders, and they are especially dangerous if they have high-level access to sensitive information. While their reasons for acting may vary, this does not excuse their behavior, as they are actively working against the organization they are a part of.

NuTech Services wants to help your business protect itself from all types of threats, be they insiders or external. To learn more about how we can secure your business, reach out to us at 810.230.9455.

Nov, 2016

Outdated Software Puts Voters Personal Information at Risk

As the U.S. election rapidly approaches, many citizens are strongly concerned with who they’ll vote for. Unfortunately, not enough of these same citizens are nearly as concerned with what they’ll vote on, as the electronic voting machines utilized in many polling places are notoriously insecure to breaches.

While most of the country doesn’t actually utilize these machines (¾ of American voters use paper ballots to elect the new President) there are some states who use these electronic machines exclusively: Delaware, Georgia, Louisiana, New Jersey and South Carolina. Because of this, there’s still a chance that these flawed machines could negatively influence an election. The way we see it, businesses could learn some valuable cybersecurity lessons from this major electoral oversight.

It is a matter of common sense that older operating systems will be vulnerable to more recent threats, even without the knowledge that developers eventually stop producing security patches to better protect the outdated OS after a period of time.

Knowing this, however, only makes it worse to know that the majority of electronic voting machines currently run Windows XP, which hasn’t received a patch since 2014. That makes three years of threats evolving and improving while these voting machines have gone without a single security update. This means that there is a potential for serious tampering to occur, potentially keeping citizens from being able to vote.

Furthermore, many of these machines have not been replaced in years, despite newer and more secure models becoming available. This is in part due to a lack of financial resources in most areas, and in part due to legislative pushback against spending money to replace a machine that has yet to completely fail.

These issues reinforce the importance of maintaining up-to-date solutions, as well as updating and maintaining equipment proactively rather than subscribing to a problematic break-fix model.

Fortunately for the American voter, there are resources in place for those who are concerned for the sanctity and efficacy of their vote. The Verified Voting Foundation, devoted to “safeguarding elections in the digital age,” has an online map resource that breaks down into counties and describes what devices they utilize in counting votes. However, there is little indication of when the website was last updated beyond the copyright information at the bottom of the page, which says 2014. Therefore, the website may not be fully up-to-date, so it is better used as a guideline, rather than gospel.

Despite the presumed budgetary benefits of waiting to replace equipment only when absolutely necessary, a break/fix approach will ultimately cause an administrator more issues and wind up costing more in the long run. On the other hand, a managed service approach allows for a stable, budgetable cost for IT services with reduced downtime, maintained solutions and systems, and an overall more pleasant and productive experience. If you’re interested in implementing a managed solution to your company’s IT, as American polling places clearly should, contact NuTech Services for more information.

Oct, 2015

You Might Be Surprised At the Ways Your Employees Put Your Data At Risk

October is Cyber Security Month and we want to use this time to bring awareness to the different aspects of cyber security. One often overlooked element of cyber security is employee risk management. What level of risk does your staff pose to your network’s security? You can easily find this out by taking an online test.

This employee risk assessment tool is brought to you by StaySafeOnline.org. It’s a quiz designed for employees to take so they can better understand how their use of technology may be putting their organization at risk. The quiz asks employees questions about how they use their mobile devices in the workplace, how they share data, along with other questions meant to reveal security best practices. The employee risk management test can be found here:

http://www.emc.com/microsites/workplacesecurity/index.htm

At the end of the test, the online tool will calculate the test taker’s risk score, and every manager knows how powerful a motivator it can be to rank people. What makes this tool so valuable is that it’s designed to educate your workers about best practices. Once they understand exactly how their “bad behavior” is putting the company at risk, they’ll then feel compelled to change their ways. This is a much more effective tool than yet another memo to read about why cyber security is important.

As great of a security tool as this is, it won’t solve all of your cyber security woes. Even if you’ve got your entire staff lined up on how to properly use their technology, you’re still putting your business at risk if you don’t have the proper protections in place. If your business doesn’t have a strong firewall or up-to-date antivirus software, then even the most careful workers can put your network at risk. Implementing proven security solutions like a mobile device management solution or a Unified Threat Management tool will make your network virtually impenetrable when combined with a workforce that’s educated on security best practices.

For a security assessment that goes even more in depth than an online quiz, give NuTech Services a call at 810.230.9455. We offer businesses a security service called penetration testing where we seek out every weak point of your network for the purpose of offering solutions to best protect your company’s data. Call us today and quiz us about what we can do to keep your information safe!