security Archives - TeleConsult Solutions

Cloud-Based Digital Transformation Solutions for Improving Business

July 9, 2018 by The Christine Advantage dba TCS

Without a scalable IT infrastructure, you’re not going to get everything you can out of your data. In this age of digital transformation, data is amassed quickly and is key to business processes at your organization. Cloud-based solutions can give you the scalability you need to improve workflows and improve how your business functions.

Going Off Site

Part of the power of the cloud is to eliminate the need for investing in more infrastructure and software. Rather than take up physical space at your location with expensive servers and software, which requires frequent updating, all of that is taken care of off-site by your cloud vendor.

The cloud is truly disrupting the way organizations spend on IT. According to experts, approximately a quarter of the IT market will be in the cloud by 2020.

Security Concerns

With digital transformation comes the threat of being compromised by enterprising cybercriminals. However, in order for a cloud-based provider to stay in business, they have to maintain their reputation as a safe and secure business partner.

Organizations that provide solutions in the cloud do everything they can to ensure your data will be safe. Cloud storage is becoming more common, and increasingly, the data is being encrypted so prying eyes can’t make any sense of it if they are able to access it.

The fact is, your data is probably safer in a cloud-based environment than it is on local servers. Many times, your employees are the gateway for cybercriminals getting access to your data. This is often due to weak passwords or clicking on a suspicious link in an email. However, with your data locked down tightly in the cloud, you can better remediate a breach and experience no loss of data.

Analyzing Threats

Thanks to powerful cloud-based tools, advanced threats can be analyzed and locked down, which is an important part of digital transformation. All suspicious files, which include digital communication, will be thoroughly analyzed.

Distributed networks need to be protected, especially as organizations see their workforce demand more mobile opportunities, which is another product of the digital transformation brought on by improved mobile technology.

At TeleConsult, our managed data centers will save your organization all the headaches associated with embracing digital transformation, and we can also save you time and money. We’ve provided small- to medium-size businesses with telecom and IT solutions for nearly two decades, and we can assist you as you take on evolving technology. Contact us today and we’ll further explain our value to your operation.

The Benefits of Penetration Testing

June 4, 2018 by The Christine Advantage dba TCS

When you set up your security strategy and execute its steps, your approach likely includes a variety of ways to keep intruders out, including firewalls, and training to prevent a misstep that invites them in with tactics like phishing. Once you’ve fully implemented your security measures, you need another step: penetration testing.

What is penetration testing? Penetration testing uses a mock offensive approach against your defenses to see if they hold. For comparison’s sake, imagine you have locks, a home security system, ample lighting, and cameras set up around your house. In order to see how effective those tools are, you invite an experienced, reformed breaking-and-entering expert to get into your home by whatever means necessary. Detecting the weak points in your home security is a lot like penetration testing in an enterprise’s security strategy.

The benefits of testing: There are several ways penetration testing helps tighten up your security:

You’ll get insight into where you should invest more resources in your security strategy. You may be pushing too much into a firewall, when end point security actually needs more attention.
You’ll learn more about your infrastructure and how each component interacts with the others. Penetration testing makes your inner workings more transparent and can help reveal misconceptions.
When you’re about to deploy a new system, you can use penetration testing to work out any security bugs before you go live.
Your security monitoring and team response can be objectively evaluated for their effectiveness.
There’s an opportunity to address any vulnerabilities in your security strategy at a relaxed pace, rather than in the panicked state that ensues after a breach.

If you have cloud and other third-party providers, it’s important to include them in your penetration testing. Given that a provider is storing or has access to critical data, penetration testing can help you see if that provider is meeting your standards for security.

Internal versus external testing: In many cases, companies use internal penetration testing to determine the effectiveness of their security, but there’s good reason to hire a third-party tester. While your internal testing team may know the system inside and out and be able to carefully detect and address threats, it’s still a good idea to use a third-party tester.

An outsider may detect vulnerabilities that someone who’s intimately familiar with the systems could miss. In addition, their familiarity with commonly overlooked weak spots they’ve identified across their work with many enterprises may help them quickly evaluate your system for those same vulnerabilities.

Penetration testing is just one aspect of a complete security solution. Contact us at TeleConsult to discuss your organization’s security and a range of solutions to help protect your data, network infrastructure and applications.

Maintaining Security in the BYOD Environment

May 21, 2018 by The Christine Advantage dba TCS

In today’s constant connectivity landscape of smartphones and tablets, most companies have opened the door to bring your own device (BYOD) policies. However, BYOD poses some security concerns, which need to be addressed in a comprehensive security strategy.

Employees today want flexibility in how they bring value to their employer. Technological advancements have helped them achieve this, to the extent that they are beginning to desire more options, such as remote working opportunities, flexible hours, and new possibilities for how they complete their work. How can organizations maintain a high level of security while also providing a flexible work environment?

Target Rich (for Hackers) Environment

In the BYOD environment, hackers have more options as well. They’re exploiting weaknesses that have become readily apparent in far too many organizations. There is no shortage of stories about systems that have been left completely open to attack, stolen data, and tarnished reputations.

For organizations that have not put a security plan together, it’s not a question of if they’ll be hit by a cyberattack, but when.

Taking Precautions

Employees should be educated about the essential elements of security where device protection is concerned. They need to know that clicking on something suspicious in an email is more than likely a phishing ploy by a cybercriminal who has laid a trap that can open up an entire system to vulnerability.

Employees are generally the biggest risk to a system, but the system itself must also have the tools to combat security risks. This includes tools that provide visibility into applications, which can monitor activity and flag anomalies.

Some companies operate under the false impression that because they have their own Security Operations Center, they’re covered. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case. They’re still not able to have complete visibility into all BYOD devices.

By partnering with the right vendor, you can bring a better security strategy to your organization. Rather than create a workflow bottleneck and cause communication roadblocks, partnering with the right vendor can improve your processes while giving you the assurance you need that you’ll be safe from attack.

At TeleConsult, our cybersecurity solutions are constantly monitored and improved to keep up with evolving and complex cybercriminal advancements, which have created an industry unto themselves. Contact us today to talk about how we can customize solutions for you.

Don’t Leave Your Healthcare Data Open for Attack

April 16, 2018 by The Christine Advantage dba TCS

If you think hackers are only interested in heavyweights like Target and eBay, think again. Healthcare data is a prime target for cybercriminals looking to access information. One of the threats facing the healthcare industry (and others) is ransomware, which to many is ranked among the greatest threats out there. It’s estimated that there are around 4,000 ransomware attacks daily, and the reason so many are directed at healthcare facilities is because of the way they handle their files — just about everything a hacker wants can be found, which makes this industry a target for ransom.

Generally, hackers demand Bitcoin as payment as it can’t be traced. And providers are paying up, because if they don’t their medical data is lost to them, leaving them helpless and, in some cases, without the means to effectively treat their patients.

The Internet of Things (IoT) isn’t helping, either. In fact, many hackers find their way into a system through devices, such as radiological equipment, that are connected to the system via the internet. Hackers can go directly after the device infrastructure and get what they need to render the provider helpless.

Making Protection Count

So, how can you protect your system and your patients’ data? If you don’t have the processing power for a next generation firewall, you might be leaving yourself open to attack. Processing power is also what’s needed for today’s advanced security strategies, so you could be stuck with yesteryear’s strategies if you don’t find a way to upgrade.

Utilizing a regional security hub is one way to beef up your firewall for added protection. The perk is that you can maintain your existing appliances. However, this solution usually involves cloud-based firewall solutions.

It’s not likely that the use of IoT will decrease as we continue to technologically evolve. However, we can take a look at how we digitize and make sure we’re doing it safely, and that it only occurs if it benefits the patient and our ability to maintain the proper security protocols.

At TeleConsult, we are the cybersecurity experts that can protect your company network. We’re helping scale back the billions of dollars in remediation costs that too many organizations are paying today. It doesn’t matter the type or size of network you have or how you’re connected to everything around you — we can find the solutions that will offer the ultimate protection. Contact us today to learn more.

Identifying Security Risks in a Next Generation Firewall

April 2, 2018 by The Christine Advantage dba TCS

When security specialists run tests on a network protected by a next-generation firewall, they often discover weaknesses that all but invite hackers into the network to do a little digging. These tests are conducted using a sort of hacker’s playbook that contains a variety of known methods that hackers use to access a network and the vulnerable data traveling through it.

In many cases, enterprises using next-generation firewall tools are not getting the full benefit of the firewall because of configurations that are not up-to-date for the current network or because of legacy security approaches.

The benefits that a next-generation firewall offers are due to its ability to prevent a breach at the application and user level, rather than through ports and protocols. In general, these types of policies should be easier to administer, but mistakes still abound. Errors often occur when the security team employs auto-migration tools when they migrate an existing firewall policy. A breach test can help identify these problems and ensure that any potential weakness in security is addressed.

Many users also run into problems when they simply implement the firewall with vendor-supplied defaults. Like any other tool, the updated features are only helpful if you utilize them. In some situations, those features that make it “next generation” are never turned on.

Another common problem occurs when the security team doesn’t decrypt encrypted traffic, such as TLS, SSL, and SSH, because it can act as a blind spot. IT team members won’t spot the malware hidden in the traffic. While a next-generation firewall can prevent and detect this type of problem, the feature often isn’t utilized.

There is growing momentum to address these kinds of problems, whether it’s voluntary or not. For instance, to rank well in Google’s search engines, companies must comply with Google’s HTTPS encryption requirements.

Another growing area of concern surrounding firewall preparedness is the Internet of Things (IoT). Enterprises are launching fleets of devices that gather and transmit data via sensors, but security teams may not be taking the necessary precautions to protect their networks. These devices are exchanging heavy loads of data with the cloud, with many touch points along the way. In addition, the risk of loss or theft with these devices means that there needs to be a policy established in key areas, such as the length of the hibernation timer on a device.

Simply deploying a next-generation firewall won’t make your enterprise breach-proof. To learn more about security testing and the options available for security services, contact us at TeleConsult. We look forward to discussing network security with you.

Improving Your Cybersecurity in 2018

March 19, 2018 by The Christine Advantage dba TCS

Despite initial reluctance on the part of some telecom vendors, cloud computing is now key for improving business for many companies. When you adopt a cloud-based solution, you’re bringing on board more safety assurances, because you’re not relying on on-premise servers that either break down or are easily accessed by cybercriminals. In fact, cybersecurity is one of the main reasons more organizations are moving to the cloud.

If storing data in the cloud has not been something that’s crossed your mind, consider these two benefits, particularly in light of how pervasive cyberattacks are today:

1. Security
There is still the potential for a hacker to break into your database. However, cloud-based data is far more secure than data on your local server.

2. Quick Access to Data
With the cloud, your data and cloud-based applications are available to you as long as you have a connection. This gives you greater mobility to do what you need to do when you’re not in the office.

Controlling Access to Data

One of the biggest considerations to make where cybersecurity is concerned is who has access to what. Some organizations will completely avoid putting highly sensitive information in the cloud, but regardless of what you’re putting on it, be sure to control access so that employees who don’t need to see specific data do not have clearance to access it.

When you control access to data, you’re closing windows of opportunity to cybercriminals who target systems that aren’t tightly locked down. Keep in mind that when your employees have access to documents from anywhere at any time, so do the hackers, which is why “access only” limits must be set.

Encryption Is Your Friend

When you look at cloud-based solutions, disregard those that don’t offer encryption services. Furthermore, those that do offer encryption services should go above and beyond encrypting files that are going between your systems’ computers and the cloud. For example, a robust encryption service also includes an added layer of protection, which protects data that is “resting.”

Practice Better Passwords

Yes, this is still part of the conversation with cybersecurity because so many people continue to use weak passwords. Nearly half of all users will keep the same passwords for five years or longer, while nearly a quarter have been found to keep theirs for a decade. Make it a rule that nobody with access to your system can use a password with birthdates or names of pets or one that is less than 12 characters long, or use the same password for more than one account.

At TeleConsult, we work with more than 100 IT, telecom, and cloud vendors to provide the best telecom services. We offer customer support 24/7/365, so our clients are never without the assistance they need. Contact us to learn more.

5 Myths About Contact Center Cloud Migration You Can’t Believe

January 23, 2018 by teleconsult

The promises of the cloud are abundant in the telecommunications space. Vendors promise everything from lower prices to improved redundancy. The key to better understanding the opportunities is to take a step back and examine how they relate to current challenges you’re experiencing and why the cloud is attractive in the first place. This is especially true for the contact center.

Given that the cloud offers a very different approach to the way we capture, move, and store data, there are a number of elements to consider when evaluating a migration. As a result, there is a considerable amount of content leading to myths that stop some decision makers in their tracks. Here, we’ll take a look at some of these myths and why they shouldn’t be derailing your plans for a cloud-based contact center.

Moving to the cloud immediately upgrades your operation. This myth is one that could quickly get you in trouble. The cloud doesn’t automatically improve your current operations, although it can end up being a better solution. The key is to clearly define your needs and evaluate cloud options to see how you meet those needs while still realizing the benefits the cloud has to offer.

The cloud makes your data more vulnerable. Perceived security risks are the most common delay in cloud migration. Moving data away from your in-house servers feels like you’re moving it away from the protection of your firewall. When placed on the server of a provider with vast resources, however, you actually gain access to better security and redundancies than you can create on your own system.

Contact center staff don’t want to move to the cloud. While it’s true that many people don’t like change, it’s easier to get behind an initiative when the benefits are understood. For the contact center employee, moving to the cloud could mean the opportunity to work from home, more flexible hours, access to more seamless systems, improved work performance, and more. The key is to communicate with staff why the change will be in their best interests.

Public, private, hybrid clouds…they’re all the same. A lack of understanding on how the cloud actually works is a great inhibitor. It can also lead to poor decision-making when the time comes. Vendors are a great resource to explain the differences among cloud options and what makes sense for the contact center.

Cloud applications are challenging to integrate. Like anything else, contact center application integration is only as hard as you make it. Cloud applications often offer APIs for easy integration into proprietary systems so your operations don’t have to change in ways that don’t make sense for your business. The open nature of the cloud makes integration a primary vantage point.

If myths like these continue to darken your plans to do anything innovative with your contact center, it’s time to contact TeleConsult Solutions. Since 2000, we’ve worked with companies just likes yours to determine the best approach to your operations. We’ll help you dispel the myths and implement solutions that make sense for all involved.

Creating a Data Protection Plan for Cloud Storage

December 4, 2017 by teleconsult

Enterprises are increasingly turning to the cloud for cost-effective data storage, but as the recent Equifax breach makes clear, data protection is still a critical topic for IT teams. While the cloud offers relief from daily backups and investment in servers for data storage, enterprises should not assume their data is safe.

Protecting customer information is critical, but so is the safeguarding of other corporate information assets, such as pricing information and sales history. Customer financial information needs safeguarding, and enterprises in the financial and healthcare industries must use additional caution to protect client assets. In the case of healthcare, prioritizing the regulations associated with the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) is critical.

The EU has put some regulations in place for requiring enterprises to protect the data of consumers, but in the U.S., data protection is largely driven by self-governance, as well as the assurance that consumers will abandon a company that experiences a major security breach.

Best Practices for Data Protection

Evaluate the best options between public cloud, private cloud, and hybrid cloud solutions. The best and most secure option for data storage and protection may be different between these alternatives depending on the type of data being discussed. It’s possible that an enterprise will need to use a combination of cloud solutions for the different types of data they need to protect.

Fully examine the security history of the service provider, as well as the storage platform itself. You need to know what the service provider’s security recovery plan is, and whether they’ve had to execute it in the past. Don’t only look at the vendor, but examine the reputation of the software they use.

Use two-factor authentication. Look for a cloud service provider that offers this, because even if a hacker has access to passwords, they won’t be able to get past the second step.

Utilize third-party encryption when data is being moved. The cloud service provider will protect data once it’s on their server, but use encryption from a third-party as a data protection safeguard.

Get creative with challenge questions. Using standard challenge questions makes it too easy for hackers. Instead, staff members can choose from a custom set of challenge questions, or they can be encouraged to use nonsense answers for standard questions.

Have a plan for devices. If you have a bring your own device (BYOD) policy, be sure there’s a plan in place for controlling the risk of security breach. From time-outs to policies that regulate how data is wiped when an employee parts ways with the enterprise, there must be a plan in place.

At TeleConsult, our expertise in communications technologies along with our diverse experience with multiple carrier products means that we bring a depth of telecommunications capabilities to our clients. Contact us for an initial appointment to discuss a data protection plan appropriate for enterprise security.

Why Mid-Size Companies Prefer Hybrid Solutions to an All-In Public Cloud Approach

October 16, 2017 by teleconsult

If you read the headlines, you may be convinced that if you don’t adopt an all-in approach to the public cloud, your competition might quickly leave you in the dust. The demand for personalization, a perfect end-user experience, and lowered costs may have companies wondering if they can survive the cloud disruption.

Much attention has been focused on what the Fortune 50 are doing with their cloud transition plans. But what works well for large-scale enterprises may not be the best fit for mid-size companies. Instead of transitioning all business operations to a public cloud solution, many mid-size companies are researching the benefits of a hybrid environment for their data storage and software needs.

Here are the reasons why a mix of private and public cloud may be the best fit for a mid-size company:

Security: When it comes to protecting your proprietary product information or client files, it helps to have a high level of visibility and control — which may not be possible when security is outsourced. It also helps to remember that no third-party provider will ever care about data protection quite as much as the company that owns that data. Many out-of-the-box security offerings address straightforward threats like firewall attacks. In reality, your security threats may be a bit more slippery.

Price: Interestingly, price is often one of the biggest reasons companies migrate to cloud solutions. Pay-as-you-go subscriptions and a minimal hardware investment make cloud technology appealing, but many transitions have been completed without a full assessment of the total cost of ownership. Surprise costs for cold data retrieval, burst workloads, or network surcharges can quickly eat up the savings experienced in other areas.

Performance: Many mid-size companies favor a hybrid solution over a full private or public cloud transition because it delivers better performance for their processes. While applications supporting sales and marketing may be better suited for public cloud, there are on-site production processes, for instance, that might perform better with an on-premise system.

Scalability: When a company quickly expands, the ability to increase the number of subscriptions for cloud applications eliminates some of the pain of rapid growth. For many businesses, this scalability isn’t worth the risk of transitioning away from a legacy system that is tailored to their needs and allows for the agility and control the company needs as it grows. In this case, a company may prefer to use a hybrid approach, using an on-site legacy system that allows a smoother transition through a growth period.

At TeleConsult, our consultation services are offered at no charge, allowing us to provide unbiased guidance in your transition to cloud services. Contact us today to discuss your communications needs, and we will work to align you with the best cloud offerings and vendors that support your vision.

Factors to Consider Before Making a Move to the Cloud

September 5, 2017 by teleconsult

The push to move to cloud technologies is heating up, with more executives hoping to capture cost savings as well as a competitive edge related to the end user experience. Executives know that the cloud delivers personalized, intuitive experiences for the customer, and they are anxious to put digital transformation in process.

Before you jump to purchase a cloud software subscription or migrate a legacy system to the cloud, however, there are a few steps you should take in order to gain a full understanding of the impact of a switch. Many companies have miscalculated the true cost of cloud operations in a rush to improve efficiency, customer experience, agility, and other perks the cloud offers. Before you embark on a cloud migration, take time for these three steps to understand all the potential risks and challenges:

Get down to the details with migration planning: Sure, you’ll enjoy a host of benefits with a cloud solution, but you need to know the full range of risks, costs, and challenges that you’ll experience with a switch to cloud, too. Complete a detailed cost of ownership analysis, create a list of requirements for security and performance, and determine how the cloud solution will integrate with your other technology.

You should also have a good understanding of the effort required to complete the transition. Compiling a full set of information related to the risks and challenges will help you make an informed decision about your cloud investment.

Create a repeatable migration plan: As you work through your decision to migrate to the cloud, document a best-practices scenario that can be duplicated for each cloud adoption. Determine what factors need to go into the decision and who will be involved in that decision, and make a complete record of each step, finishing with measuring the success of the transition.

Partner with line of business managers: Engaging the support of stakeholders in a cloud transition is essential. Your line of business managers will often be the ones pushing for a particular cloud solution because they want to improve efficiency in their department or improve the experience for the end user. Develop collaborative relationships with these managers to ensure that cloud decisions are made with a shared investment in the outcome.

Deciding to implement a cloud solution can build cost-efficiency, flexibility, and increased productivity into your organization. Talk with TeleConsult to learn more about how you can make an informed cloud decision. We’ll partner with you to ensure you realize all the benefits you’ve been hoping to capture with cloud technology.

Posts Tagged: security

The Benefits of Penetration Testing

Maintaining Security in the BYOD Environment

Don’t Leave Your Healthcare Data Open for Attack

Identifying Security Risks in a Next Generation Firewall

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