Top 10 Cyber Security Tips 2019

cyber security tips

Any company that takes cyber security seriously will have an array of defences to plug the gaps that cyber criminals could exploit. Unfortunately, fewer create defences for the biggest danger of all — humans. Our cyber security experts have created a top 10 cyber security tips below to help you protect your business against cyber criminals.

You can have all the security tools you can afford, but a single person who fails to follow procedures can let the hackers in. Simply clicking a link or opening an attachment can be the fatal step that leads to a massive data breach.

So what are the things to remind your employees of — or to remember yourself, for that matter? We have ten of the most important.

1. You’re Not Immune To Cyber Attacks

The worst possible attitude to take for the purposes of cyber security is “it couldn’t happen to me.” It doesn’t matter whether your business is large or small, you’re a target for cyber criminals. The biggest difference between those who are victims and those who aren’t is vigilance.

2. Up Your Password Game

Having a strong password is a minimum requirement for cyber security. It shouldn’t be anything that could be too obviously associated with you (such as pet’s name) in case the criminals are following your social media. Use a mixture of upper and lower case letters, numbers and other symbols — and, most importantly, keep it to yourself. Don’t write it down anywhere, and certainly not on a note stuck to your computer.

3. Keep Your Devices Locked

Any unattended computer, tablet or phone is a vulnerability. If you’re going to leave it, even for a very short time, make sure it’s locked up, either physically or by logging out of your account. Whatever you need to do to ensure no-one can use it while you’re away. And that goes for any flash drives or external hard drives, as well.

4. Think Before You Click

If you receive an email with links or attachments, don’t click on it unless you’re absolutely sure it’s safe. Even if you know the sender, if the message’s contents are unusual or unexpected, the account may have been hacked. And don’t assume a link is necessarily safe because the URL looks familiar. A favourite trick of cyber criminals is to use a URL that looks like one you’d trust, but with one or two characters different.

5. Be Careful How You Browse

You can’t use the internet without browsing, but beware of clicking on anything that looks interesting, especially if you’re not on your own personal computer with a trusted network. One of those sites you land on could be a trap. If you’re using a public computer or a café’s free WiFi, your data could be at risk.

6. Back-ups Are Your Friend

Cyber criminals don’t just steal your data. They may also block your access to it, or crash your devices so that everything’s lost. Make sure you back your data up regularly, preferably to a secure cloud service, as well as keeping your anti-virus software up to date.

7. Watch Your Hardware

It isn’t only emails and websites that pose a danger to your devices. Malware can lurk on external hard drives, flash drives or smartphones, so be vigilant about what you’re plugging into your computer.

8. Criminals Use Social Media Too

The dangers of social media have been much in the news lately, but a less-publicised hazard is that cyber criminals may be using it to get information from you. Finding out where you work or when you go on holiday can help them — and those games based on using your first school or your first pet can give them the answer to your security questions. Think before you share information.

9. There Are Also Dangers Offline

Just because cyber criminals target you online doesn’t mean they don’t also try to get your information in other ways. You’ve probably at some time had a phone call from someone claiming to be your bank or utility company, or even the police. If you give the information they ask for, you might be letting them into anything from your bank account to your computer’s data. You have the perfect right to refuse and call a genuine number for the organisation to check.

10. Monitor Your Accounts

An invasion of your accounts may start slowly, allowing the cyber criminals to get their claws into you. Monitor all your accounts regularly for any unusual activity that could be criminal activity. You may still have time to do something about it.

Cyber Security Tips Conclusion

I hope you have found our cyber security tips useful. There’s no substitute for improving your cyber security — both by installing and maintaining powerful systems and by training your workforce to use their devices intelligently and vigilantly. You’re very welcome to get in touch with us if you want to know more about staying safe online.

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Ten Reasons Why Outsourcing Your IT Support Is Good for Your Business

Business technology is changing at a rate that few companies can keep up with. Even giant organisations often struggle with outdated systems, and it’s an even bigger challenge for smaller companies to stay up to date with both technology and expertise.

It isn’t only the technology itself that’s changing quickly, though. IT is changing the way we do business, and one of those ways is an increase in opportunities for outsourcing. So can outsourcing solve this problem?

Outsourcing IT support is increasing at a rate of about 5.9% a year, according to Computer Weekly Magazine. Here are ten top reasons why this may be the right answer for your business.

1. Reduced Staff Costs

Dedicated IT staff don’t come cheaply. A good IT Manager is likely to expect a salary of at least £50,000, and that’s only the start. When you add recruitment costs, company benefits and ongoing training — essential in a fast-changing environment — the costs quickly mount up.

Outsourced IT, on the other hand, just involves a single, regular payment that can be easily budgeted for. It’s up to the supplier to ensure their staff are up to date in knowledge.

2. Keeping Up with Skills

Both new technologies and updated versions of existing systems are coming at such a rate that it’s difficult to keep up. In practice, it’s not feasible to ensure all relevant in-house staff are familiar with the latest requirements.

Even if it were an option to have someone fully trained in house, this too poses problems. Maintenance of the IT infrastructure is crucial for a business, but your expert is likely to be idle for a good deal of the time.

On the other hand, if you have an outsourced unlimited IT support contract, you can call on a qualified expert with up-to-date knowledge when you need them. The rest of the time, you don’t have to find them something to do.

3. Flexibility in IT Support

Having your own IT engineer may certainly offer some advantages, but it also throws up numerous problems. What happens if a second crisis arises while the engineer is already working on a problem? What happens if something arises while your engineer is on holiday or off sick?

Quite apart from these issues, one engineer is unlikely to be an expert in every problem that may arise, even if they can keep up to date with the necessary training. On the other hand, an outsourced IT company will be able to provide a full range of expertise whenever you need it. You’ll have the peace of mind of knowing there’ll always be someone available who can solve your crisis.

4. The Recruitment Dilemma

If you’re going to employ an IT expert to manage and maintain your systems, you’re faced with a paradox. You want someone with a high level of knowledge and ability, but how can you assess that without having an IT background yourself?

This isn’t a recent dilemma. In 2010, the Confederation of British Industry ran a Skills Survey which found that 53% of employers doubted their ability to find staff with the skill required.

Outsourcing your IT support gets rid of this problem. As long as you satisfy yourself about the company’s reputation and credibility, you can be confident about leaving recognition of expertise to them.

5. Productivity Issues

One common solution to the issue previously  outlined, that a dedicated IT Manager may not have enough to do during some periods, is to train one or more existing staff members to act as a part-time IT support. This has the dual attractions of reducing costs and offering flexibility.

However, not only are these people not genuine IT experts, but working on this area also takes them away from the jobs you originally hired them to do. There are likely to be issues they can’t fix, and meanwhile their productivity in helping your business grow is compromised.

It’s likely to be a sounder solution in the long run to outsource IT support to a company that can provide the top expertise, thus leaving your own staff free to concentrate on what they do best.

6. Up-to-Date Technology

IT is developing at such a rate that it can be hard to keep up. It may be crucial for your company to have the latest, cutting-edge technology — but, unless you’re an expert yourself, how can you be sure you’re making the right choices?

Even if you have a dedicated IT Manager, they’re not likely to be on top of every type of technology. An outsourced IT consultancy company, on the hand, will have a team of specialists who’ll keep you up to date on the new technology that’s ideal for you.

7. Additional Services

Your current IT arrangements might suit you at the moment, but in the IT world standing still means slipping back. Outsourcing to an IT support company means you’ll have access to a range of additional value-added services when you need them. These include:

  • Mobility — In the modern business world, having your workers stuck in the office puts you at a big disadvantage. An outsourced company can help you make your staff more mobile without compromising security.
  • Disaster Planning — Any disaster that crashes your system could also crash your company for good. You can avoid that by having a disaster plan to ensure your company can continue.
  • Cloud Solutions — There are many benefits to migrating to the cloud, including reducing costs for capital and support on an ongoing basis.

The various extra services the company can provide are likely to improve efficiency, reduce costs and enhance productivity. They can also reduce the risks in case of crisis.

8. Being Proactive

Most companies tend to maintain their IT systems on a break/fix strategy, addressing problems as they arise. This can often have a negative impact on productivity while engineers repair faults.

Outsourced IT support can offer round-the-clock proactive support, identifying and fixing potential issues before they disrupt your business. It can also provide full automation for software updates and installing patches, along with ongoing diagnostics on your server to prevent problems arising.

9. Managing Risks

Outsourcing your IT support offers the opportunity to manage risks in case of a crisis, as well as the problems that may arise on an ongoing basis. The agreement may also include the IT support company accepting legal responsibility, so that you could seek damages if anything goes wrong.

10. Run Your Business, Not Your IT

The IT your company uses is a tool, not an end in itself. Your focus should be on the big picture, growing your business and increasing your profit, but it’s easy to get bogged down in detail.

Managing and maintaining your IT systems doesn’t have to be one of those details, if you outsource it to a reliable company. Why not get in touch to find out more about how outsourcing could help you.

What are the Ten Biggest Advantages of Using Office 365 Exchange Online?

Is your business’s email giving you headaches? If so, you’re not alone. Fortunately, there’s a solution available that will allow you slash the time you spend worrying about emails and concentrate on what you do best — running your business. So, what is the best solution you ask? Office 365 Exchange Online of course!

No business can manage without email nowadays, but more importantly your email must do the jobs you need it to efficiently, without creating serious risks for your business. Perhaps your current system’s communication limitations are damaging your productivity. Perhaps regular downtime is creating a drain on your IT budget. Perhaps the data you exchange by email is at risk, threatening your ability to comply with GDPR.

What you need is a business-class email system that’s powerful, reliable and adaptable to your requirements. Our recommendation to meet all these needs is Office 365 Exchange Online. This helps you protect your data, at the same time as letting your employees connect with email, calendar and contacts.

Not only is Office 365 Exchange Online reliable and secure — it allows access from any authorised device, wherever your people happen to be.

So what can this system offer you?

1. Keep Your Data Together

Exchange enables you to set up a large inbox and have an archive in place. Instead of having to search for emails in multiple locations, your employees will be have the choice of keeping them in the primary inbox or of archiving them.

Strong retention policies are important, but you don’t want this to slow your employees down. Using Exchange can keep retention powerful and flexible and your people productive at the same time.

2. Protect Sensitive Data

It’s frighteningly easy for an employee to accidentally send sensitive data to the wrong person, breaching your compliance obligations. Exchange’s new DLP features help you prevent this, through deep content analysis that identifies, monitors and safeguards this data.

DLP also includes built-in policies using essential regulatory standards like PII and PCI, and you can add in bespoke policies as required. Users will also be alerted by Outlook’s Policy Tips if they’re in danger of violating policies.

3. Make Compliance Simpler

Compliance regulations, as well as internal compliance, requires that data is pulled together from across your organisation and held secure. Your compliance officers can achieve this much more easily by using the new eDiscovery Centre, which lets you reduce the cost of managing compliance, while at the same time ensuring you’re prepared for anything.

This allows your compliance officers to search data from Exchange, SharePoint and Lync across the organisation, identifying and analysing it. You can hold the data where it is, so you don’t have to create a separate data store, which would also need managing.

4. Manage Email Threats

Spam, phishing and malware such as viruses are a perennial danger to any organisation using email. Exchange backs up the training you give your people with powerful defences against these and many other email threats.

This includes multi-layered filtering against spam and phishing emails, which multiple anti-malware engines identifies and blocks virus attacks. All these defences are constantly updated, so they provide an effective guard against the latest threats — before they even reach your inbox.

5. Enable Collaboration

Collaborations and team-work are vital for efficient business, and using Exchange, SharePoint and Outlook together makes this far more efficient. Exchange handles the messaging, SharePoint provides document storage, co-authoring and versioning, while Outlook coordinates the complete user experience.

This means that new people joining a team or collaboration will both have immediate access to the latest versions of documents and see the previous communications relevant to the project. These tools will provide your employees with the opportunity to increase their productivity, while making it easier for you to manage the data by keeping it in one place.

6. Manage Your Messaging Systems

The Exchange Administration Centre is a web-based administration interface that’s easy to use, keeping all your administration needs together. It allows you to manage your capabilities, such as DLP, Apps for Outlook and site mailboxes.

Access can be controlled by role, meaning your specialists and help-desk staff won’t need full administrative permissions to perform specific tasks that arise. This allows you to delegate management of Exchange with confidence and concentrate on running your business.

7. An Efficient Inbox

It’s essential for your employees’ efficiency and productivity that they’re working with an inbox that’s clean and uncluttered. Even more vital, in today’s highly mobile business world, is that they should have the same experience on any device, in any location.

Using Exchange and Outlook together provides an intuitive, touch-enabled inbox that adapts readily to any device. Relevant information is optimised for different form-factors, while the superb design of Outlook’s desktop interface is extended to the mobile and browser interfaces.

8. Enjoy a Flexible Cloud

Many Cloud packages are inflexible, forcing you to accept elements you don’t need in order to have those you do need. Exchange provides flexible tools and hybrid models that allow you to move to the Cloud on your own terms.

Maybe all you need is overnight onboarding to the Cloud, or maybe your business needs suit a hybrid mailbox deployment, both on site and online. Exchange allows you to integrate calendars, scheduling and meetings between the two with minimal disruption, as well as previewing upgrades before accepting them.

9. It’s Your Office 365 Exchange Online

Exchange can be easily customised to meet your needs. This includes integrating the web-based Apps for Office of your choice into Outlook and the Outlook web app.

This means your users can switch between apps with a minimum of time and effort, as well as allowing a single sign-in across multiple apps, with the option of restricting access to apps where appropriate. Exchange’s extension model offers straightforward plugin access to your web-based Outlook.

All Your Contacts Together

In the modern business world, networks are rarely straightforward, and your users may have contacts stored in other networks. This can slow them down and damage their productivity, if they have to be logging off one network and logging onto another on a regular basis.

Exchange allows them to bring all their contact information together. It will even proactively consolidate it, creating a single contact card that avoids the inefficiency of duplication.

Office 365 Exchange Online is a powerful tool, especially when combined with Outlook, that will streamline your systems, allowing your employees to reduce inefficiency and boost their productivity. If you want to know more about how it could benefit you, you’re very welcome to get in touch with us.

Our New Office!

In October 2018, AGT computer Services Ltd (AGT) proudly moved into a new office based in Lytham St Annes to accommodate our team of Engineers. We’re excited about our new office – it is bright, spacious, comfortable and welcoming. We wanted to show you our new offices to give you an idea of where we’ll be when providing IT support to your company.

This is just a sneak peek and we’ll reveal more once we’ve fully finished and moved in.

our new address is: Lowther House, Back North Crescent, Lytham Saint Annes, FY8 1SD

8 Online Security Myths

While there is certainly not any shortage of threats to your online security, there are also some popular falsehoods that people believe. Here are eight myths about your security that are worth dispelling.

1.    The Risk of Attack is Minimal

Many people tend to think that it is unlikely they will ever be exposed to a hacker attack. While the reasoning behind this seems to be logical—most people are not famous, rich, engaged in an activity that would draw attention to themselves—this is incorrect.

Most hackers don’t go through a list of targets and choose someone based upon who they are or how much they have. Rather, most of attacks are large-scale actions perpetrated with automated tools. Meaning that you have just as much risk of attack as the next person, even if you think you don’t have anything valuable that a hacker might want.

2.      Using an App Instead of a Browser Will Keep Me Safe

Many people tend to think that the security offered by an app is better than that of a browser. This is simply not true: like a browser, an app is a program. And programs can be vulnerable to a security breach. In fact, in some cases, an app can provide much more information to a hacker than a browser—such as an updated location for you at any given moment.

3.      I’m Completely Protected if I Use a Firewall and an Antivirus

While the combination of a firewall and a good antivirus program are a significant step forward in terms of security, you shouldn’t think that you are no longer at risk. To provide the best protection, be sure you are regularly updating your software with any patches the manufacturer puts out. And make smart choices when using software.

4.      My Data is Not Worth Stealing

You might think that you have no sensitive data, but chances are that there’s at least something that would interest a hacker. Between phone numbers, credit card information, addresses, important dates, and other things, you have a hefty block of information saved on your computer. This helps would-be identity thieves figure out how best to impersonate you.

5.      I Only Use a Mac, Therefore I am Safe

For some reason, many Mac users think their machines are hacker-proof. This is simply not the case. In fact, the first known computer virus was detected on a Mac way back in 1982. Macs may enjoy a slight edge over Windows-based systems, by they are by no means bulletproof.

One reason that Macs may have, to date, had fewer security issues is simply because fewer people used them. However, as they continue to grow in popularity, they become bigger targets for hackers. Compounding the problem is the fact that many Mac users—believing in the infallibility of the Mac system—don’t take any security measures at all.

6.      I Can Hide My Wi-Fi and Make It Un-hackable

Making it so your wi-fi network is hidden doesn’t really protect you as much as you might think. Consider that most hackers are already technologically capable, and more than able to find hidden networks. Keep in mind that most networks are hidden, which means that any hacker who is even moderately competent will be aware of this fact (and know how to find your network).

7.      Storing Data in the Cloud is Not Safe

Many people think that data in the cloud is more susceptible to hacker attacks than if it were stored on their desktop or laptop computers. The fact of the matter is, most successful data theft attempts succeed because the user falls prey to a tactic such as phishing or something of a similar nature.

The technology surrounding cloud storage is no less secure than the storage on your computer’s hard drive. As such, enhanced security measures for cloud storage should focus primarily on the behavior of the user and not on the cloud storage technology itself.

8.      If I Use Anti-Virus Software, It Will Make My Computer Slow Down

This myth does have a grain of truth in it: years ago, using a good antivirus program could cause your computer to slow down by as much as 50%. Fortunately, this is not the case anymore. For one thing, protection software is much less cumbersome and resource-intensive than it used to be. For another, phones, laptops, and desktop computers have so much more power now that most users barely notice a difference when they are running an antivirus program.

Educate Yourself

Of course, the above myths are not the only ones that persist when it comes to the world of data security. When you hear something about your data, make sure to take the time to really investigate the claim before you believe it, especially if believing it is going to significantly change the way you use your information technology resources.

Contact the office on 01253 808 472 to arrange a free security audit of your business.

Protect Yourself from Mobile Phone Port-Out Fraud

TSB customers have noted a marked increase in the occurrence of “port-out” fraud in the month of May. This type of fraud involves using a ported telephone number to gain access to unsuspecting victims’ bank accounts.

When engaging in port-out fraud, the fraudster will convince the mobile telephone service provider to move the victim’s number to a SIM card. The fraudster controls this SIM card and then uses it to access the text messages that would otherwise go to the victim. Once the fraudster is able to intercept text messages, he or she can take advantage of password reset services, two-factor authentication practices, and other similar practices in order to gain access to the victim’s online bank accounts, credit card information, and other financial data.

What is Number Porting?

Number porting is not, in and of itself, a bad thing. It is a legitimate service that telecommunications providers offer to their customers. Using number porting, a customer can switch service providers without losing his or her phone number. The old number is simply ported to the new device and/or data network provider. To facilitate this, the old service provider gives the customer a code known as a Porth Authorisation Code (“PAC” for short). The PAC is used to complete the port.

This service was implemented in response to a law passed nearly 15 years ago; the aim of the law was to prevent consumers from being “locked in” to a certain service provider for fear of losing their phone number.

Sadly, fraudsters have discovered that port-out fraud can be very lucrative. As a result of this type of fraud, many people have suffered significant financial loss. One such customer ended up losing £6,000 after a fraudster used the customer’s number and transferred it to a new SIM card.

The Timing of the Port-Out Fraud Increase

Recently, TSB updated its computer systems. An unintended effect of this was to lock 1.9 million users from their accounts. Fraudsters have taken advantage of this to target customers and engaging in phishing and smishing tactics. These tactics allow the fraudsters to then attempt port-out fraud.

Protecting Yourself:

There are a few things you can do in order to help reduce your chances of falling victim to port-out fraud.

  • PAC Code Notifications If you unexpectedly receive a notice regarding a PAC request, you should contact your service provider right away. Inform them of the situation, and then call your financial institutions to keep them updated.
  • Clicking on Links or Downloading Files: If you are not expecting an email or a text with a link in it, don’t click on anything in an unsolicited communication. This includes communications that appear to come from a legitimate source such as your bank.
  • Password or PIN Requests: Your bank will never contact you to ask for your password or PIN number. Likewise, a request to move money to a different account is likely a fraudulent request.
  • SIM Swapping: Port-out fraud is not the same as SIM swapping. Although they are similar, a SIM swap involves fraudulently obtaining a new SIM card which provides access to the victim’s accounts.

Here at AGT Computer Services Ltd. offer free security reviews of your business and devices – get in touch on 01253 808 472 if you would like toset up an appointment.

End of the password?

The W3C and FIDO Alliance announced “WebAuthn” yesterday, a password-free open standard supported by recent versions of Firefox and upcoming versions of Chrome and Microsoft Edge (Safari yet to confirm). WebAuthn can replace passwords with a more secure login method such as biometrics and USB tokens.

Major services such as Facebook and Google already utilise the technology allowing you to log in using a Yubikey token built to the FIDO standard. Using this technology to authenticate your accounts can help reduce account takeovers from phishing attempts and alike.

Concerned about your internal security and account management? Here at AGT Computer Services Ltd, we can help with the setup and management of passwords – have complete control over who has access to passwords and online accounts for your company. Get in touch on 01253 808 472 for more information

Cloud Backup Preston UK

AGT Computer Services LTD offers cloud backup for the Preston UK area. We offer repairs, service and managed plans that include business class support to our commercial clients.

Our business class support offers managed services, remote support and onsite help. We are set up to fully support and manage your IT needs with IT support contracts, IT Helpdesk and top-notch IT engineers. Our server team knows infrastructure, the cloud and supplies and installs servers, cabling and new network upgrades.

We also offer Cloud migrations to our clients, if you need to migrate your onsite Exchange server to Office 365, our team of talented technicians will migrate, setup and configure all your technology to work and we close each project with training.

Our IT support contracts ensure that your issues are resolved by our guaranteed service level agreements and by qualified technical engineers. We also can customize an IT Support package for your company.