Author: rory-admin

  • The details on AT&Ts massive outage last week and the compensation coming your way if you’re an AT&T customer

    The details on AT&Ts massive outage last week and the compensation coming your way if you’re an AT&T customer

    As our headline suggests, AT&T experienced a massive outage Feb. 22 which affected their cell network nationwide. The outage affected over 70,000 reported customers (the actual numbers are certainly much higher) and left many unable call, text or even reach 911 for 12 hours. Many police departments report seeing an increase in 911 calls as some customers tried dialing to see if the call would go through.

    AT&T had been seeing an increase in outages affecting their networks ahead of the major outage that occurred last Thursday. The outage lasted just under 12 hours and it was enough time for speculation as to the cause to run rampant across the internet.

    AT&T has confirmed the outage was not due to a cyber incident but instead a botched update that took their networks offline. They also confirmed no customer data was lost In the event. The outage hit consumers and business customers alike.

    According to AT&T’s own landing page about the incident, consumers will be seeing a credit issued to their accounts automatically ($5.00 at the time of writing) and they say they will work with business customers individually to compensate for the down time.

    For some customers that might feel like too little to compensate for the inconvenience caused and at least one state’s attorney general agrees, with New York Attorney General Letitia James announcing they’ll be conducting an investigation into the matter.

    “Americans rely on cell service providers for consistent and reliable service to help them with nearly every aspect of their daily lives,” New York Attorney General Letitia James said. “Nationwide outages are not just an inconvenience, they can be dangerous, and it’s critical that we protect consumers when an outage occurs.”

    There are also some concerns surrounding the credit that’s going to be issued and whether scammers may take advantage of the situation for their own gain. Consumers should be extra vigilant when opening and responding to emails relating to credit or compensation from AT&T. At the time of writing AT&T has said consumers do not need to do anything on their end to receive the credit. We especially want to warn against clicking on any links with the promise of compensation, which is inadvisable well beyond the current situation.

    Consumers should also avoid responding to text messages or phone calls requesting their information to receive the credit, again AT&T will not be contacting customers directly, and any communications should be directed at official lines of communication. If you’re not sure how to contact AT&T, we suggest referring to a recent bill.

    For businesses, downtime like this can be more than an inconvenience, it can affect your business in major ways and be financially very costly.

    At Valley Techlogic, we have strategies  to prevent outages from affecting your business or your bottom line and our clients rely on our expert advice for navigating technology solutions for their business. Reach out to us today to learn more.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • China sponsored hacking data dump highlights the importance of seeing the bigger picture when it comes to your cyber security protections

    China sponsored hacking data dump highlights the importance of seeing the bigger picture when it comes to your cyber security protections

    It’s not a new concept to many Americans that cyber warfare crosses all borders and boundaries and affects many areas of our day to day, from the increase in attacks at the start of Russia’s war with Ukraine, to concerns related to our voting systems and democracy, to even leaving US citizens nationwide transfixed over the implications of an errant balloon. Overseas sponsored cyber-attacks tend to strike a different chord with us than attacks that originate stateside.

    Many of us have heard of applications on our phones being rife with spyware connected to China, conversations about apps such as Temu or TikTok and how to safeguard our information from not only being sold and used in overseas ventures but even whether these apps are a potential threat vector have lead to talks about whether they should be banned outright. Again, the fear surrounding the unknown nature of the threat these apps may or may not pose is often palpable.

    Awareness is only one part of the equation when it comes to overseas invasions of a digital nature, agreeing on what to do about it, how to prevent it or whether it can even be prevented in our interconnected world is no small matter and something that is constantly debated at a government level.

    We don’t often have the proof needed to back up the claims that are made, however, that these cyber-attacks are occurring. As you would expect the threat actors behind attacks on other countries are experts in their field and covering their tracks can often be a matter of life and death for them.

    That’s why the leak that occurred this week of a 600-page document detailing a complex network of for hire hackers used to spy on Chinese citizens and conduct global cyber attacks is so shocking. The document which was posted to GitHub is being analyzed and experts are weighing in on what is nearly a first of its kind look at the inner operations behind global cyber warfare conspiracies that have proliferated news cycles for decades.

    This leak occurs during heightening tensions with the US and China and is being dubbed “the tip of the iceberg” by FBI Director Chris Wray who reported in October that Chinese cyber operations are the “biggest hacking program in the world by far, bigger than ever other major nation combined” in an interview with CBS News.

    You may be reading this now wondering, what does this have to do with me? Well besides the implications when it comes to our global security, cyber attacks don’t occur in a vacuum.

    Hackers are constantly looking for new ways to infiltrate systems and the aftermath is new threats are being released for public consumption. Not every hacker is an expert, and many attacks don’t have financial motivation and are simply orchestrated to disrupt.

    We need to come together as a community and make sure we’re doing everything possible to prevent our systems from being infiltrated and our devices from being used in potential attacks.

    Even if your business is unlikely to be targeted by an overseas orchestrated attack, that doesn’t mean it cannot be used to assist a specific hacker’s operations and the more ways we shut down cyber attacks as a profitable enterprise the better off we all will be.

    If you want to know how you can help or where to start, here are 10 items you can implement in 2024 that will be up your cyber security protections 10-fold.

    If you need help with the implementation of cyber security measures in your business, Valley Techlogic is the resource you’ve been looking for. We are experts in the field of cyber security and for helping businesses improve their cyber security protections and comply with government regulations and frameworks. Reach out to us today to learn more.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • 5 Reasons to have an annual meeting with your IT service provider and how to make the most of it

    5 Reasons to have an annual meeting with your IT service provider and how to make the most of it

    If you’re a small business owner and you work with an outsourced IT provider you’re not alone, statistics vary but it’s estimated up to 60% of small businesses utilize a third-party resource for their IT.

    This can look different depending on your particular size and needs, for some businesses it can look like support for existing IT staff, for other businesses their entire IT needs are shifted onto a third party IT resource. There is no one size fits all solution, the needs of your business are unique and your IT support provider should be a resource for helping you grow your business and keep up with the technology demands of modern work places.

    That is why it’s so important you meet with your IT team at the minimum annually, although we really could make a strong argument for quarterly (especially during times of intense growth or change within your business). Keeping them in the loop allows them to provide for your business adequately and on the opposite end you can learn about their recommendations for your business, which are often times free or low-cost solutions and improvements to your technology infrastructure and security.

    Even for recommendations that carry a cost you can plan for these things in advance rather than having it come up as an unpleasant surprise later on, an example would be let’s say their reporting has discovered your on-premises server is struggling to keep up with your demand or even showing signs of failure. This could be talked about in a meeting ahead of time but instead it might become a major headache when the server fails spontaneously and has to be replaced on the spot. Maybe you would have thought about making the move to the cloud this year or could have planned out your hardware purchases to coincide with more favorable timing, you’ll never know but hindsight is 20/20 and you will probably make a different choice going forward.

    So, what are the 5 reasons to have an annual meeting with your IT service provider?

    1. Future Planning: As we outlined in the scenario above, having this meeting allows you to create a plan for the year ahead. If your business has a busy season (most of us do) you can schedule any maintenance or downtime during the off-season. You can plan out hardware purchasing, software upgrades, cybersecurity improvements and more.
    2. Review Documentation: Your annual meeting is also a great time to review any reports your IT service provider has created for your business. At Valley Techlogic we’re constantly tracking items we’re doing on the back end for our clients, the regular maintenance, our 24/7 cyber security monitoring, backup and data services we provide just to name a few.
    3. Project Planning: We also suggest touching on any projects you would like to complete, such as switching out your traditional landline system to VoIP, security cameras (if they provide that service) and any installation or infrastructure projects. Even if you’re not ready to commit to them now, keeping your IT provider in the loop will allow them to plan for these projects on their end as well and keep them in mind when doing their own scheduling.
    4. Service Delivery Improvements: Whether you’re currently happy with your IT providers’ services or not, are they aware of it? Your annual meeting is a great time to review the services you have with your provider and whether they’re currently meeting your expectations (if they’re not, maybe it’s time to make a change and our Switching IT providers kit can help you do it).
    5. Reviewing Past Work: In the same vein, this annual meeting should also be used for reviewing the work they have done for you this last year and any follow-up requests. Despite all the tools and widgets we use in the IT industry, we’re still not omnipresent and sometimes a request is better delivered verbally. They will probably have in their meeting notes items they wish to go over and revisit to make sure you were satisfied with the outcome as well.

    We could address even more benefits of having this an annual meeting with your provider but these five will greatly improve the services they’re able to provide for your business and get you the most value out of the service you’re paying for.

    If you’re working with an IT service provider who doesn’t give you the option of meeting annually, it would be our recommendation you look for a new provider. Our Switching IT Provider’s kit makes it easy to switch (we even provide you with a template letter for discontinuing your service) and if you’re looking for an IT service provider who makes meeting with clients regularly a priority, than why not give Valley Techlogic a shot by clicking here or the image below.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • Toothbrush or threat vector? Turns out it was both for 3 million smart toothbrushes utilized in a recent DDoS attack

    Toothbrush or threat vector? Turns out it was both for 3 million smart toothbrushes utilized in a recent DDoS attack

    When it comes to cyber attacks it seems like anything can be utilized (see Amazon Fire Stick on the recent attack on Rockstar Games) but even our toothbrushes?

    It’s true, while details are still coming out it’s been reported that 3 million malware infected toothbrushes were used to bring down a Swiss company’s website at the cost of millions of Euros.

    No details have emerged yet on either the brand of toothbrush or the specific company that was targeted but we know the toothbrushes were running on Java which is a popular operating system for IoTs (Internet of Things) devices.

    It highlights the point that any device connected to the internet can be used for malicious intent. We’ve all probably heard about threat actors utilizing home security cameras or baby monitors to gain unwanted access to our homes or to just be creeps. Or how about the study on smart fridges that found out they were collecting a lot of your data unknowingly.

    With so many of us having smart devices scattered throughout our homes it’s long overdue that we think about what security needs to be in place to prevent these devices from being a danger to us or others. That includes both the obvious devices like our computers and the less obvious devices like our internet connected home gadgets.

    In a recent study by the SANS Internet Storm Center they tested how long it would take for an unprotected, unpatched PC to become infected with malware when exposed to the internet. Their calculations came back that it would only take 20 minutes on average for that PC to be infected, this is down from 40 minutes back in 2003.

    Even if you consider yourself tech savvy and “careful”, attackers are relentless when it comes to looking for the latest exploits and staying ahead of the curve. It’s the unfortunate truth that they can put more time into their nefarious activities than you as a business owner can dedicate to outsmarting them.

    For them it’s a numbers game and the more nets they cast and the more avenues they look for to gain access the more likely they are to be successful, and even items such as a toothbrush are not safe.

    That is, unless you follow these steps when securing your network and IoT devices.

    On top of these simple steps to secure your network and maintain your devices, you can also work with a provider like Valley Techlogic.

    We utilize best in class tools that prevent cyber attacks from occurring in the first place. Our partners have the resources to stay on top of and mitigate threats (even zero-day attacks) and with ongoing maintenance included in our service plans we can prevent your devices from becoming a threat vector to you or to another business.

    Schedule a meeting with us today to learn more.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • CMMC Changes for 2024 Summarized

    CMMC Changes for 2024 Summarized

    On December 26th 2023 the DoD (Department of Defense) dropped a slightly belated Christmas gift on defense contractors and vendors in the form of big changes to the CMMC (Cybersecurity Maturity Model Certification) program.

    Whether the timing of the info dump was intentional or not remains a matter of debate but what’s not up for debate is that these changes are now the law of the land when it comes to reaching your CMMC goals (at least until they’re possibly challenged in court but we wouldn’t hold our breath on that). If you have not started working on them yet this is your sign to get started ASAP.

    The 234-page document covered a variety of updates to the program, including splitting up tier 2 into self-attestation OR requiring contractors and vendors to obtain a third-party audit, but for those actively working on it we’re happy to say the controls themselves remain unchanged.

    The vast majority of contractors (63% as estimated by the DoD) will still fall under CMMC Level 1 but a new change will not allow these contractors to submit a POA&M (Plan of Action and Milestones) to comply with unmet milestones going forward.

    For contractors falling under Level 2 and 3 they can still submit a POA&M but while it previously allowed contractors to set their own timing for completing the actions required the new rules state all POA&M must have a plan for completion within 180 days of the initial assessment.

    This is a huge change and will make it very difficult for contractors who are trying to rush to get their accreditation to comply with existing contracts. There are also new limitations on POA&Ms and some controls don’t allow them to be completed under a POA&M at all.

    DoD contractors and vendors will have to rethink their entire plan for coming into compliance with CMMC this year.

    The good news is that if you do meet all of the new hurdles and pass your assessment you will be in the clear for 3 years.

    For those in the CMMC level 2 category (an estimated 37% of those affected) whether or not you can still self-attest in SPURs (Supplier Performance Risk System) or will need a third-party assessment is dependent entirely on whether the CUI (Controlled Unclassified Information) found in your contract warrants one or the other as determined by the DoD.

    As these rules are still rolling out Level 2 contracts will most likely be required to self-attest to start until the program gains its footing when we’ll start to see more required to take on a third-party assessment. Contractors should be prepared either way as they perform the actions needed to qualify for certification.

    There’s good news for Level 3 contractors in that not much has changed for them, and the program overall is still based on guidance from NIST SP 800-172. New language was added that CMMC Level 3 contractors must maintain a perfect Level 2 score in addition to achieving 20 out of 24 points to meet the qualifications for Level 3. Only a small minority of contractors will need to worry about achieving Level 3 and we have no doubt those that qualify know who they are and were already well prepared for this news.

    The proposed roll out of these changes and CMMC as a whole is under a phased implementation window that will expand across a three-year period. Beginning with the DoD looking at those soliciting new DoD contracts to have a Level 1 or Level 2 self-attested score all the way up to the inclusion of CMMC in all new and existing contracts by year three.

    It should also be noted that those who misrepresent their level of readiness under the CMMC program can face some pretty sharp penalties for doing so.

    To add salt to the wounds the DoD have given themselves a grace period up to 2027 to begin rolling out these changes within their own organization – rules for thee but not for me? Perhaps a little bit.

    These weren’t the only changes to be announced in December, if you would like to see and read the full 234-page document yourself you can find it here.

    Either way the time to get your ducks in a row was several years ago (CMMC 2.0 was released in 2021) but short of inventing a time machine to do so the second best time to start is now.

    Valley Techlogic has worked with clients on readiness for a variety of cybersecurity compliance frameworks including but not limited to CMMC, HIPAA, NIST, CIS and more. If you would like to learn more about how we can help you meet your CMMC goals, reach out today.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • Can outsourcing your IT save you time and money? 4 proven benefits to outsourcing your IT

    Can outsourcing your IT save you time and money? 4 proven benefits to outsourcing your IT

    Where and how to spend your technology budget is often a constrained topic for our clients and prospects, often the need to improve things is apparent by the time they’re having a discussion with us but there’s still a hesitancy that’s difficult to overcome.

    Investing in your business requires a lot of thought and consideration even when it’s a topic you know well, but for many the topic of IT is a somewhat intimidating subject even during the best of times. When IT is causing you woes it can feel like an insurmountable task to evaluate a solution to solve it given how many different paths there are to take.

    Is it hardware being finicky or failing, a recent cyber scare, ongoing data loss causing you consternation and keeping you up at night? Even minor technology conflicts such as keeping up with ongoing maintenance or replacing a device for an employee can demand hours of research and head banging and still not land you in a place where you feel totally confident in your choices.

    If you have an IT person in your company or one you work with it can still be difficult to keep up with it all in modern workplaces. Devices fail, the maintenance is never ending, and choices will have to be made. There is no one and done solution to it but outsourcing your IT to a company who does this as their bread and butter can not only save you a lot of time and hassle – it can even save you money.

    It may seem counterintuitive as there will be a cost to outsourcing your IT, but there is no avoiding making an investment when it comes to technology in 2024. Below are 5 proven benefits to outsourcing your IT.

    1. No hiring, training, or managing additional staff: Anyone who’s been involved in onboarding a new employee knows what a time sink it is, from the initial search to interviews to training. With a provider like Valley Techlogic we handle hiring and training technical staff members and have a rigid standard for those we work with so only the best people represent the face of our business to our clients.
    2. Teamwork and combined experience: IT like many other career paths covers a whole spectrum of knowledge that would be impossible for one person to master in totality. We have a team of qualified people who specialize in a wide variety of topics and decades of combined experience. For many small businesses hiring for all of these roles would be extremely cost prohibitive but under one service plan with us you have access to our full team.
    3. Many solutions under one umbrella: We also invest heavily in solutions that we provide to our clients, again for one flat monthly fee. Many of these solutions are not available other than through a provider like us and are beyond your typical anti-virus solutions that only scratch the surface. Ongoing, real-time monitoring and threat detection. Backup solutions that include immutable access (so they cannot be tampered with) and more real-time your needs exactly: We tailor our plans to fit your needs exactly and can scale up or down with you. We base our solutions on how many users we’re supporting, so as you grow our plan will grow with you providing exactly the right amount of coverage.
    4. Ongoing risk prevention: Our plans include all of your IT maintenance, so if something is amiss such as a device failing, we can offer our recommendation for replacing it before it becomes an issue – this is especially noteworthy when it comes to critical devices such as an onsite server.

    In total if you looked at each facet of a solution like ours compared to trying to invest time or money to replicate it bit by bit on your own, the costs would be exorbitant. This is why we see so many businesses who have inadequate solutions for IT and who try to cut corners, this is not a category where you should try to go it alone.

    Reach out today to learn more about what Valley Techlogic can do for your specific business by clicking here or the image below.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • Which Microsoft 365 subscription is right for you in 2024?

    Which Microsoft 365 subscription is right for you in 2024?

    Microsoft cemented its place in businesses with their productivity software suite Office in the 1990’s, combining many existing tools such as Word and Excel and PowerPoint under one umbrella and making it clear that Microsoft was not just it’s operating system Windows but a source for businesses looking to consolidate their work under one platform and expand their tech capabilities as computers became more ubiquitous in modern workspaces.

    Now running your business without utilizing Outlook, Word, Excel, Powerpoint and Sharepoint is unthinkable for many office’s, even today’s article was composed in a Word document before being posted here for your reading (and as we’ve mentioned before, we’re long time Microsoft partners here at Valley Techlogic).

    The landscape for Office has changed since the 90’s, Microsoft has been part of the growing trend to move away from steep one-time software purchases in favor of ongoing subscription models (with ongoing benefits). While it may seem like a better idea to buy your software one time and keep it forever, it’s rarely that simple.

    Software, like hardware, is on a timeline the moment it’s released. Companies will usually offer support for their software for a set number of years and then it will reach a point where they discontinue it in favor of new offerings. Technology is always improving and supporting outdated software is not cost effective for technology companies and risky from a cybersecurity point of view. New software will have the benefit of having protections against modern day threats that older, often buggier software will not have.

    With a subscription model, you are paying over time to constantly receive the latest and greatest offerings available. It’s more expensive overall when compared to paying a one time cost and using something for several years, but in turn for that added expense Microsoft in particular has offered many benefits to their subscription that you cannot get with a stand alone Office software purchase.

    Here are the benefits found for each of the three most popular Microsoft 365 subscription types, Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Microsoft 365 Business Standard & Microsoft 365 Business Premium.

    1. Microsoft 365 Business Basic: Microsoft 365 Business Basic is Microsoft’s no frills, low cost offering that is perfect for employees who may not be using a computer as often. This subscription type will get them an Outlook email and web versions of Word, Excel and more (so they can still be in the loop on what’s going on in your office) but if you have someone who’s not glued to a desk or are a part-time employee, this level of subscription is our recommendation. Microsoft 365 Business Basic started at $7.20 a month per user.
    2. Microsoft 365 Business Standard: Standard is truly the middle option; it includes the desktop versions of Office software but it’s missing out on the additional cyber security protections found under premium (which we believe are an excellent value). For your average employee Standard is a good option. Microsoft 365 Business Standard started at $15 a month per user.
    3. Microsoft 365 Business Premium: Microsoft 365 Business Premium is we believe, the best value when it comes to Microsoft’s subscription-based offerings. Not only do you get the all the benefits of Office but you also get superior cyber security detection delivered right to your device that’s constantly being updated to keep up with new threats with all the power of Microsoft behind it. It’s an excellent companion piece to your current cybersecurity protections and we believe this subscription is a must have for your management and C-suite level employees. Microsoft 365 Business Premium starts at $26.40 a month per user.

    Also, it’s important to note that Microsoft does offer a discount if you choose to enroll in an annual plan.

    As we mentioned, Valley Techlogic is experts in all things Microsoft and Windows, and we have been a Microsoft partner since 2004. If you would like assistance in choosing the right Microsoft 365 plan for your office, we’d be more than happy to assist. Schedule a consultation with us today.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • The biggest cyber security breaches of 2023

    The biggest cyber security breaches of 2023

    Now that it’s 2024 we’re reflecting on the biggest events in tech that occurred in 2024, and in today’s article we want to talk about the biggest cyber security breaches that occurred in 2023.

    Before we get into it, let’s talk about the hard numbers.  Across the board, cyber threats are up year over year and 2023 was no exception. Here are 8 eye opening statistics on cyber threats as of writing:

    1. The global average cost of a data breach is $4.45 million and a ransomware attack $5.13 million as of 2023.
    2. The average lifecycle (discovery to remediation) of a data breach is 277 days.
    3. 74% of data breaches still involve a human element in 2023.
    4. 64% of Americans have not checked to see if there data has been lost in a data breach.
    5. Almost half (46%) of all cyberattacks were on US targets.
    6. More than 1 million identities were stolen in 2023.
    7. 30% of those people were a victim of a data breach in 2023.
    8. 54% of office works express feeling “cybersecurity fatigue” in regards to news of data breaches.

    Unfortunately, public apathy towards cybersecurity preventions from ongoing, sustained attacks and the lucrative nature of successful attacks performed on business entities makes for a potent recipe in these attacks only continuing to increase in 2024.

    We want to take a look back at the biggest breaches that occurred in 2023 and also present our solution for preventing an attack of this nature from occurring to your business.

    1. MGM – Occurring in September, the unusual way MGM was breached made headlines because it did not initially involve a computer. Instead, attackers posed as people of importance to the company via a phone call and gained access to their systems, causing a loss of reputation, $100 million in damages, and 5 class action lawsuits to be filed.
    2. ChatGPT – Not even AI is safe when it comes to targeted attacks from hackers, in March of 2023 a bug in their source code exposed the personal information of a 1.2% of their Plus Subscribers including home addresses, full names and email addresses.
    3. MOVEit File Transfer System – The fallout from this breach that occurred in June 2023 extended far beyond the file system management software company itself, including California’s biggest pension fund holders CalPERS and CalSTRS.
    4. RockStar – RockStar is another example like MGM that proved hackers don’t need expensive equipment to breach insecure systems, with this breach being conducted using a cellphone, a hotel room TV and an Amazon FireStick.
    5. The City of Oakland – An entire city was the target of a hack that occurred in February of 2023, the sustained attack which lasted more than a week prompted the city to even declare a state of emergency while systems remained offline. Class actions lawsuits were also filed in the aftermath of the attack in this case.

    These are just five attacks that made major news last year, but there were thousands more that did not make major news. When an attack occurs on a small business many times it leaves the owners with no choice but to close up shop (60% of small businesses that are the victim of a cyber attack close within 6 months).

    As IT providers it’s a frustrating topic for us as so much of this is preventable. If more preventions were put in place and it was more difficult for attackers to realize their goals than it would have a cumulative positive effect overall. As the saying goes, an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. Let us help you meet your cybersecurity goals in 2024 by clicking on the image below.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • 7 Tech New Year’s Resolutions to Accomplish in 2024

    7 Tech New Year’s Resolutions to Accomplish in 2024

    Happy New Year! It may not feel like 2024 yet to you (it certainly doesn’t to us) but the new year is upon us and with that comes a renewed opportunity to address some of the tech items that have been pushed under the rug to deal with “later”.

    Whether you’re committed to trying to up your game this year or clean up areas of your business where the tech has fallen behind, we have 7 New Year’s resolutions that will push your business forward and maximize your efficiency and growth in 2024.

    1. New Year, New Tech? Starting off, the start of the year is a great time to do some housekeeping and figure out what devices may be holding you and your staff back. Vendors like Dell, Lenovo and more often have start of the year sales and dragging that aging PC or laptop through another year versus starting clean with a new device (with vastly superior hardware) just doesn’t make sense.
    2. There’s an app for EVERYTHING. Next, it’s a good idea to see what processes you’re still trudging through manually and evaluate whether some of those manual tasks could instead be modernized with an app. Whether it be pen and paper calendar or planner (Microsoft Outlook has both built in!) or tools for managing budgets, inventory, scheduling and more – going digital with your processes in 2024 is the smart choice.
    3. Connect with your customers. When it comes to engaging with your clients, reaching them where they are is a powerful tool. For a lot of business owners stepping out from the shadows and putting more of themselves online is a scary thought, but many customers want to identify with your brand or with you directly not just with your product. Who better to promote your brand than you? Improving your online presence for your business and yourself is a powerful sales tool you should take advantage of in 2024.
    4. Are you cyber aware or cyber scared? If cybersecurity has been a topic you’ve been avoiding or interacting with as little as possible, it’s really past time to change that. The threats to your business aren’t going away and a little proactive maintenance in this area can have a HUGE impact. One thing you can do today (as in right now) to bolster your protection? Turn on multi-factor authentication on all the accounts where it’s available. This simple action will give you over 50% improvement in protecting your accounts from being compromised vs not having it.
    5. In the same vein, data loss is not inevitable. We get it, we’re all inundated with news of this breach or that data leak where everyone’s information was dumped into the internet ether – we just would argue that this scenario is NOT an inevitability. In fact, in 2024 we would also guess many insurance companies would agree as rules for being covered continue to grow stricter. If you don’t have a plan for your backups and data in 2024 you need to make one, STAT.
    6. Tech improvements can have a positive effect on your ROI. Whether it be ditching traditional telecom in favor of VoIP (our customers have paid as little as a 10th of what they were spending for phones with our solution), utilizing digital training to increase your employees confidence and performing, or deploying communication tools in your business that allow for more efficient back and forth – there are a lot of areas where tech won’t just make your business run better it will also make your business more profitable.
    7. You can’t do it alone, take this piece of advice. If nothing else the best resolution you can make regarding your tech in 2024 is acknowledging that it might be too much for one person, whether that’s you or a non-technical staff member that’s trying to help out – to keep up with maintenance alone is often times not a one-person job let alone making improvements. The best bang for your buck in 2024 will be bringing in additional assistance.

    If your business is located in the Central Valley that’s where Valley Techlogic can assist. We provide support for ALL the topics we’ve listed above and more, and when you sign up with us you will have access to our whole team – often times for much less than it would be to hire a single dedicated IT staff person.

    If you’re curious what we can do for your business we’re also offering $100 cash to business owners that simply hear what we have to offer, no strings attached. Click on the image below to get started.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.

  • In 2023 some of the biggest cyber-attacks were orchestrated with “low tech” methods

    In 2023 some of the biggest cyber-attacks were orchestrated with “low tech” methods

    Whether you’re “tech aware” or not, most of us know that the human element is one of the riskiest elements of our business when it comes to our data being compromised.

    2023 proved that in spades with many of the largest attacks of the year being orchestrated with “low tech” methods – whether that be social engineering as we saw with MGM or literally low tech as with the attack on Rockstar that was conducted with a cellphone, TV and an Amazon Firestick.

    Attacks such as the one on MGM are conducted with social engineering and the attacker doesn’t need to possess any particularly strong tech skills to pull an attack of that nature off. These attacks are usually accomplished through persistence – the attacker sometimes researches their target and reaches out to decision makers or those close to decision makers to try and gain access through Vishing, Phishing, and other methods (see our chart below for examples).

    They may also “bruteforce” their way in though not in the typical way you might think, compromised credentials are often found very cheaply on the web and many people use the same password for everything. The bad actor will again look for specific targets and then try to purchase credentials that will match their target.

    A common social engineering attack is orchestrated as follows:

    1. The attacker will research their target. This includes trying to figure out who is a decision maker or close to a decision maker. They may also look for details about you found on social media (such as family and friends names they can use to make their attack appear more legitimate).
    2. The attacker will reach out to the victim using what they have learned or try any credentials they’ve managed to find. They may pose as someone you trust and can even spoof that person’s email.
    3. They will use their access to infiltrate your systems or use your account to continue pursuing their target. They may not immediately make themselves known – many attacks are orchestrated over months or years to produce a bigger payout.
    4. Once they have successfully infiltrated your systems the attack may proceed in a variety of ways, whether that be trying to ransom back your compromised data or systems, threatening to release stolen data online if they don’t receive a payout, posing as you to your clients to expand their reach and more.
    5. The attack only ends when you can successfully remediate/remove their access.

    This attack is the end game for many attackers but not all attacks have this level of energy put towards them, phone scams and simple email phishing scams can look to steal your credit card or banking info for a quick payout and these sorts of attacks are conducted en masse often by attackers located overseas. Scams like these are still a variety of social engineering and quite effective – and again any data they manage to get in the process can also be sold on the dark web allowing these attackers to “double dip” on the profits they receive from their nefarious efforts.

    As we mentioned above many attackers are not conducted on a quick timeline, attackers know they can receive a bigger payout the more enmeshed they are in with the victim’s systems and data. Your system could be compromised right now, and you may not even know it.

    Data loss remediation and protection is just two of the cyber security offerings Valley Techlogic provides to help us protect our clients from social engineering and other cyber based attacks. Reach out today to learn more.

    Looking for more to read? We suggest these other articles from our site.

    This article was powered by Valley Techlogic, an IT service provider in Atwater, CA. You can find more information at https://www.valleytechlogic.com/ or on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/valleytechlogic/ . Follow us on Twitter at https://x.com/valleytechlogic.