Coleman Technologies Blog

First, we’ll talk about how managed IT can provide value for your organization’s project management efforts, and then we’ll tackle how project management software specifically can aid in this.

Managed IT for Project Management
You can’t make progress on a project if your technology solutions are constantly experiencing problems. For example, if an employee is trying to work with Microsoft Office, but the license runs out for the solution, you’ll be unable to get work done with that solution. The same thing could happen for just about any software your business relies on to get the job done, as well as just about any other asset that your project management team needs.

Coleman Technologies can help your business manage its IT so that your assets are always available when you need them most (like in the middle of a project implementation). This means that you won’t have to worry about your technology experiencing any inefficiencies while you’re focused on the project’s implementation. In essence, by effectively doing our job, we can help you get your job done as smoothly and efficiently as possible. This means that instead of focusing on keeping your technology solutions working as intended, you’re focused on getting the job done as quickly as possible, meaning you experience less downtime and save more money for other endeavors.

Project Management Software
Project managers have the responsibility of managing all of this information and connecting the implementation team with all the resources they need to get the job done. This is often easier said than done, but thanks to project management software, your organization can take advantage of a central hub-like interface to connect all resources to users in a centralized fashion.

In essence, project management software helps your team communicate and access resources in the most convenient way possible. Project managers can take a look at progress, assign tasks to specific individuals, check the current state of the project’s budget, and so much more, all through a single software solution. This helps to make sure that projects are completed in a timely manner, keeping your business from having to redo the implementation process multiple times (because we all know that doing something twice wastes time and money better spent elsewhere).

Coleman Technologies can help your business get started with managed IT and project management. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Variants of Ransomware
Unlike other malware threats, ransomware isn’t designed to gain access to a system to steal data outright. Rather, it’s just to convince the user to hand over some cash for the safe return of their data. Businesses struck by ransomware are in danger of losing their data and money completely, as there is no guarantee that the hacker will ever return the data, even if the ransom is paid in full. There are two different types of ransomware--“locker” type ransomware targets the CPU, while “crypto” variants go for the encryption of file systems.

It doesn’t matter which strand you contract. The basic premise is still the same. After the threat is unpackaged and executed on the user’s device or network, it encrypts access to data, processing, or both, and it gives the system its demands in the form of instructions on how to make payment. The user then has to make the decision of whether they actually pay the ransom. If they don’t, there is always the option to restore from a data backup platform, if you have one.

Ransomware is a drastically different kind of malware compared to the more traditional methods of hacking. Unlike malware that wants to keep itself hidden so it can siphon information from a computer or install backdoors, ransomware wants you to know what misfortune has befallen you. Ransomware has grown more common in recent years, and so many strains are now seen in the wild that it’s tough to keep up with. These attacks have targeted municipalities, enterprises, and other organizations, all with the goal of leeching as much money from them as possible.

How Ransomware is Delivered
Ransomware might seem like something created by only the most nefarious hackers, but in reality, it’s spread in much the same way that any other threat would be. Spam messages and targeted email campaigns can initiate a ransomware attack, either through clicking on infected links or downloading suspicious attachments. In these cases, ransomware is typically most effective against businesses that have poor network security practices.

Take spam, for example. There’s no reason your business should be dealing with messages like this on a daily basis. With enterprise-level solutions, they can be outright prevented from even entering your inbox. The same can be said about your employees. With proper training, they shouldn’t be downloading unsolicited attachments or clicking on suspicious links in emails. If you invest some time and resources into proper network security, you can minimize the odds of being infected by ransomware.

The Consequences of Ransomware
The most dangerous aspect of ransomware is the downtime that ensues because of it. If you can’t get your work done due to your files being locked down by ransomware, you’re simply wasting time. The same can be said for any employee on your network. Assuming that the entire network is now encrypted by the ransomware, your whole organization could be left with nothing to do until either a backup is restored or someone hands over the ransom. It’s generally a best practice to not pay the ransom, as there is no guarantee that the hackers on the other end will stay true to their end of the bargain.

Instead, it’s best to take preventative and proactive measures to ensure that ransomware doesn’t become a problem in the first place. A Unified Threat Management (UTM) solution is a great way to keep your network secure from external threats, and employee training can keep influences beyond your direct control (like your employees) from placing your entire business in jeopardy. It’s also imperative that your business have a continuity and redundancy strategy in place, as in a worst-case incident like a ransomware attack, you’ll want to restore affected files and systems from a time before the attack struck.

To learn more about how your organization can stay safe from malware--including ransomware--reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

Statistic #1: 75% of Small Businesses Don’t Have a Continuity Policy
It doesn’t matter what kind of business you run. It could be a small mom-and-pop shop or a large business, the importance of continuity is still the same. Ultimately, it comes down to the possibility of a major setback. If you don’t have continuity, you might have to close down for a few days until conditions have improved (if they improve).

Imagine the following scenarios:

• Let’s say you run a deli or other similar small business. The hardware on your payment card system crashes and you lose your customers’ financial information. How do you think they would react to this? It might not be stolen, but the situation doesn’t help anyone.
• You run a small retail business with several employees. What if one of them checks their email and clicks on a link, installing malware on the computer in the process? Something simple like this can be devastating for a business.

A comprehensive data backup strategy can help you combat threats to your business’ continuity. Everything from hardware failure to employee sabotage should be considered for this plan. In other words, you’re preparing for a worst-case scenario, and no stone should be left unturned.

Statistic #2: Over Half of Companies Have Experienced Downtime Lasting Longer Than a Full Work Day in the Last Five Years
Downtime can end even the strongest business. If you experience operational downtime on a regular basis, you’re not producing anything during that time. This also means that nobody is making sales, and you’re paying people to do nothing. From the perspective of data recovery, if you don’t have your data backed up and ready to be restored, downtime is a business killer. If you don’t have data, you can’t get much done.

Redundancy is a key factor for business continuity. A BDR solution provides a network-attached device that can both back up local data and push it to the cloud. This means that it can be found in either location in the event of a disaster, improving the odds of recovering swiftly.

Statistic #3: Nearly 77% of Malware-Compromised Organizations in 2017 Were Hit By “Fileless” Malware
It’s no surprise that the spread of malware has evolved over the past decade, growing more sophisticated and more difficult to handle. There have been times in the past where antivirus solutions and firewalls have failed to handle some of the more recent additions to hackers’ repertoires of threats, resulting in stolen data and corrupted systems.

That being said, fileless attacks aren’t anything new. These types of attacks don’t leave behind executable files, making them more difficult to trace back to their sources and remove. Here are some of the more popular fileless techniques used:

• Registry-resistant: Attackers store malicious scripts in the registry to help them survive system reboots and make it hard to remove.
• In-memory: Attackers utilize exploits and code-injection to load and execute malware straight from a system’s RAM.
• Living off the Land: By injecting malicious code into legitimate admin tools, an attacker can disseminate malware throughout a system without any warning at all.

Regarding data backup, malware attacks can complicate the recovery of your business. If malware manages to infiltrate your network at multiple endpoints, it can be difficult to root out the issue and get it resolved quickly. A data backup and recovery solution can make it much easier to recover, as long as the malware hasn’t managed to corrupt your backups (hence why you store them off-site). You can effectively eliminate downtime and the costs associated with it, since the network-attached device essentially acts as a server until you can get your hardware replaced or repaired.

Coleman Technologies can help prepare you for even the worst scenarios. To learn more, reach out to us at (604) 513-9428.

What Exactly Is a Legacy System?
A legacy computing system is a euphemism for an outdated computing system. Many organizations that have been in business for a while run into times when the technology they use is either multiple versions behind the current systems available or is simply not available for purchase any longer. Most legacy computing systems, while still having an immense amount of function for a singular company, create problems for migration to new hardware and new cloud environments, and most concerning, for data security.

It Isn’t Always So Simple to Upgrade
Upgrading from a legacy computing system is always going to be costly, but it doesn’t have to be as costly has you may think. Even though it is in the best interest of the business to upgrade to systems that better fit its current needs, moving forward on these upgrades creates a lot of anxiety, given the large costs involved. Beyond these costs, you have a myriad of variables to concern yourself with. These include:

• User productivity: Will the people tasked with using this system take to it quickly, or will there be some very obvious transitional problems? Additionally, will they accept the change? For example, if you’ve had employees using the same hardware and software systems for close to a decade, altering the entire construct, while in the best interests of the business, can sometimes have devastating effects on employee morale.
• Time investment: Typically, a major hardware refresh, or platform migration will come with substantial upfront (and often recurring) costs. That is expected; but, beyond the expected expenses, depending on the project, you may run into some downtime, a major problem for any company trying to migrate from an older IT system to something new.
• Employee dread: When making big investments into infrastructure or networking, some employees may begin to surmise that, once the new technology is implemented that the built-in automation possible with new technology will spell curtains for their jobs. Having an upfront and open dialogue with your staff can set the situation straight before any company-wide panic sets in.
• Committing to the new solution: As stated above, if you’ve gotten this far with the system you have, changing part of the way upstream may leave you only utilizing features that you are comfortable with, when new solutions present organizations with many, many more options to boost productivity and efficiency. If you are going to commit to spending the time and money in upgrading, be sure that you are ready to commit to the new solution.

How Creating a Dedicated Upgrade Strategy Helps
With what seems to be a never-ending list of issues popping up, you decide that abandoning legacy systems for more innovative solutions is in order. You can’t accomplish this by impulsively adding technology.

You need a plan.

In this case, the plan is called an upgrade strategy. It allows you to plan out the steps that you need to take to successfully move on from your old technology. Here is a short list of steps you will need to consider:

• Include your people: Anyone inside (or outside) of your organization that may have a stake in a major system refresh (whether it be hardware, cloud migration, or software) should be in the know. By understanding how the upgrade will affect them, they can prepare their workflow more effectively for the shift.
• Change control planning: What is going to change when the new system is in? If very little, managing the changeover will be simple, but if there are several aspects of your business are going to be altered by the upgrade, having someone in charge of facilitating and readying your staff for that change is a good idea.
• Manage the upgrade: Who is going to be doing the upgrading? Will there be downtime involved? How long will the project take? If it doesn’t take, is there a contingency plan in place? All these questions should be answered well in advance of any work commencing on your business’ computing infrastructure.
• Make sure your backup works: Your best bet is to back up your files, then back them up again. Losing data when trying to help your business isn’t good for anyone.
• Document everything: Not only should you document the upgrade process, you should document all workflow differences for every position touched by the new systems. This strategy provides transparency throughout your organization and assures a degree of continuity you’ll be glad to have if some element of the project goes wrong.

If you follow these six steps you should be in a pretty solid position to upgrade away from your legacy systems. The IT professionals at Coleman Technologies can make this process much simpler as we have the technology and the proficiency to properly get your systems upgraded, your data migrated, and your IT working the way you need it to be a benefit for your business. Call us today at (604) 513-9428 to learn more.

In the west, the Dark Web is mostly known as a sinister network used to traffic in all kinds of illegal contraband, but in other parts of the world it is often looked upon as the last bastion of privacy in what can be horribly repressive political regimes. Overall, the Dark Web in practice is a construct that supports user anonymity.

Keep in mind that we are certainly not endorsing use of the Dark Web. We just want you to be aware that the Internet you routinely access, or what we will call the surface web in this blog, is in fact a very small piece of the enormity of the web itself.

A Complete Look at the World Wide Web
If the Internet that we can all access only makes up of a very small percentage of the entire Internet, what is hosted on the rest of it? In what is known as the “Deep Web”, most of the Internet is filled with legitimate data; mostly in the form of unindexed content. Data that is encrypted such as online banking, pay-to-play video services, and other forms of everyday Internet use make up a large portion of the Deep Web. With the revelations that there was an online black market where people could get almost anything, many people started confusing the deep web with the dark web, or darknet. This misconception has many people confused about what exactly the purpose is for the seemingly bottomless Internet, but with most of it being taken up by cloud environments and other encrypted services, the notion that the Deep Web is somehow nefarious is misplaced.

What is the Dark Web?
On the other hand, the Dark Web is also hosted on the Deep Web, beyond sight of the average Internet user. While the surface web is unencrypted and able to be accessed by just about anyone who wants to use it, the Dark Web is accessed only through encrypted browsers. You may have heard of specific ransomware programs asking you to download the Tor web browser to make payments. This is because Tor is one of the web browsers able to browse the Dark Web, although it should be mentioned that it’s not exclusively used for the purposes of paying ransomware demands.

Tor is what is known as an onion router. Essentially in order to maintain a user’s anonymity, an onion router will pass user queries through several intermediary accounts to hide the user from being tracked. It’s like passing each command through the several layers of an onion, thus the moniker.

What Else is On the Dark Web?
The services offered on the Dark Web are varied, but they all generally have one thing in common--most of them are illegal. If you can think of it, and it’s not on the normal World Wide Web, chances are there is a place on the Dark Web for it. Some of the services provided on the Dark Web can include, but are not limited to, the following:

• Illegal pornography
• Bitcoin services (not outright illegal, but often used for money laundering purposes)
• Botnets that can be bought or purchased for nefarious use
• Markets for drugs, weapons, and other illegal contraband
• Scams and other phishing threats are rampant on the Dark Web, so even those who are looking to take advantage of these services have to be careful

Most notable for businesses is that hacking services can be acquired for even non-experienced users, meaning that anyone with an agenda has access to services that could cripple your business. It’s more important today than ever before to make sure that your organization is taking the necessary measures to protect itself from these threats.

With so much information hidden from view, there is a significant chance that there may be information out there that may end up becoming problematic for your business. At Coleman Technologies, we can scan to ensure that your passwords or other personal information isn’t readily available. Call us today to learn more at (604) 513-9428.