An IT Support Blog from London

Data centre optimisation and consequential benefits for businesses

With so much focus on hacking and internet security, many firms of 10 - 100 people will feel that they have put a lot of effort into making their data as secure as possible. Unfortunately, internet security is a moving target, where the threat may be characterised as agile and continually evolving. Consequently, it is impossible for networks to remain impenetrable.

Standard IT best practice, such as upgrading and patching operating systems and applications, and maintaining a reliable backup and Disaster Recovery capability, are all layers that help to ensure that a firm is in a position to resume normal operations within an acceptable timeframe, should it be the victim of an attack.

Privacy Shield a more formal compliance framework

The ‘borderless’ internet has created legal problems for nation-states across the globe. Tax laws have brought all sorts of problems for international businesses as well as tax authorities and governments.

The laws on privacy are no less challenging. In the UK, the Data Protection Act, as enforced by the ICO, has been the cornerstone of safeguarding privacy. International standards are bounded by Privacy Shield and the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR).

It is an area of some confusion. Here we help to untangle it with some key facts about Privacy Shield and GDPR.

The cloud marches on… the question is where next?

The cloud is perhaps the fastest growing technology trend of the last decade. When the world was dealing with the aftermath of the credit crunch and reeling with the blows from The Great Recession, businesses still needed the latest technology tools to ensure they could be competitive.

Shadow IT: Questionable practice in a business context

The vast majority of computer users routinely use cloud services of some description. Whether it’s a Gmail account or a file transfer service, almost all of us use free cloud-based tools. This might be OK for personal use, however, in a business context, such an approach is highly questionable. Why?

The problem with simple passwords

The issue of passwords is something of an evergreen problem for technology users. People often choose obvious, simple passwords that are easy to remember. Research has shown that a group of 10,000 words are used by 98.8% of people as passwords. This means that a hacker with software written for the purpose could automate the process of trying every one of these, something known as a ‘brute force’ attack, and would be certain of being able to hack into almost 99 out of every 100 accounts.

Clarity and truth on some cloud computing myths

A lot has been said and written about cloud computing. Some is true, and some is not. Here we help to provide clarity about the subject by dispelling 5 myths about the cloud.

Myth 1: The cloud is insecure

The myth persists that the cloud is somehow insecure. In fact, the cloud is more secure because security measures in place at properly secured cloud data centres exceed those found in the vast majority of ordinary business premises.

The facts about IT security

IT security is a topic of conversation that is likely to be a cause for concern for companies of all sizes. There is a perception that larger businesses have superior security, but this isn’t always true. Just ask telecoms giant TalkTalk who were hacked in 2015 and had significant amounts of data stolen, leading to some customers falling victim to fraud.

This shows that it isn’t necessarily size that determines the vulnerability of a company to an IT security breach. It’s the perceived risk, the culture of the business and the security measures that are in place. Big businesses may be at least as vulnerable as their mid-market and SMB counterparts when they don’t have the right safeguards in place.

Privacy Shield a more formal compliance framework

Disagreement over the Safe Harbour, which let American companies use a single standard for consumer privacy and data storage in both the US and Europe, appears to have finally ended. Safe Harbour was rejected by the EU following leaks by Edward Snowden which discredited it because US Government security agencies were revealed to have flouted the rules.

Safe Harbour let US companies self-certify they protected data about EU citizens appropriately; however, the US National Security Agency practiced widespread surveillance through accessing data which was supposedly protected by Safe Harbour.

Cloud booming but some variability in quality

The cloud and managed services space have mushroomed in recent years. Some of the main reasons the cloud has boomed include:

• Businesses have rushed to exploit its advantages
• VARs and resellers have jumped on the cloud bandwagon
• Knowledge proliferation around implementing cloud solutions
• Lower barriers to entry as tech costs have fallen
• Subcontracting of infrastructure to third-party data centres

Strong business case using outsourced services

Last year saw no let-up in the anxieties over cyber security. Criminal enterprises seem able to distribute malware via email to steal identities unimpeded by the international cyber law enforcement authorities; hackers continue to crack open customer databases of businesses as diverse as TalkTalk and Ashley Madison. It is a necessity for any business on the internet to be able to effectively defend against today’s agile threat environment.