Confused about cybersecurity? You’re not alone
At one point or another, nearly everyone has had a moment of cybersecurity gone wrong. Whether it’s a bit of spyware downloaded from your personal email or a distributed denial of service (DDoS) attack launched against your company’s network, experiences with security threats are not especially rare these days.
But understanding the odds and ends of cyberthreats is something that still eludes the casual computer user. Terms like malware, spyware, DDoS, botnet, advanced persistent threats, we know they’re bad news, but beyond that they’re just jargon used by IT guys and technology pundits. Even those who do claim to understand the nuances of cybersecurity have a tendency to confuse the details or explain them unclearly.
Moving on up to IPv6
You don’t have to be especially tech-savvy to know that the internet is switching to a new standard called IPv6. News that the current protocol, IPv4, is coming to an end has been circulating for some time, even occasionally popping up in the mainstream media.
What is more of a mystery is why exactly this is happening and what it all means.
In a nutshell, the U.S. Department of Defense, some 35 years ago, decided to introduce a standard that would allow a little more than 4 billion network addresses to connect to the internet. The standard, known as IPv4, uses 32-bit addresses and is basically a means to identify each device that connects the internet. Web-enabled machines are given identifiers that are most commonly written in dot-decimal notation (127.0.0.1, for example).
Developing Acceptable Use Policies and Mobile Security Policies
The rapid deployment and adoption of mobile devices has led to a very real need for Acceptable Use Policies and Mobile Security Policies. In my first blog post in this series, I will be discussing key points in developing policies around mobile devices and will give specific examples of language that I have seen used in employee communication of these policies.
Consider the enforcement
Any policy written isn’t fully useful if it isn’t enforced and reiterated. All users should know the policies upon hire. Also, keeping the policies relevant by communicating them on a regular basis is important. These policies should be treated the same way that HR policies are developed and referenced.
Cloud Services the Buzz at PTC ‘12
What do you get when over 2,000 delegates representing telecommunications interests in the Asia Pacific region gather in Waikiki Beach? Technologies are vetted, alliances formed, and industry “buzz” gets generated in what seems to be endless cycles of conference sessions, meetings and mixers. Creative chaos ensues and the stakes are high.
January is upon us and once again, it is time for the Pacific Telecommunications Council‘s annual conference — PTC’12. On its 34th year, this event is a strategic springboard for the global telecommunications industry.
What to Consider when Building a BYOD Strategy
In my last blog, I touched on the first part of crafting a BYOD program: define your goals, assess your risk tolerance, and identify the key stakeholders in your program’s development.
The next step? Build your strategy. Here are a few things to consider:
Determine who will be allowed to bring their own devices
Many companies choose to slow roll BYOD, enabling only certain groups of employees in the first round and then opening it up to more employees at a later date. This allows them to test the waters before they dive right in.
Preparing your Enterprise for Mobile Device Management and a BYOD Program
I recently spent some time reading the recently released “iPass Global Mobile Workforce Report”, which is a good resource on mobility trends based on a survey.
Two statistics that I found especially interesting were:
- 91% [of respondents] use their smartphones for work, compared to 69% in 2010.
- 58% of mobile employees are provisioned smartphones by their companies; this is down from nearly two-thirds a year ago. 42% of employees have individually liable smartphones.
Smart phones have become a de facto work tool, however fewer of those smartphones are being provided by the corporation. Instead of carrying around multiple phones/tablets, we dual purpose our personal devices for work.
Why it’s important to know your network traffic
Investing in bandwidth upgrades without knowledge of traffic is like filling a bucket with a leaking hole
“We are growing and need more bandwidth.”
“We’ll need to double the bandwidth as we are over-utilizing the existing pipe.”
These are common complaints – or requirements – of CIOs and Network/IT managers. Upgrading bandwidth to meet business demands is critical. But equally important is the need to know what traffic types are flowing across the network. Are users making right use of the current bandwidth? Is a DS3 being fully utilized with production or business traffic?
Most companies do not identify their traffic flow due to lack of time, resources, or skill. Budget is commonly available to upgrade the bandwidth but not to analyze the traffic, which is rarely considered a necessity under the assumption that all traffic is legitimate traffic. As a result, it’s comparatively easy to make a business case to upgrade bandwidth than it is to invest in identifying the traffic.
Virtela’s Follow-the-Sun Customer Support
My American and Indian colleagues have been blogging away here. I think it’s time for Virtela Philippines to be represented on Virtela ViewPoint.
The Philippines Global Operations Center (GOC) works in full tandem with counterparts in Denver, Colorado and Mumbai, India to provide 24x7x365 customer support.
Sunrise in Manila prompts the Philippine team to get in full gear, ready to perform a smooth handoff from the Denver GOC team. Shortly before Manila’s famed sunset, we pass on support functions to our Mumbai counterparts. As an integral part of Virtela’s global service delivery, the Virtela Philippines team is committed to a seamless transition in the never-ending follow-the-sun customer service support cycle.
How is IT impacting your business?
A recent article by InformationWeek explored the top 10 CIO priorities. Topping the list was IT’s ability to “implement fast enough to meet business goals”, followed by “making IT one with the business”. And with cloud computing, the consumerization of IT, and security and compliance issues, today’s IT leaders have a lot on their plate.
Which brings us to the question: How is IT impacting your business?
As technology constantly evolves it’s becoming harder and harder for businesses to maintain an in-house IT staff that can provide the necessary expertise and service 24x7x365. Not to mention the ability to get new technology up and running in a matter of days versus months.
How many organizations today have the luxury – or patience – to wait months for a new technology or initiative to go live? Or how many would find an outage acceptable, especially if it affects the company’s ability to communicate with its customers (impact on service) or process orders (impact on revenue)? I’m guessing not too many.
Can you trust your Managed Service Provider (MSP)?
In order for a business partnership to be successful, there must be several levels of trust. This is true in any industry, for any business transaction.
In the managed services industry, the issue of trust is paramount. Customers must trust that the services provided – whether network, security, cloud, IT infrastructure management or otherwise – will be reliable and high-performing. Companies also need to trust that the MSP implements the best solution to meet their unique needs. Additionally, if problems occur, the customer must be confident that the MSP will do what it takes to resolve problems quickly; better yet, predict potential problems and fix them before they severely impact the health of the network.