Necessity is the Mother of Innovation

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This phrase first appeared in English in the 1600s, and versions exist in French, Italian, German, and many other languages – so the concept is not new. In fact, the ancient Greeks had a similar saying. Innovation is part of human nature: when we see a problem, we look for a solution. Solving one problem frees us to focus on other problems that were overshadowed by the first — innovation is never ending. The pandemic has presented numerous opportunities for humans to innovate, especially in the area of information technology.   Read more

Laboratory or Museum?

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Laboratories are dynamic. New instruments are added regularly to enable new tests. Space is reconfigured to adapt to new ways of doing things. Once something is no longer useful, it is removed and replaced with something better. Museums are static. Their purpose is to preserve the past. Even when new exhibits are added, they look backward, not forward. Read more

Halt 70% of Known Network Cyberattacks and Phishing Campaigns

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As the shelter-in-place (SIP) rages on within California, the Bay Area and its workers are forced to continue working remotely. At times, it feels like our world has drastically changed. Despite how mixed up everything may seem, it appears to be business as usual for robocalls, scammers, and hackers.

Known to the cybersecurity landscape as a lateral movement or lateral attack, the breach and move attack method has become a favorite for hackers today. These attacks will typically target business supply chains, in hopes of gaining access to their desired end target. One of the more famous lateral attacks was in 2013 when the department store Target was breached by hackers. The hackers were able to infiltrate Target’s HVAC System Software. From there they were able to travel within the network and steal credit card data from unknowing customers. Read more

3 Major Reasons Your Business Should Move to Office 2019

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Microsoft Office 2010 support is now reaching the final leg of its lifecycle. Extended support for Office 2010 will end on October 13th, 2020 and that means no more tech support, bug fixes, or security patches coming from Microsoft. Accompanying applications, Microsoft Exchange 2010, and SharePoint Server 2010, will also reach end of life. This will leave your business vulnerable to cyber-attacks and hackers if you do not update these applications.

Businesses are looking into their options: upgrading to the on-premise Office 2019 version for a one-time purchase or moving to the per-user cloud-based subscription of Office 365. Read more

Keeping Your IT Infrastructure Fresh, Reliable and Aligned with Business Needs

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As the network evolves with a company, over time (configuration changes are made, new devices are added, some are completely forgotten) older devices become unstable and unsupported. This is a natural consequence due to competing priorities, staff turnover, and daily distractions. This aging of the network can contribute to an unstable network and excessive time required to resolve issues if not properly maintained.

Left unchecked, the network can become convoluted due to server sprawl and ad hoc changes. This is a common situation for many companies and creates unnecessary IT support overhead, and inflates operating costs.

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