Flexnet Networks LLC Blog

Which database management system is running on your company’s server units? For end users, it’s not something that they put a whole lot of thought into. However, if you completely overlook your Microsoft SQL Server, you may end up running an expired version that puts your data at risk. Case in point, SQL Server 2005, which Microsoft recently ended support for.

Hackers have always gone after industries that are profitable, or hold sensitive information that can be lucrative when sold under the table. As such, retailers that accumulate financial credentials are often hit by hacks. The entertainment industry is no different, and hackers continue to grow craftier in their pursuit of wealth and power. Not even Steam, the PC gamer’s most valuable software solution, is safe from the dangers of hacking attacks.

There’s a reason why IT professionals think that the Internet of things is a major security discrepancy. Around 5.5 million new devices are being connected to the Internet every day, and are giving security experts a run for their money. The Internet of Things and its devices could potentially become a security hazard for businesses that aren’t prepared to protect their assets from hacks.

The Internet of Things is constantly growing. Seemingly every commercially-available product now has a corresponding app or some sort of connectivity to the web. As this entity grows bigger still, you begin to see things that have very little intrinsic value coming with Internet connectivity.

Businesses all over the world are taking advantage of two-factor authentication, causing the password’s value to depreciate over time. Passwords aren’t powerful enough to keep users safe from advanced threats. Hackers are finding ways to punch holes in even the most comprehensive security solution, forcing users to focus on improving security through other means.

We talk about a lot of frightening technology scenarios for businesses; data loss, identity theft, and expensive hardware failures that can inflict substantial downtime and, therefore, cripple the ability of your business to sustain operations. One industry that has changed the way they manage risk, specifically the potential failure of important security systems, is the nuclear power industry. Any business can learn how to mitigate disaster by looking into the specifics of the two most horrendous nuclear meltdowns in history, the meltdown at Chernobyl in 1986, and the tsunami-induced disaster at Fukushima in 2011.

If you are a technician and a network you are responsible for begins to go down because the traffic that is coming into the network is unusually high, there is a good chance you are experiencing a distributed denial of service attack, or DDoS. These attacks, which are extraordinarily difficult to prevent altogether, can be exceedingly costly for a business.

Implementing proper IT solutions is challenging for the average SMB, and it’s difficult without the aid of a proper IT department. Organizations that can’t afford a full in-house IT department sometimes resort to less savory methods of managing their technology, which can be dangerous for business continuity, data storage compliance, and security.

Whenever hackers show themselves, they always spell trouble. Whether it’s stealing credentials or completely taking over someone’s computer, a hacker has a plethora of targets and methods that can be irritating for the average PC user, or business executive. In fact, hackers are so crafty that they can even hack into hospital equipment.

Password security is a common problem that businesses that take their cybersecurity seriously have to deal with on a regular basis. Passwords need to be complex and difficult to guess, but easy to remember at the same time. Unfortunately, these two goals don’t go hand-in-hand, and as such, users often have to sacrifice one for the other. The “passpoem” is a concept born to resolve this issue, though it takes a pretty roundabout path of doing so.

A recent trend in cybersecurity is the omnipresent threat of ransomware and distributed denial of service attacks (DDoS). With hackers out to get you and your business, you need to stay updated on how to take the fight to these extortion masters. Unfortunately, victims who have become targets of ransomware, DDoS attacks, and other kinds of threatening hacker activity, often feel that “paying the piper” is the best way to resolve the issue. Well, we have news for you: it isn’t.

We write about cyber security all of the time, and for good reason. You need to be sure that your organization’s defenses are bulletproof, or at least optimized for maximum security. A recent debacle in the United States serves as a reminder that even high-level, super-secret government accounts can be hacked, like this story from the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA).

How overwhelming is the amount of spam and junk mail you receive on a regular basis? Are you able to effectively navigate your inbox without wasting time on unimportant messages? If you’re a user of Gmail, you now have some tools available to you by default that can help you in the war on spam. You can block specific users and even unsubscribe from email campaigns, allowing you to take back time previously spent cleaning up your inbox.

The social media revolution has taken the world by storm, so much in fact that some people are completely at the mercy of their smartphones. However, the dark side of social media, especially Facebook, grows more apparent every day, especially when it comes to both cybersecurity and personal privacy. Are you sure that your Facebook settings aren’t giving away a little too much of your information to the powers that be?

It’s been two years since the world was introduced to CryptoLocker, a particularly-nasty ransomware that encrypts a computer’s data while giving the user a deadline to pay a ransom for the encryption key, or else have their data destroyed. What we’re seeing now is that the reach of CryptoLocker is extending beyond the average PC user; even gamers are getting owned by Cryptolocker.

Thieves stealing mobile devices like laptops and smartphones have reached epidemic proportions. In fact, 2013 statistics from Consumer Reports and LoJack show that two million laptops were stolen that year, along with three million handsets. Translation; it’s way more likely for your mobile device to be stolen than you probably realize.

Every business executive knows the struggle of employee turnover. Your employees might come and go, but your data is one thing that you can’t afford to lose from your business. You might feel that you can trust all of the employees who have put in years of effort to ensure your organization stays afloat, but you may be surprised to learn that a significant number of them will probably leave your company with at least some corporate data.

With plenty of new features to throw around, Windows 10 is shaping up to be quite the operating system. One feature that seems to have fallen off of everybody’s radar (so far) is Windows Hello, a brand new way to authenticate your PC login. By taking advantage of biometric scanning, your computer will let you log in just by looking at your face.

When it comes to the security of your company’s network, you need to have a strike plan to get you out of any potentially threatening situations. Essentially, your network needs an email security solution like a spam filter to act as a sheriff for your business.

In this day and age, a password isn’t enough to keep your accounts secure from attempted hacks. Passwords can be cracked as easily as anything. A lot of businesses have moved to two-factor authentication in order to preserve their data. There are several ways of using this for your business, but a new startup called BioCatch is developing an authentication procedure which looks at your mouse activity.