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Virtual Private Networks (VPNs) have long been used by businesses to give employees secure remote access to applications and data. And no doubt, the on-going COVID pandemic has dramatically escalated the need for businesses of all sizes. But in the rush to enable remote access, some businesses have fallen short in implementing strong security postures.
What is VoIP? The acronym stands for Voice over Internet protocol. Why is VoIP important? Since the 19th century, the nation’s local telcos (like AT&T and Verizon) have relied on the public switched telephone network (PSTN) to connect calls. Today, while telcos provide both plain old telephone service (POTS) and VoIP, they will soon quit offering POTS to subscribers. Like it or not, change is coming.
Regardless of the size of your business, today’s digital climate involves risks. In fact, smaller and mid-sized companies are open to more threats due to lack of protection and know how. Cyber security is a critical part of managing those risks and taking the necessary steps to protect your assets. It pertains to all the IT measures needed as preventative measure against cyber risks. Cyber risk is any risk of disruption, monetary loss, or reputational damage of an organization due to an IT system failure. Before stepping into the cyber security context, one needs to come to terms with the dynamics of the digital era and the highly vulnerable virtual environment of today.
Just think what would happen if a ransomware attack hit your business and locked all your end-users out of their computer systems. What would the impact be on your business if your customers found out? How much revenue would you lose?
Data backup and disaster recovery are two different procedures. Data backup is routine; disaster recovery is (or should be) a rare event. Indeed, by backing up critical business data, businesses make the first step to successfully recovering from a network disaster.
According to the FBI Internet Crime Report, the cost of cybercrimes reached $2.7 billion in 2020 for small businesses in the U.S. At the same time, an SBA survey found that 88% of small business owners feel their business is vulnerable to a cyber-attack. That survey also revealed many small to medium businesses can’t afford professional IT solutions, and they have limited internal resources to devote to cybersecurity.
Many small and medium-sized businesses discovered they can operate more efficiently with a remote workforce as the pandemic forced most people to work from home. And even as workplace restrictions have started to ease, many business leaders are considering making the change to the remote model permanent.
