The Benefits of Moving to the Cloud for Remote Work Productivity

DesignDATA

Four-minute read

The tech industry notoriously loves to use nebulous and arbitrary buzzwords, like “big data,” “net neutrality,” or “machine learning.” Rest assured, though, cloud computing isn’t one of them.

In reality, the concept of the cloud has been floating around since the 1960s (even if it was just a wild concept at the time). Since then, however, it has not only been fully realized but has matured rapidly to level the playing field among businesses of all sizes.

What is “The Cloud”?

In the simplest terms, “the cloud” or “cloud computing” involves storing and accessing data over the internet instead of in some physical infrastructure, like your computer’s hard drive. Within this definition, there are three distinct service models: Infrastructure as a Service (IaaS), Platform as a Service (PaaS), and Software as a Service (SaaS).

IaaS
This encompasses the fundamental building blocks of computing that can be rented, whether that’s physical or virtual servers, storage or networking.

PaaS
This is the next layer up from IaaS. On top of the underlying storage, networking, and virtual servers, PaaS also includes the tools and software required to build applications, including middleware, database management, operating systems, and development tools.

SaaS
As expected, this is the delivery of applications as a service. SaaS is likely the version of cloud computing that most people are familiar with because the underlying hardware and operating system are generally irrelevant to the typical end-user, who will access the service via a web browser or app.

Yes, IaaS, PaaS, and SaaS are distinctly different service models, but they are not mutually exclusive. While many organizations understand and utilize more than one, the concept of the massive power-consuming data processing that is happening on the other end in a data center may be a bit ambiguous to an individual user. Moreover, cloud computing is such a large umbrella concept that you may not even know you’re using it. However, if you’re taking advantage of applications like Microsoft Teams, Google Drive, Apple iCloud, Dropbox, and a slew of others, you’re already exploiting the cloud!

Cloud Deployment Models

There are plenty of cloud service providers in the market, but the most popular are Amazon Web Services (AWS), Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. As you research cloud providers to identify one that offers services that best fit your organization, you’ll also have five main cloud deployment models to choose from: public, private, hybrid, community, and multi-cloud.

Public
This is the classic, most popular cloud-computing model. With a public cloud, you don’t own any hardware; users access a large pool of computing power over the internet from a cloud service provider. With this model, you gain the ability to rapidly scale a service because of the vast amounts of computing power available from the “multi-tenant” architecture.

Private
This is essentially the opposite of the public cloud. With the private cloud, organizations can benefit from the flexibility of the public cloud but also gain an added layer of data security because all information is tucked away behind the corporate firewall. Therefore, companies can control precisely where their data is being held with customized infrastructure.

Hybrid
As expected, this model combines private and public cloud environments. Some less-sensitive data is stored in the public cloud, and the more sensitive projects are stored in the private cloud (which can also be on-premise servers). In the hybrid model, organizations utilize multiple vendors with different cloud usage levels to work as one system.

Community
This model represents a cloud dedicated to a few organizations within the same community. In this case, it’s not a public cloud (because it’s essentially “members only”), but it’s also not a private cloud dedicated to a single company. Although it’s not particularly popular, it’s worth being aware of.

Multi-cloud
As the name suggests, this model uses more than one cloud provider at a time for redundancy, or increased reliability. Although all public cloud providers provide options for fail-safes, accidents still happen. With multiple cloud providers, you have an added layer of security and comfort knowing that if an accident occurs with one provider, your backup provider will still be available.

How Does It Work?

At a basic level, companies rent access to anything from applications to storage from a cloud service provider rather than owning onsite infrastructure or data centers. At this point, nearly any service that doesn’t require you to be physically close to the computer hardware that you are using can now be delivered via the cloud.

Although there’s a significant amount of cloud-related information, here’s the takeaway: with an internet
connection, cloud computing allows you to work anywhere, anytime.

Benefits

Traditionally the most widely discussed benefit is avoiding the upfront cost of owning and maintaining on-premise IT infrastructure, decreased complexity, increased security, and faster deployment times. However, in this era, the focus is shifting to the benefits for remote-work productivity: connectivity and accessibility, increased collaboration, and improved efficiency.

Connectivity and accessibility
With cloud technology, users within your organization can access all your files from anywhere, using any device. All information is accessible 24/7 with an internet connection. With that freedom also comes decreased risk since files are no longer stored on any physical computer.

Increased collaboration
Switching to the cloud supports simultaneous syncing, working, and sharing files in real-time, thereby increasing the collaboration and efficiency of employees. Now the location of employees is insignificant; employees from all over the world can collaborate seamlessly.

Improved efficiency
Gone are the days when you worry about your organization’s power requirements, space considerations, expensive computer hardware, or software updates. Similarly, the downtime associated with these issues is in the past. When you shift to the cloud, your entire company can stay focused on building quality relationships that generate revenue, not on IT issues.

The Future of Remote Work

Increased flexibility, enhanced integration capabilities, improved work processes, and reduced overhead costs will continue to drive organizations to utilize the cloud. Small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) can now compete with larger corporations as new, powerful web-based business apps shift the financial costs and bridge the “software divide” that once separated them.

With this technology, SMBs can measure significant benefits from their cloud investments, including increased productivity throughout their organization. With unbounded connectivity and accessibility, increased collaboration, and improved efficiency, your organization can operate at its intended level.

Are you curious about how you can boost internal productivity? Our experts would be honored to answer any questions you may have – and don’t forget to check out our free monthly training session focused on enabling your teams to do their best work.

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How To: Organize Emails in Outlook

DesignDATA

Four-minute read

Productivity is becoming a buzzword for a reason –  everyone has incentives to increase it. Not only is it fulfilling for an employee to hit personal targets and complete tasks ahead of schedule, but employers are always looking to increase revenue.

To enjoy these benefits, new productivity-enhancing tools and processes are often the targets for operations leaders. But one thing that is commonly overlooked is optimizing the use of already-integrated systems. For example, a considerable time-stealer is an overwhelming email inbox. Nearly everyone can understand the overwhelm one feels when looking over their messy inbox; this overwhelm often leads to procrastination.

A disorganized email inbox not only causes procrastination but can also cause more logistical time-waste, such as the time used searching for attachments, nagging correspondence when one has not responded in a timely fashion, and simply the time it takes deleting useless emails.

What follows are our top three tips for avoiding the frustration and wasted time it takes to deal with consequences like those listed above. Because so many organizations have turned to Microsoft tools to handle the shift to remote and hybrid work, we have chosen to focus on Outlook; these tips all apply to alternative email platforms

Use Outlook’s Rules

One of the best ways to organize your Outlook inbox is to set up rules. Rules allow you to organize your inbox into different folders and have corresponding emails go directly into the appropriate ones. This way, you can check higher priority inboxes first and not have lower priority emails distract you from more important work.

Adjust Notification Settings

Now, this one takes a bit of time – but it is worth it! Over the course of a week, take notice of emails that come into your inbox that are unnecessary. For example, if you check Microsoft Teams every morning, you do not need to be getting emails to your inbox of tasks you have been assigned to or messages that have come in. Then, adjust your notification settings to ensure unnecessary emails like these are turned off.

Implement a Central Collaboration Hub

Because organization needs have drastically changed since the creation of virtual mailboxes, email is becoming increasingly less useful. Instead, collaboration hubs tick all the communication-needs boxes for most companies. If you already have a collaboration hub implemented, email may still be pulling engagement away from the effectiveness of this hub. Ensure you use your collab hub as much as possible for communication to help clear out all of the unnecessary duplicated content in your Outlook inbox.

There are so many ways to increase productivity by leveraging your current technology. If you would like an assessment of your organization’s tech optimization needs, do not hesitate to contact one of our productivity experts. We also offer a free training session every month on different Microsoft products and tools to help your staff become more savvy and efficient technology users. Sign up for a session today!

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Rethinking In-Office Cybersecurity — How to Make Your Office More Secure Than Ever

Leave a Comment / May 11, 2022

flexible work

Rethinking In-Office Cybersecurity — How to Make Your Office More Secure Than Ever

DesignDATA

Three-minute read

The pandemic has changed the way many organizations operate, and while employees have enjoyed the flexibility of working from home, enterprises have been left exposed to increased cybersecurity risks.

Companies have had to rapidly adapt to socially-distanced teams and implement quick fixes to their technology needs, but returning your employees to your facilities will involve carefully constructed strategies to ensure employees are safe and your data is secure. Throughout this process, cybersecurity must be a top priority.

We’ve outlined three key factors to consider about in-office cybersecurity when planning your return to the office:

1. Implement Effective Security Policies
The transition phase of moving back into the office can be a particularly vulnerable time, but it also presents a unique opportunity to evaluate your cybersecurity policies. Thus, a great first step in planning the office return is a security assessment to prioritize the most significant risks.

We recommend that organizations establish clear security policies for all employees, whether working in the office or at home. These policies must cover the use of hardware and software, the maintenance of technology and best practices for installing approved apps, online communications, social media and information sharing.

At a minimum, all company devices should have the latest security patches and updates, a managed software-based firewall and managed endpoint-based antivirus protection.

An additional security policy to consider is cyber insurance, which can mitigate risks and costs. If you currently have a policy, is it aligned with your business and meeting industry standards? If you don’t have a policy, how can you shop for one? Find out by registering for our online cyber insurance webinar!

2. Equip Employees to Identify Cyber Threats
The first line of defense against cyberattacks rests with your employees. All workers must receive effective security awareness training to equip them with the tools to discern possible cyberattacks.

You can do this by clearly communicating what these threats look like and how to mitigate them to all employees. Policies and procedures relating to your organization’s information security should also be shared across all departments.

Having an on-demand help desk – either in-office or through a managed service provider – is also an important consideration to ensure that all workers have immediate assistance to identify and address potential threats.

3. Manage Technology Needs
Flexible work arrangements are here to stay, and with workers spread across different locations, companies will need to examine their remote and in-office cybersecurity risks carefully.

Whether working from home or in the office, organizations will want to strictly prohibit employees from using personal equipment for work purposes and transferring or accessing business data from personal computers. We also recommend that managers ensure all remote workers have company devices and that data is securely stored on company-managed services and networks.

Remember: malware can infect an employee’s corporate computer via their home office network and lay dormant, becoming active once reconnected to the corporate domain. To manage this risk, any devices reconnecting to the office network must be first checked for updates and potential threats.

Remote workers in need of a change of scenery may be tempted to take their laptops to a café with free Wi-Fi. However, using public Wi-Fi networks can expose your organization’s data to cyber threats. Employees need to ensure they have comprehensive protection and understand their organization’s policies surrounding the use of public networks.

Consider using a managed service provider (MSP) to address your technology needs. For example, your MSP will likely offer Hardware-as-a-Service (HaaS). They will take responsibility for sourcing and managing your equipment, appropriate security updates and licensing, saving you time and resources for other critical business operations.

How designDATA Can Ensure Your Cybersecurity

As you plan your return to the office, it is essential to stay updated on the latest cyber threats and how to defend against them. designDATA offers comprehensive, white-glove solutions to help you manage your cybersecurity, so you can rest assured knowing your data and network are secure. Speak to a Cybersecurity Expert today to learn more about our incident response planning, identity management and HaaS solutions.

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The Interesting History of Microsoft Business Voice

Leave a Comment / May 11, 2022

Microsoft

The Interesting History of Microsoft Business Voice

DesignDATA

our-minute read

The COVID-19 pandemic has forced enterprises to seriously consider how they manage the collaboration of geographically dispersed teams.

In search of flexibility and access to high-quality communications, many have turned to Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP) as the ideal solution to streamline their corporate communications.

A seemingly unlikely organization now threatens all leading VoIP/commercial telephony providers: Microsoft. They are leading innovation, modernization, and business intelligence in VoIP. Nowhere is this more apparent than their latest offering in cloud-based telephony: Microsoft Business Voice.

Below we’ve outlined the interesting history behind today’s quickest growing corporate phone system.

A brief history of Microsoft telephony

In a surprising move, Microsoft bought Skype in May 2011 for $8.5 billion. The company was incorporated as a division of Microsoft, with the purchase including the acquisition of all of Skype’s technologies. As part of Microsoft’s plan to expand into IP communications, acquiring Skype not only meant gaining the technology to do this but also granted the enterprise access to an expanded user base.

While the corporation initially kept Skype running without any significant changes, in April 2015,Microsoft launched Skype for Business, which could be integrated into Office apps and included added features like enterprise-grade security and the ability to manage employee accounts.

Two years later, the corporation introduced Microsoft Teams, intending to phase out Skype for Business, essentially making Skype obsolete by August 2021.

This means that come August, organizations using Skype will be forced to use Teams for their internal and external communications, screen-sharing, and conference calling.

Microsoft Business Voice steps into the arena

Microsoft Teams built on what Skype delivers, but with added features to make it an all-in-one communications platform intended to streamline remote communications and workflow. Since its inception, more features have been added to enhance this purpose.

One of these features is Microsoft Business Voice. Launched in 2020, it is a cloud-based phone system offered as an add-on to an existing Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription and integrates into Teams.

Business Voice allows both calling and chat together within Teams; you can call anywhere from any mobile device. It is even possible to make and receive PTSN calls with people outside your organization. Business Voice also offers call forwarding, call queues, and can convert text to speech, among other great benefits.

As an add-on to your existing Microsoft subscription, no new licenses are needed or additional software to manage. It is also possible to port your current phone numbers and integrate them along with a phone plan from Microsoft. This means shifting to Business Voice can be a seamless transition.

Business Voice is the culmination of Microsoft’s vision of having users working on everything within the same platform. While it may not have made sense at the time, Microsoft’s acquisition of Skype has certainly paid off. The corporation seems unstoppable compared to other manufacturers of cloud-based phone systems, and it is likely to continue gaining traction for the foreseeable future.

designDATA’s Business Voice solutions

Microsoft Teams lets you call, meet, and collaborate all in one place. And now, with Business Voice, you will have access to the corporate phone system, too. Microsoft Business Voice is the ideal solution for organizations needing flexibility and convenience in today’s remote working landscape. Luckily, designDATA can help your enterprise set up your corporate phone system to leverage Microsoft Business Voice’s best features.

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Overlearning, Overworking, and Burnout: A Cybersecurity Professional Epidemic

Leave a Comment / May 11, 2022

Overlearning, Overworking, and Burnout: A Cybersecurity Professional Epidemic

Four-minute read

Cyber attacks are a growing concern; cyber criminals are continuously evolving to find new ways to slink into your systems, disrupt your business, and steal your data. Although this has been an observed trend as technology has evolved over the years, things have only gotten more complex due to the unprecedented pandemic and the rise of remote working. While the ever-changing technology landscape isn’t a new revelation, it’s certainly reached new heights in the last two years, making it even more difficult to keep users safe from online threats.

In fact, the lack of preparation for remote workforces has only exacerbated an organization’s vulnerability to the influx of cyber threats and breaches caused by new technologies in this business model. As a result, many cybersecurity professionals are incorporating the concept of overlearning to better guard and protect their companies from attacks.

What Is Overlearning?

“Overlearning” is the process of rehearsing a skill even after you no longer improve. Essentially, it describes the process of reinforcing knowledge or repetitively practicing a skill after you’ve mastered it to boost knowledge retention over the long-term.

This might sound a little redundant or even wasteful to those new to overlearning. After all, if you’ve already mastered something, why would you continue to practice it? Isn’t that just wasted energy?

Not exactly. From a business perspective, overlearning embeds information into your long-term memory, making employees more profitable and reliable team members. From an individual’s perspective, it’s actually a beneficial technique to lock in your expertise on a skill, increase efficiency, and decrease the mental exertion necessary to perform that skill.

Of course, the knowledge retention aspect is great, but overlearning also has some drawbacks. While it helps lock the knowledge in, overlearning also over-stabilizes the learning state – so, effectively, you become resilient against subsequent new learning (at least for a few hours). With that in mind, it’s best to leave any subject you’d like to practice overlearning on for the end of your studying session.

However, the more significant problem is that overlearning feeds overworking, which is particularly evident among cybersecurity professionals who are working tirelessly in this current threat landscape to keep their organizations safe from cyber attacks.

Is Overworking the New Trend?

Although cyber attacks have continuously been a major problem for the IT security sector, new research from the UK’s Chartered Institute of Information Security (CIISec) shows that overwork and burnout are also issues plaguing the industry. In fact, the conducted study of cybersecurity professionals shows that 54% of respondents have either left a job due to overwork or burnout themselves or have worked with someone who has.

While overlearning can lead to overworking, that’s not the only cause of burnout among cybersecurity professionals. Other causes were found to be:

Lack of resources

It’s pretty straightforward: there are simply not enough resources within most security departments to sufficiently protect an organization from threats. In particular, company security budgets have not kept pace with rising threat levels, leaving huge holes for possible breaches to sneak through. These holes become even more concerning during holidays or busy periods when security teams are either smaller or stretched thin. Not only does this pose significant risks to a business, but it can greatly increase stress among cybersecurity professionals.

Lack of opportunity

People want room to grow! More importantly, people need to know that they have the opportunities to do so. Without these opportunities, cybersecurity professionals will start to feel stuck and unchallenged.

Unpleasant or bad management

Let’s face it: no one likes working in a hostile environment. Whether that’s caused by a direct manager or the overarching company culture itself – this needs to change. Otherwise, you’ll see serious employee overturn due to the lack of cybersecurity professional retention.

Luckily, by identifying these issues, action can be taken to combat the overwork, stress, and burnout among cybersecurity professionals.

Work-Life Balance

IIt’s important to remember that cybersecurity professionals are more than just protection; they have to balance a heavy workload on top of relationships, family responsibilities, and squeezing in outside iinterests just like the rest of us. It’s no surprise, then, that they may be super stressed – and that’s not balanced or healthy.

It’s important to strike a healthy work-life balance to prevent the burnout experienced by more than 50% of the cybersecurity industry. To do so, there are several steps both professionals and managers can take.

As a professional, make sure you:

Take paid-time-off (PTO)
Set realistic work/home boundaries and expectations
Incorporate small tweaks into your schedule, such as marking holidays, breaks, and lunchtime in the calendar, so there’s actually an alert reminding you to step away from the screen for a bit
Communicate openly and honestly

Managers also have a significant role in preventing their employees’ burnout. Managers should:

Encourage and approve employee PTO
Work with employees to set realistic boundaries and expectations
Set a good example
Be receptive to employee feedback and communication

After enacting these steps, are you recognizing that the resources are stretched too thin at your organization? We’re here to help. designDATA has all the IT resources you could need to keep your company secure, your employees happy.

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Clipboard History – Retaining Cut and Copy Records

Leave a Comment / May 11, 2022

Productivity

Clipboard History – Retaining Cut and Copy Records

DesignDATA

Three-minute read

Picture this: you’re chugging along, laser-focused on the task at hand, diligently cutting and pasting, when your hands start working faster than your thoughts and you accidentally cut twice in a row before pasting. The color drains from your face as panic overtakes you, realizing you have lost some of your best work with this mishap.

Cutting, copying, and pasting are some of the most fundamental commands within an operating system. Despite these commands’ popularity with users, the clipboard (as we previously knew it) had a significant limitation of holding only one item in its memory at a time. Noticing this issue and the market demand for improvements, Microsoft decided to address it.

First appearing in Windows 10’s October 2018 update, Microsoft introduced the concept of clipboard history, which allows you to see multiple items that have been cut or copied recently. Currently, Windows 10 has a cloud-based clipboard that retains a history of the most recent 25 items you have cut or copied since the previous computer reboot, supporting text, HTML, and images smaller than 4MB. For now, items larger than 4MB will not be stored in the history, but as an added feature, you can pin frequently used items. This comes in handy if you find yourself repeatedly using many of the same figures or phrases for your projects since, while clipboard items will, pinned items will not be wiped during your computer’s restart.

The default setting for clipboard history is off, so to start using the feature, you’ll have to turn it on. Turning clipboard history on and accessing your clipboard history is straightforward for Windows users: simply press the Windows logo key (located on the bottom left row of your keyboard) + V. If clipboard history is not yet turned on, select the Turn on button that appears in the pop-up clipboard window. Once selected, your system will automatically direct you to the clipboard history where you can paste individual items and pin frequently used items for future use. To pin, simply click the three horizontal dots along the top right of each clipboard item and select Pin.

Conveniently, you can also share your clipboard items across all your Windows 10 devices. To do this, follow the command chain Windows logo key > Settings > System > Clipboard. Once in the clipboard, select the option Automatically sync text that I copy under the Sync Across Devices category. Because the sync feature is tied to your Microsoft account (either personal or work), you must use the same login information on all devices for the tool to work correctly.

Unfortunately, the clipboard history tool is not supported for Mac users, so a third-party app will have to be installed to reap the benefits of that capability. Please consult with your IT team in accordance with your organization’s policies on the installation of third-party applications.

Although the clipboard history feature is Windows-based, designDATA has Mac experts that can help you find the right third-party software to ensure your productivity needs are also met.

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Tired of DoorDash-ing? Become a Ransomware Hacker!

Leave a Comment / May 11, 2022

Tired of DoorDash-ing? Become a Ransomware Hacker!

DesignDATA

Six-minute read

Rising housing, education, and food prices are plaguing countries globally. To cope with the surging costs of living, side jobs (otherwise known as gig work or moonlighting) have gained significant popularity, particularly within the ride-hailing and food delivery services like Uber, DoorDash, and Grubhub, where companies are capable of obtaining an average of 93 million users per month. This steady, high market demand, the extra cash influx, and the flexibility of working on your schedule have been highly alluring aspects of gig work since the establishment of these services. At least, this was the standard until the COVID-19 pandemic made its debut.

When many companies opted for remote working conditions to ensure the safety of their employees, a cognitive shift occurred within the moonlighting community, leading to the desire for remote gig work as well. Add in the cybersecurity holes introduced by organizations unprepared for remote working conditions, and gig workers have been exploiting the opportunity to make significantly more money than they did DoorDash-ing by joining ransomware gangs. As a result, the number of ransomware hackers has burgeoned and produced a flood of ransomware attacks aimed at businesses worldwide.

Ransomware Overview, Trends, and Effects

For those unfamiliar with the terminology, ransomware is malware that encrypts files on an organization’s computers and servers, threatening critical infrastructure. Often, sensitive data is exported in tandem and kept hostage for ransom. Ransomware is typically distributed through phishing attacks and software vulnerabilities, and ransom notes with monetary demands are delivered to the victim once the ransomware has been downloaded and the hacker has exported the victim’s information. At this point, the victim either chooses to pay the ransom and recover their data or risks having their sensitive information exposed to all dark web criminals. Upon ransom collection, victims are offered a decryption key to decrypt the ransomware and collect their data.

The pandemic provided favorable breeding grounds for ransomware hackers in particular. Since the onset of the pandemic, ransomware hackers have been shifting their attention to severely impacted industries like municipal, educational, and healthcare facilities. Not only have their targets turned, but all aspects of ransomware attacks are seeing a steep upward climb from 2019 values: the frequency of attacks is up 148%, ransom demand values have increased 33%, and the

cost of recovery and clean up has more than doubled, causing organizations significant losses of revenue along the way.

So, what’s causing this surge among the hacker community?

Ransomware as a Service (RaaS): The Business Model

Previously, ransomware was a “direct-to-consumer” business: developers created the code – with a high chance of penetration, low chance of discovery – and also distributed the cyber attacks. Now, cloud infrastructure is widely available, providing standardized and scalable environments and offering crime gangs the ability to franchise their efforts. What was once a linear attack model is now a multi-dimensional one.

This new, multi-faceted approach mirrors the typical Software as a Service (SaaS) model, where software is centrally hosted from a cloud service provider and licensed to affiliates. With the Ransomware as a Service (RaaS) model, the developer still creates the code but now leases the ransomware variants. This is often done by employing an affiliate as a “middleman” to carry the bulk of the risk and distribute the ransomware code to victims – with an attractive payout, too! There are four general revenue models, ranging from a monthly subscription for a flat fee to affiliate programs (with about 20% of profits going to the RaaS operator), a one-time license fee with no profit-sharing, or pure
profit-sharing.

Using this organizational technique, RaaS is structured like big business, with the increased operational efficiencies leading to an observed escalation in the number of ransomware attacks. This RaaS franchise effort is frequently supported with onboarding documentation, a step-by-step guide, and sometimes even status monitoring. Under this workflow, you no longer need technical prerequisites to become a successful hacker, making it widely available to everyone as a side gig. This opens the door to more than just your everyday criminals; terrorists are now entering the game as a way to inflict damage on their targets, causing a significant threat to national security in the United States. For them, the ransom is just frosting on the cake.

Although it’s well-known that ransomware hacking is illegal, the enticement for general affiliates is the developers’ adoption of a sheen of professionalism. Affiliates see the increased efficiency of the RaaS model and believe in the legitimacy of the work, going so far as to take corporate responsibility pledges in some affiliate programs. Because the RaaS business model is a vicious loop, as ransomware groups make more money, they can invest more in their operations and hire more affiliates, allowing them to hit bigger targets, repeating this cycle indefinitely.

This pattern and the current threat landscape highlight the lack of tools, resources, and expertise to keep up with the growing list of vulnerabilities, attack techniques, and security incidents within victimized organizations. To prevent cybersecurity attacks and protect your organization, focus on educating your staff on cybersecurity best practices, establishing defense tactics, and continuously monitoring your systems for vulnerabilities.

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Microsoft’s Productivity Tools: Tasks by Planner and ToDo

Leave a Comment / May 11, 2022

Microsoft’s Productivity Tools: Tasks by Planner and ToDo

DesignDATA

Three-minute read

Microsoft Tasks by Planner and ToDo (formerly known as Planner) is a feature-rich application that integrates with Microsoft Teams. This powerful tool enables users to assign, collaborate, and monitor projects and tasks using a variety of dashboards.

To integrate the Planner app into Teams, simply navigate to the desired channel and select the + (Add a Tab) button in the menu bar. When the list of applications comes up, select Tasks by Planner and ToDo. If you don’t see this listed, start typing Tasks in the search bar and you should see the app appear.

Once selected, on the next screen click Create a new plan and give your plan a name:

You will see a new tab with the Planner name on your Team’s menu bar.

The main user interface of Planner shows tasks in the bucket view. These buckets represent different groups of tasks, like Client-specific, Internal, and Webinar Series. Within each bucket, you can create individual tasks, choose a due date, and make assignments:

When users are assigned a task, they receive an email with the new task information. The task information can be monitored from the main Planner screen in Teams (see above). Users can also edit tasks and mark them complete using this same interface by clicking on the task to open the Task Details screen:

In addition to the bucket view, users also have the ability to view their team’s tasks using a charts view, which groups tasks by various categories. For example, in the screenshots below, the tasks are broken down by status, bucket, priority, and members:

Finally, Planner provides a list view which enables you to view all tasks in a standard list:

Microsoft Planner is an easy-to-use task management application that nicely integrates with Teams. Try it out to see if it could help your organization’s task management needs, and if you have any questions or would like help choosing the best Microsoft tools for your business, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

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How to Use Microsoft 365 Business Voice to Your Advantage

DesignDATA

Four-minute read

Learning these key Microsoft 365 Business Voice features will make you much more productive during the workday. Keep reading to get started.

Microsoft is a staple in the business world, offering essential software that significantly boosts productivity. For many organizations, operating without the Microsoft Office Suite is unimaginable.

Although not quite as well-known as some of its larger products, Microsoft 365 Business Voice is a valuable tool for companies willing to harness its power.

Unsure where to start? We’ve got a guide that can help you.

Let’s dive in.

Unlocking Key Features

To make the most of this software, you need to take full advantage of the numerous features. Many of these tools require setup, but the implementation is well worth it.

One of the most notable is the fully-customizable auto attendant. This tool expertly handles incoming calls, directing them to appropriate queues based on criteria like language, time zone, or availability.

When these callers reach the queues, they’ll be presented with a custom greeting while they wait (accompanied by music if necessary). Other notable features include audio conferencing, cloud-based voicemail management (and voicemail transcription), and direct SIP trunk routing.

It’s best to determine which tools your company can benefit from most and integrate them as soon as possible.

The Microsoft Teams Admin Center

As the name suggests, the Microsoft Teams admin center serves as a centralized location that you can use to help manage your organization’s projects and tools. You can also use it for 365 Business Voice.

This tool helps you set up cloud calling and audio conferencing. You can also contribute to a database of relevant phone numbers that are easily accessible.

You can even use the admin center to assign certain levels of functionality to specific phone numbers. For example, one phone number could be a dedicated conference bridge connecting multiple users to a single conference call.

It’s possible to do the same for call queues and auto attendants. By taking full advantage of this utility, you’ll be able to improve your level of customer service drastically.

Build Upon Its Functionality

Although Business Voice provides a large amount of utility for many organizations, some businesses still prefer to use other software alongside it.

For example, a small business owner might use Business Voice as a foundation while also implementing a different partner compliance recording solution.

This scenario is easily achievable. Microsoft 365 Business Voice is highly extensible, allowing users to expand upon its functionality. This means that those who already have a preferred contact center software don’t have to worry about any conflicts arising.

This is particularly useful for more sizeable organizations that benefit from using a large set of tools.

Train Your Team

To get the most out of Microsoft Business Voice, you’ll need to train your team on its functionality. Fortunately, the volume of training required is very low.

Employees who have experience using Microsoft Teams will likely require only 5 to 10 minutes to get familiar with Business Voice. After everything has been configured within the admin center, your employees will often only need to set up their respective voicemails before they can begin to make calls.

This makes Business Voice extremely straightforward to integrate into a company’s practices and is one of the primary reasons entrepreneurs choose to use it.

Ready to Enhance Your Business Communication?

Microsoft 365 Business Voice is more than just a tool; it’s a game-changer for your business communication needs. Are you ready to take your organization’s communication to the next level?

Discover how we can transform your communication strategies with Microsoft 365 Business Voice.

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The Best Cybersecurity Awareness Training for Your Organization

DesignDATA

Four-minute read

Whether through device loss, social engineering tactics, phishing, or anything in between, your technology is constantly at risk of being breached. Surprisingly, your greatest cybersecurity vulnerability isn’t your hardware or software – it’s your people.

If you want to boost your cybersecurity defenses and minimize the risk of a network intrusion, you need to bolster your first line of defense against external threats. Specifically, that includes training your employees on cybersecurity awareness.

What Is Cybersecurity Awareness?

It’s simple: cybersecurity awareness is being mindful of present cyber threats in your daily life. As you can imagine, even minor cybersecurity breaches come with a sizeable price tag. Considering the ever-rising number of cyberattacks each year, cybersecurity awareness is undoubtedly nothing to neglect.

Ultimately, defending against cyber threats comes down to knowing what you’re up against. By increasing ongoing security awareness training, you’ll simultaneously educate your employees on how to identify and combat modern threats, as well as instill best practices for staying security-savvy.

Cybersecurity Awareness Topics and Best Practices

As there are so many potential weak spots hackers can exploit, complete cybersecurity may seem unattainable. Fortunately, you can build a formidable wall to ward off cyberattacks by arming your employees with training in the proper areas. So, what topics do your employees need training in to be adequately equipped?

Password Management

For starters, password length is important – aim for 12-16 characters if the system supports it. Along that vein, you should opt for long passphrases rather than single words. That way, you’ll be able to remember it easily, but it will be impossible for hackers to guess.  For example, the phrase “horse identify power hammer” would make a great password. You can craft a visual image of it in your mind, so you won’t have trouble remembering it, but no brute force system will ever guess it – a win-win!

Also, make sure all your passwords are unique from one another. Don’t re-use your work password for your bank or your bank password for your Twitter; if they’re all the same, a hack on one becomes a hack on them all.

Because remembering dozens of unique passwords is difficult (if even possible), use the password manager supported by your organization. If a specific password manager isn’t promoted within your organization, find out the policy on using a personal password manager for organization passwords. Password managers are great tools to keep your data safe and secure!

Multi-Factor Authentication

We’ll keep it short and sweet: use multi-factor authentication everywhere, even if it’s not explicitly required. This feature can provide extra layers of security that protect the integrity of all your accounts, with just one added login step.

Phishing/Social Media Attacks

As an overarching theme, never accept an email as the only source for an information or financial request. For instance, if someone emails you asking for a copy of your W2s or for a wire transfer, be sure to get confirmation through some other source (e.g., walking by their office or calling them on the phone on a number in your directory). Leaders, make this “Identity Validation” a requirement at your organization!

Likewise, be wary of requests that are flagged as “urgent” – these may be sent with bad intentions, hoping you’ll be lax in your security postures because they claim the request is an emergency. At the end of the day, a culture of “be secure” should be fostered over one of “immediate response,” so make sure all parties (including executives) know to follow the security guidelines.

Remote Work

With the increase in hybrid work models, our personal and work lives are intermingling. Employees need to be especially aware of your organization’s policies regarding doing personal stuff on a work computer and doing work stuff on a personal computer.

In general, you want to keep them separate. If your personal computer obtains a virus and you connect that computer to the work VPN, you could spread that virus to the network. Similarly, if you download personal software (with a virus) on your work computer, you could make your company susceptible to a breach.

Suspicious Activity Radar

Here’s the gist: if you think an email looks a little suspicious, you’re probably right! Treat any questionable-looking email as dangerous.

If your computer seems to be behaving oddly (e.g., frequent pop-up windows, frequent crashes, unusually slow computer performance), you may have exposed it to a virus. Don’t wait for things to worsen – notify IT ASAP and let them make the determination.

A Culture of Security

Paired with baseline policies, email protection, anti-ransomware software, and a few other layers of defense, Cybersecurity Awareness Training is an essential part of protecting your organization. By informing your staff of their responsibilities and making them aware of modern dangers, you can adequately prepare them to identify threats early and reduce the likelihood of a successful cyberattack.

While cybersecurity awareness is the first step, two additional steps must be followed for this to be effective. First, leaders must create and promote a culture of security, changing the collective attitudes and behaviors toward cybersecurity. Following this, employees must willingly embrace and proactively use these learned practices (both professionally and personally).

Fortunately, designDATA offers all the quality content and tools you need to solidify your cyber defense strategy and integrate it as part of your culture. Our cybersecurity services cover all the bases to find the cybersecurity solutions that are the right fit. Not sure what you need? Book a cybersecurity consultation with our experts!

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Why Email Is Dead – And What to Do About It

DesignDATA

Three-minute read

Email is the physical mailbox of the virtual world. It was designed to make it easy for anyone to reach anyone about anything and, thus, was built for broad, ubiquitous communication. But organization needs have drastically changed since the creation of virtual mailboxes. Now, companies require collaboration hubs that tick off all the communication-needs boxes. Moreover, not only is email becoming less useful, but it is also pulling engagement away from the effectiveness of your collaboration hub.

Below, we outline three key design features that prevent email from being a suitable mechanism for collaboration. We hope this information allows you to make an informative decision with your fellow teammates about how to shift communications to your collaboration hub.

Anyone can email you about anything The ping of an email inbox can draw your attention to an important document, a marketing solicitation, or a phishing scheme – there is no prioritization. Last in is the first up, and important contextual information is missing. Who is this from? What is this about? Do I need to take any action on this?
Email inboxes are terrible knowledge repositories Information quickly gets buried in email. Depending on who is cc’d on what, conversations become fractured into an array of email strings that need to be pieced together. Teams also run into version control issues as each team member works on a different static version of the same document. All these inconveniences add up, bringing down organizational productivity.
Email is built for one and done communication Have you ever selected “reply all” when you meant to send a private message to the sender? Ever sent an emotionally charged message that you wished you could pull back? Recognized a careless typo immediately after clicking send? Forgot to attach the document you referenced in the body of the message? Ever been the victim of a steady stream of responses that all essentially just confirm receipt (“I got it” / “Thanks”)? Email is simply not conducive to revision, recall, or response, and this lack often causes frustration and misunderstandings.

A collaboration hub, such as MS Teams or Slack, is designed to solve these problems. For example, messages can be easily edited and deleted. As well, information is organized by team, topic, and project, providing important context and keeping all the pieces of a conversation connected. You can also “@” someone to draw attention to the fact that they are being asked to respond. All of these factors improve the quality and efficiency of communication and collaboration. For these reasons and then some, we are currently working on getting zero internal communications via email, ensuring we take advantage of our organization’s more efficient technologies.

If you’re curious about implementing a collaboration hub or have one but are unsure how to optimize team use, don’t hesitate to get in touch. We would love to discuss critical factors specific to your organization that will help ease the transition or improve your current workflows.

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Microsoft’s Productivity Tools: The Polly App

DesignDATA

Three-minute read

Microsoft Teams is chock-full of valuable applications designed to make our lives easier. One such tool which increases collaboration and improves productivity is the Polly app. Polly is an application that creates polls and surveys. For Polly, a poll includes one question, whereas a survey includes multiple.

It’s important to note that Polly has two versions – a free and a paid version. With the free version, you can easily create polls; however, surveys are reserved for the paid version.

Before expanding on other differences between the two versions, let’s first run through how you and your teams can easily install and use the Polly app.

1. Click on the three dots at the bottom of your navigation bar, left of the screen in Teams. You can search for and download any application here and pin it to your navigation bar so that it is always visible and accessible.

2. Now, whenever you start a conversation in a channel or chat, you will see a Polly icon among the others (like attachments and gifs).

3. You can also add Polly as a tab into any Team by simply clicking on the + sign at the top of the intended Team. Search for Polly to add it.

Now that you have Polly installed, how does it work? Wherever you’d like to access it, simply click on the Polly icon to open it. When it opens, you will see that you can create a poll template. With the free version, your choices are fairly limited, but you can choose an audience, a channel for the poll to live in, and when you’d like to send it.

Here are some options the paid version offers: templates, polls, surveys, recurring polls, greater analytics, and sending reminders.

To view the results of a completed poll, click on the View All Results button from your poll; this will bring you to a simple graph outlining everyone’s choices.

designDATA’s Microsoft Experts Can Help

Whether your organization is new to Microsoft’s tools and technology or an experienced lot, our experts can help analyze and outline the best applications to bolster your team’s productivity and collaboration. Don’t hesitate to contact one of our experts to leverage Microsoft 365 features like never before.

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Critical Factors to Consider When Implementing a Collaboration Hub

Critical Factors to Consider When Implementing Collaboration Hub

DesignDATA

Four-minute read

Implementing a collaboration hub is critical for a successful flexible work strategy. Among other benefits, team members experience improved collaboration, more effective prioritization, increased productivity levels, and greater ease locating information needed to do their jobs.

The path to this rosy future is not without challenges and risks. Lack of leadership, resistance to change, botched implementations, and insufficient staff training can drive cynicism and prevent organizations from realizing the benefits of these initiatives.

Below, we outline four critical factors that will serve to increase the speed and value of a collaboration hub implementation:

Begin with the end in mind The value of a collaboration hub is its ability to improve business processes, enhance collaboration across time and space, and ultimately, empower the organization to do quality work for those they serve. Thus, it is essential to develop a project charter and go in with specific outcomes in mind.
Invest in a consultative approach upfront These collaboration hubs are like houses: once you move your furniture in and start living in it, it becomes much harder to re-architect the house. It is crucial that organizations assess the way departments and teams work, what applications are currently in use throughout the organization, and where files live. Using this information, leaders can develop a roadmap to get from ‘here to there,’ one that considers change management, sound governance, and standards around how things should function moving forward.
Leadership must model the way One of the most pervasive challenges we see with widespread implementation is members of the leadership team continuing to communicate and collaborate in the ways they always have. When the epicenters of power and influence pull communication away from the hub, adoption stays low. Leadership has a few essential roles to play here:
- Leading by example in the adoption of the hub
- Championing the value of change for the organization and its team members
- Highlighting employees that are embodying best practices in using the hub effectively.
Support staff through training The phrase ‘learning curve’ exists for a reason. We are all creatures of habit, and changing the way we work is always uncomfortable. That is why training programs are needed. Customized and job-specific training empowers staff to move through that awkward phase of adoption where we feel less than competent. Without this support, many staff likely won’t adopt the new way of working. When the team has one foot in one world, one in another, technological silos and work disruptions are exacerbated.

If you are considering implementing a collaboration hub for your organization or are in the process of doing so and have questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch. Our productivity experts can help outline specific opportunities to improve this transition for every team member.

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Hardware as a Service: The Best Solution for Companies Returning to the Office

DesignDATA

Four-minute read

When planning a return to the office, there are two important considerations: your employees’ health and safety and their technology needs.

Whether embracing an entirely remote workforce, implementing a total return to the office space, or considering a hybrid model, organizations must ensure that all workers are safe and have access to updated hardware and technologies.

Our top recommendation to meet these needs? Hardware as a Service (HaaS). This model is the ideal way to deliver for your teams while streamlining all business functions when returning to the office.

Here are our top three reasons why:

Certainty in uncertain times

Managing technology needs in a socially distanced workspace has been one of the biggest hurdles for chief executives. In these uncertain times, a HaaS plan can provide peace of mind when it comes to keeping your organization’s technology operational and secure.

With a fixed monthly fee, business leaders can manage their expenses without unexpected costs related to hardware maintenance. This is a tremendous advantage for enterprises planning return-to-work strategies where they may need to factor in changing operational and technology needs.

As the service provider is responsible for monitoring and managing equipment, less time and money is wasted on hardware upgrades. Business leaders can focus on other priorities, like keeping their employees safe and increasing productivity.

Ensuring data and network security

With more people working from home, companies are more vulnerable to security risks. Luckily, under the HaaS model, the managed service provider will ensure that hardware is updated regularly. This includes servicing equipment, updating licensing agreements, installing security software, and providing backup and recovery solutions.

Security software updates are crucial – every day cyberattacks become more sophisticated and equipment becomes increasingly susceptible to compromise. Your MSP will ensure that essential security software, like antivirus and data security, is implemented and updated.

Backup and recovery solutions are another integral aspect of your asset security. When employees use their own devices for work, you are relying on them to secure their personal internal or external hard drives to protect sensitive organizational data – the consequences if a cyberattack is successful are drastic. Instead, the HaaS model allows you to take advantage of your MSP’s high-grade backup and recovery solutions.

Cloud services are one such high-grade solution that is a massive benefit of HaaS. Your MSP provider likely offers several top-class private cloud solutions, all of which will protect your data far better than personal clouds. Unlike personal clouds, most MSP cloud offerings include:

High availability: seamless failover if one of your business-critical servers fails, allowing you to continuously enjoy immediate access to your data.

High security: all of the best virtual and physical security measures guard your data and are updated often.

Scalability: easily increase or decrease your virtual environment as your needs change.

Redundancy: multiple backups across several locations so your data is always safe and accessible.

Cloud sync: when enabled, you can automatically sync data across devices.

Scale according to your business needs

The pandemic has forced organizations to rethink their office spaces, and bringing employees back to work involves careful planning that may require companies to scale up or down, depending on their operational and employee requirements.

A HaaS model has built-in scalability, allowing you to add, remove, and replace hardware as your organization’s needs change, providing the best solution for companies returning to the office.

Moreover, a really valuable HaaS program will also offer hot-swapping: for a defined number of years, the MSP will replace or add any components to your hardware without stopping, shutting down, or rebooting the system. As organizations return to the office, this service is critical. The functioning of businesses moving forward is somewhat fuzzy and having the reliability and flexibility of hot-swapping is necessary.

Choosing a HaaS Provider

designDATA offers rugged, modern hardware that caters to your organization’s unique requirements. With recently upgraded HaaS services, we have five equipment profiles with upgrades and customization options for each. We would love to help ease your transition back to the office in any way.

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Why You Should Move Over to Microsoft Teams

DesignDATA

Two-minute read

Every day I get asked the following questions:

⇒ How can my team collaborate better?
⇒ How can we minimize the number of applications we use?
⇒ How can I decrease the cost of the subscriptions we use?

My response is always the same: by switching over to Microsoft Teams. Here are some of the ways this all-out platform responds to the above concerns:

Save Money

Microsoft Teams does what 3-5 of your existing subscriptions do, so why not pay once and continue doing all you need to do, plus more?

One App to Rule the World

Speed up collaboration and increase your organization’s productivity levels by using one app for everything. Some of the features Teams can provide are:

⇒ Business Voice
⇒ Chat windows
⇒ Meetings
⇒ File management
⇒ Project management

Integrations

Microsoft has over 200 app integrations. Connect to other apps easily so that you can continue to collaborate. This also offers extensive flexibility, so you can make Teams work for you and customize your usage to fit every team’s unique needs.

Stay Connected – Anytime, Anywhere

Microsoft Teams addresses the need to communicate with remote, hybrid, and traveling employees. With the Teams phone app, you have immediate access to all apps and documents. You can even respond to chat conversations, join video calls, and continue collaborating on projects.

Improved Collaboration and Communication

Because of the integration with Office 365, you don’t need to switch apps when collaborating on a document. You can create the Word, Excel, or PowerPoint document in Teams, immediately share it with your coworkers, and co-author in the blink of an eye.

Other Fantastic Features

Call transfer is easy – no more blindsiding your coworkers anymore! Simply send them a quick heads up before transferring the call.
Compatibility – Teams is available on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices.
Integration – Teams is fully integrated with Office 365 and can integrate with most major applications.

designDATA’s Microsoft Support

With Microsoft Teams and Business Voice, you don’t have to sacrifice the features you need or love. Our experts offer implementation and support for Microsoft solutions – if your organization requires support or if you have any questions, don’t hesitate to get in touch.

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Hybrid Work Models: What the Research Says to Consider

DesignDATA

Three-minute read

As organizations begin to open their offices back up, they are faced with the challenge of determining what the “next normal” will look like. Some have gone remote and are never going back. Others want to return to “the way things were.” Most organizations are exploring hybrid options somewhere in the middle.

Leadership is trying to strike a balance between employees’ preference for flexibility and the desire to ensure collaboration and a solid organizational culture. The devil is in the details. Where many firms are letting individual staff members dictate their schedules, new research from MIT professor Robert Pozen and technology researcher Alexandra Samuel suggests that a more deliberate approach will yield better results.

Although their research doesn’t uncover any universal best practices – which is what I think we were all hoping for – it does highlight five key factors that every organization should consider when making decisions about flexible work. These factors – Function, Location, Organization, Structure and Culture (FLOCS) – are outlined below to help you deliver the best flexible work experience for your organization. And yes… any framework worth the space it’s printed on requires a compelling acronym like FLOCS!

Function

What are the key aspects of your employees’ jobs? If their work involves extended periods of concentration, this may favor home days. If their work involves frequent collaboration or brainstorming, in-person work likely suits best.

Location

Hiring in a single metropolitan area means you can join your teammates in a nearby office or meet up easily for one-on-one meetings. Conversely, there’s no point in making employees report to the nearest office if everyone they work with is in another city.

Organization

The organization factor represents how flat or hierarchical the organization is. If the organization is relatively flat, people working remotely don’t feel far from the “center” of the organization. If it’s more hierarchical, those working remotely may be at greater risk of proximity bias.

Culture

Companies with an individualistic culture seem to make a smoother transition to virtual work; by contrast, companies that stress “us” over “me” have been slower to adopt online collaboration.

Scheduling

This factor covers the practical issues of scheduling. Suppose schedules are similar and work is interdependent. In that case, it’s good to encourage everyone to work at roughly the same time and come into the office on the same days to benefit from social bonding and collaboration. If employees live in different time zones, it’s better to set a few common windows for real-time communications like videoconferences and let most other work unfold through email or document sharing.

In summary, there is no objective “right” answer. It becomes a matter of balancing the different factors to best suit the interests of both the organization and its people. In my view, the keywords are “equitable” and “intentional.” When policies are created as a reflex or based on the “squeaky wheel,” it increases the risk that the solution to one problem becomes the root cause of another. A diverse group of stakeholders should be heard to ensure all perspectives are taken into account.

To close, I would be remiss for not mentioning that the smart application of technology can enhance the success of any organization’s approach. If you would like the experts at designDATA to take a look at your current technology and optimize it for a hybrid work model, do not hesitate to get in touch.

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Microsoft Viva Insights and Measuring Employee Productivity

DesignDATA

Five-minute read

Employee experience is one of the most transparent indicators of business success and satisfaction. At its core, this describes the sum of all interactions an employee has with an employer, including everything from major milestones and personal relationships to technology use and ergonomics.

Despite being an essential piece of the corporate puzzle, employee experience and well-being have traditionally been swept under the rug. This is problematic since staff well-being directly affects engagement, retention, performance, and business development. At every organization’s core should be the question: how are employees experiencing the workplace?

Luckily, the pandemic has thrust employee experience and well-being into the spotlight as organizations try to determine a way to outperform the competition, attract and retain top talent, and scale with increased satisfaction. Business leaders began calling for a solution to better measure this experience, and (as usual) Microsoft came to the rescue with their new platform: Microsoft Viva Insights.

What Is Microsoft Viva Insights?

Microsoft Viva Insights is part of Microsoft Viva, a platform that brings together all aspects of the employee experience, from communications and knowledge to learning, resources, and insights. It integrates seamlessly into the Microsoft apps you use every day, like Teams and Outlook – as well as other Microsoft 365 apps and services – to accommodate your teams’ preferred workflow. As a bonus, Microsoft Viva Insights can also access data from your existing ecosystem of collaboration tools and services, such as Zoom, Slack, Workday, and SAP SuccessFactors.

Why It Matters

Microsoft Viva helps people achieve stability, collaborate intelligently, and find focus wherever and whenever they need it because let’s face it – employee experience is at the center of our collective success. Companies that prioritize this are more profitable and innovative than those who understate its importance.

This goes hand-in-hand with blurring the boundary between work and life. Without a healthy work-life balance, employees lose engagement, report higher stress levels, suffer from elevated anxiety, and experience alarming burnout rates. Once this happens, it’s only a matter of time until these employees leave their jobs.

Fortunately, Microsoft Viva Insights gives individuals, managers, and leaders personalized and actionable insights that help everyone in their organization flourish.

Features to Expect

Currently, Microsoft Viva Insights is being introduced to Microsoft 365 users via Exchange Online. This preview features an initial set of personal insights and well-being experiences designed to safeguard employee privacy with unique insights visible only to the individual. By default, manager and leader insights are protected with de-identification, aggregation, or differential privacy measures. Although currently in the preview stages, Microsoft plans to incorporate Workplace Analytics and MyAnalytics under the Microsoft Viva brand.

Personal Insights

Microsoft Viva Insights enables employees to connect and maintain strong relationships with their central network contacts by prioritizing regular one-on-one meetings and keeping up with requests distributed across all platforms from one location. It has also introduced a “protect time experience” that makes it easy for users to schedule focus time so that they can experience at least a few minutes of uninterrupted work every day.

Features like these are extremely valuable to maintaining work-life balance. As communications become increasingly virtual, making it difficult to ‘step away’ from the office, Microsoft Viva Insights ensures employees remain productive during their work hours so they can effectively enjoy their time off.

Well-being Experiences

To enable people to stay organized, engaged, and mindful, Viva Insights brings well-being experiences directly to employees, including features such as:

Virtual commute: helps employees mindfully wrap up their workday
Check-ins: helps employees pause and reflect on their day
Integration with Headspace: adds meditation and mindfulness experiences
Actionable insights: adds course recommendations from LinkedIn Learning to support continuous training and promote career growth
Daily briefing email: helps employees look forward to and prepare for the week ahead

Benefits for Leaders and Managers

A significant part of employee engagement and overall positive experiences is the connection between managers and employees. It’s vital for managers to be aware of what is going on with their employees’ work and well-being.an overall positive experience is the connection between managers and their employees. It’s vital for managers to not only be aware of what is going on with their employees’ work, but also their wellbeing.

Microsoft Viva Insights includes a set of experiences that enable managers and leaders to boost productivity across their organization by empowering their people to be their best. It also grants managers visibility into employee work patterns that can lead to burnout and stress caused by meeting overload, a lack of focus time, or time worked outside employees’ chosen work hours. By monitoring these patterns, managers can nurture the well-being of their team members by identifying relevant challenges and supporting employees’ varied work and flexibility needs.

Later this year, Microsoft plans to launch action plans to join employees and managers and give productivity a major boost. This feature will provide team members with recommendations and best practices to help them prioritize their well-being while managers assess progress against team goals over time in tandem. As a result, managers will be able to address critical questions and take actions to strengthen team resilience and boost employee engagement to ensure that their organization is ready for anything the future brings.

Regardless of the complexity of your business needs, designDATA is ready to support you by integrating Microsoft Viva Insights to measure and boost your employee productivity. Are you ready to transform your organization?

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Why Cybersecurity Insurance Is More Valuable Than Ever

DesignDATA

Four-minute read

Since the pandemic, cybercriminals have become increasingly active. Not only has there been an upsurge in the number of ransomware attacks, but there has also been an increase in multi-million-dollar payouts to cybercriminal groups, who have become increasingly professional in their mode of operating.

Recent high-profile cyberattacks, like the SolarWinds Orion Security Breach and the Colonial Pipeline Ransomware Attack, highlight how cyberattacks can have far-reaching consequences. For example, insurance carriers pay an extraordinary amount of money for claims to fulfill extortion demands.

These events have resulted in cybersecurity insurance carriers putting more stringent cybersecurity requirements on their clients and a steady rise in cybersecurity insurance premiums. According to Jonathan Roy, designDATA’s Director of Cybersecurity and Compliance, and Derek Symer, Director of Nonprofits at AHT, enterprises can expect to pay as much as 80% more for their cybersecurity insurance. Underwriters are also rapidly revising their business models and exploring new options due to the upsurge in ransomware attacks and their resultant costs in covering those claims.

The value, then, in cybersecurity insurance is clear: it allows your organization to transfer some of the financial cybersecurity risks to an insurance carrier. These risks stem from both internal and external sources — from an employee unintentionally opening an email attachment containing ransomware to a malicious insider deliberately providing access to an organization’s network. Attackers often infiltrate systems months before making their move, and organizations may not even realize their financial assets or data have been compromised until it is too late.

The risks posed by ransomware attacks can lead to significant financial losses. These include the costs to unencrypt data, lost revenue due to business downtime, irreparable damage to an organization’s reputation, consulting fees to restore or improve systems and numerous other unplanned expenses.

To learn more about the current state of cyber insurance and what the future may hold, register for our online Cyber Insurance Webinar where a panelist of experts will dive deep into what cyber insurance is, how to shop for it and what to expect when filing claims.

Considering Cybersecurity Insurance Coverage

There is no escaping it. No matter the size of your organization, if you rely on IT systems, maintain digital records, use computers, or accept emails and have a publicly-accessible website, you are vulnerable to a cybersecurity attack and need cybersecurity insurance.

As a starting point, organizations need to have comprehensive cybersecurity policies and procedures to avoid becoming victims of cybercriminals. A full Incident Response Plan is also essential for dealing with a security incident.

However, to transfer the residual risks and effectively respond to and recover from a cybersecurity breach, comprehensive insurance coverage is vital. This should cover an organization’s liability from cybersecurity incidents, including a data breach where personal or sensitive information is compromised, and where an organization experiences business interruption, harm to its reputation, or network damage.

What Should Organizations Look for in Their Cybersecurity Insurance Policies?

Essential Coverage

When reviewing the policies offered to you by carriers, at a minimum, the essential coverage should include ransomware and data breach extortion, digital asset restoration, and funds transfer fraud. Limits should be based on your organization’s expected loss for each category during such a cyberattack (check with your IT and Financial departments). Retentions (or deductibles) should be based on how much you are willing to pay out of pocket, with lower deductibles resulting in higher insurance premiums.

Additional Coverage

Additional options include coverage for crisis management and public relations, reputational harm and service fraud.

Also worth considering is coverage that extends to a security incident or outage with third parties, such as your web or database hosting company. Without such coverage, a major breach at a third party you used could leave you shouldering your own business interruption and reputation repair costs.

Attestations

Another important consideration regarding your cybersecurity insurance policy is the attestations – the assurance you give the insurance carrier that you are meeting certain cybersecurity hygiene provisions.

When it comes to attestations, ensure you include the head of your cybersecurity or IT department to help answer any relevant questions. These should be answered truthfully. While an underwriter may not second guess you during the application process, should you file a claim, they will vigorously investigate if you’ve been faithful to your attestations. If you weren’t doing what you said you were, you could risk having your claim denied.

If you can’t reasonably comply with what your insurance provider is expecting, consider other carriers. Every insurance provider approaches the matter of cybersecurity differently, and it is best to find a carrier that best suits your needs and fits within your business model and budget.

How Can designDATA Help With Your Cybersecurity Needs?

designDATA’s experts will take the time to review your current cyber coverage from a technology perspective to ensure it is appropriate for the risks your enterprise faces. We can also help you build a comprehensive Incident Response Plan to ensure you are fully prepared for the possibility of a cyberattack.

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Technology and Flexible Work: Why Implementing a Central Collaboration Hub Is Key

DesignDATA

Five-minute read

It’s inevitable – flexible work is the future of work. For organizations that can turn this practice into a core competency, the gains will be invaluable, like attracting and retaining the best talent and, thus, performing better for those their business serves. Ultimately, these organizations will have a massive competitive advantage.

So, how can you turn this practice into a core competency?

Conditions of an Effective Distributed Work Strategy

Unfortunately, there is no objective “right” answer. Like any organizational competency, its proper application is very much dependent on the context. It is critical to thoroughly examine the work you do, who you do it with, and how. This information will help you focus your organization’s finite resources and tolerance for change on the areas that will have the most significant positive impact.

It’s a matter of balancing the different factors to best suit the interests of both the organization and its people. In my view, two key elements are equity and intentionality; when policies are created as a reflex or based on the “squeaky wheel,” it increases the risk that the solution to one problem becomes the root cause of another. A diverse group of stakeholders should therefore be heard to ensure all perspectives are considered.

Another central aspect of implementing an effective distributed work strategy will be your team’s technology needs.

Technology bridges the divide between the various places from which team members work. It forms the foundation of how teams communicate, collaborate, and find valuable information and should ultimately be at the forefront of any flexible work strategy.

Exploring all aspects of remote work technology and their implications can be a daunting task. Where should you start?

Implementing a Single Collaboration Hub

We have found that one of the most productive places to start is the implementation of – and organization-wide commitment to – a single collaboration hub like Microsoft Teams, Slack, or Zoom.

There are many benefits to creating a central collaboration space:

Knowledge workers spend an exorbitant amount of time simply looking for the information they need to do their job. Your collaboration hub becomes a single, easily searchable library of your organization’s knowledge. This includes structured and unstructured data. For example, did you know that, post recorded meeting, you can add captions to your video in Microsoft Teams? These captions become searchable. So, for example, if you are looking for any mention of “Project X” in your last ten team meetings, you can easily find each meeting where it is mentioned instead of diving into hours of recordings.
Within distributed teams, especially those without a mature approach to data governance, information silos run rampant. The hub becomes a central place for real-time and time-independent (asynchronous) collaboration in all forms, including video, phone, chat, and document editing and sharing. The alternative is having “pieces of the puzzle” dispersed among different file storage locations, email platforms, productivity suites, and video conferencing applications.
It offers important context for communication, allowing team members to focus energy and attention on the tasks that matter most. In the collaboration hub, communications and resources are organized with purpose (e.g., by project, department, or group) as opposed to email, where the last communication appears first, regardless of source or priority. In Microsoft Teams and the like, you can also use the “thumbs up” or other reactions to acknowledge an instruction or verify you have taken a requested action. This is far more effective than subjecting yourself to a never-ending stream of emails that convey the important information of: “I got it.”

Your collaboration hub enhances knowledge management, minimizes distractions and unproductive time, and serves as a force multiplier, amplifying the impact of individual contributors and teams.

Why do some implementations succeed where others don’t? Let’s look at how we can avoid common pitfalls:

It all starts with leadership modeling
One of the most pervasive challenges we see with widespread implementation is members of the leadership team continuing to communicate and collaborate in the ways they always have. When the epicenter of power and influence is pulling communications away from the collaboration hub, adoption stays low and, unfortunately, the value of the hub gets exponentially greater as more people use it.

Leadership also has an important role to play in championing the value that the change will bring to the organization and its people. There must be a compelling vision of the future for people to feel compelled to make a change. Leadership must also highlight employees that are embodying best practices and demonstrating effective use cases. Some organizations are going as far as to include collaboration as a performance review criterion.

Invest in the consultative piece of the project prior to implementation
It used to be a technological feat to stand up a new software program. Now it’s as easy as flicking a switch. This is a double-edged sword in that it can lead to build-before-design challenges. These collaboration hubs are like houses – once you move all your furniture in and start living in it, it becomes much harder to re-architect the house. It is important that organizations assess the way departments and teams collaborate and get work done, what applications are currently in use throughout the organization, where critical files currently live and then develop sound governance and standards around how that should function going forward.

And lastly, training
The phrase “learning curve” exists for a reason. We are all creatures of habit and changing the way we work is always uncomfortable. Being conscious that there is a valuable skill we do not have yet is painful. That is why an engaging and practical training program needs to be implemented. This will help empower staff to move through that awkward phase of adoption where we all feel less than fully competent. Training resources need to be in place to accompany the team through that technology initiative ‘death valley.’

How designDATA can help with your hybrid work solutions

The value of a managed service provider (MSP) is their ability to leverage technology to improve business processes and outcomes. This requires truly understanding the business of the organizations it serves and aligning IT operations in a consultative way.

One of the common frustrations we hear from prospective clients is that their MSP is not driving the technology agenda forward; it is not proactively facilitating the strategic conversations to anticipate opportunities and challenges. Without this level of partnership, IT cannot fulfill the ultimate promise of IT operations: serving as a vehicle to take teams from where they are to where they want to go.
designDATA is happy to share the approach we employ to achieve these results for our clients. We are always excited to exchange best practices and lessons learned with other mission-driven organizations.

Please don’t hesitate to reach out if you would like to explore the issues that matter most to you!

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Why MDM is Essential for Managing Apple Devices in the Workplace

DesignDATA

Four-minute read

Scooch over, Microsoft – Apple has entered the cubicle.

A few years ago, Macs were a rarity in offices; most professional software was designed to work on Windows machines, giving them a considerable advantage in the business market. Now, everything has changed; iPhones, iPads, and Macbooks are ubiquitous, and for good reason!

People love the Mac operating system and are familiar with how Apple devices work. Apps and business tools are increasingly Mac friendly, and Apple has worked hard to develop and highlight features that boost productivity and simplify IT management.

While implementing Apple products for businesses has been fantastic for boosting creativity, flexibility, and productivity, it’s presented a new challenge for IT teams. These teams must stay on top of managing a plethora of devices while keeping data secure and employees connected.

Mobile Device Management (MDM) is a must-have tool for an IT team to succeed; whether you’re a small or large business, you must implement the right MDM solution when using Apple products.

Let’s take a look at why an MDM is critical for your business’s management and success.

1. Security

MDM ensures that your mobile device is secure. In today’s world, mobile devices not only enable employees to work from anywhere but also open up new avenues for potential cyber attacks. MDM serves as your team’s first line of defense, maintaining company data security across all mobile devices.

Apple devices are equipped with a host of built-in security features such as FileVault encryption, Gatekeeper software verification, and TouchID. However, these features can be easily disabled, leaving your devices vulnerable. A robust MDM solution ensures these security features are not only enabled but also functioning correctly across all devices. It allows you to block specific software, disable camera access, distribute security patches, and mandate the regular creation of complex passcodes by employees.

Moreover, MDM provides a safety net for those inevitable instances when mobile devices are lost by employees or stolen. In such scenarios, your MDM solution steps in to locate the lost device, locking it until it’s recovered or remotely locking it and wiping all data, ensuring your essential data remains protected.

2. Productivity

Employee productivity is for business owners what security is for IT teams: top priority. With cloud-based applications and mobile devices, people can work from anywhere. This results in increased flexibility and higher productivity, but only if employees can access the data and applications they need.

MDM solutions allow your employees to securely access your company network, data, and applications from anywhere, including custom apps that may not be available in Apple’s App Store. MDM identifies critical applications and deploys them to your users.

Plus, you can even create lists of applications specific to certain job roles, departments, or users and allow access to those who need them. In this way, employees have access to the applications they need without being overwhelmed by the ones they don’t.

If an employee needs a new application, MDM makes it quick and easy to grant access and push the application to the correct device. This is quickly done through custom settings in the App Store. As well, MDM makes it simple to share important information between mobile device users. Thus, implementing a robust MDM solution is one of the best ways to foster productivity in your company’s remote work environment.

3. MDM simplifies device management

Whether your company provides Apple devices to employees or lets them use their own through a BYOD program, managing every device can be challenging.

MDM simplifies this process and offers workflows that let your team quickly set up new devices, enroll new users, reset old devices, install updates, and troubleshoot IT issues. You can monitor devices to make sure that policies are being followed and employees are avoiding risky cyber-behaviour. You can also control access to company networks so that only approved devices can connect.

A good MDM solution allows you to monitor your devices remotely. You can quickly push settings, updates, and IT fixes to devices using over-the-air (OTA) distribution, and your team can detect issues as they arrive, having solutions already prepared.

Top-notch MDM solutions also allow you to implement time-saving practices like “zero-touch” deployment and custom scripting that enable you to customize your devices and modify account permissions as needed.

Truly – the time and cost savings realized from simplified device management are priceless.

Choosing Your MDM Solution

It’s clear that MDM is critical for managing Apple products; now to choose which solution is right for you. There are many MDM solutions on the market, and it’s integral to choose one that works with your priorities. Consider things like value, device compatibility, security features, application management, and support features.

If you’re feeling a bit overwhelmed, don’t worry. We are here to help.

Visit our resource page for additional information like comprehensive guide on Apple IT support for macOS and iOS.

For tailored support and IT solutions optimized for Apple products, connect with our experts. We’ll guide you to the ideal MDM solution to secure and enhance productivity while managing devices with ease.

Ready to elevate your Apple ecosystem?

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5 Reasons Why Jamf Software is the Best Apple RMM Solution

September 15, 2021

5 Reasons Why Jamf Software is the Best Apple RMM Solution

DesignDATA

Four-minute read You’re not alone in feeling like your IT team is scrambling to keep up with the rapid pace of digital transformation. Operations across the world have shifted dramatically recently due to technological developments and world events. Data has moved to the cloud, and employees are, quite literally, all over the place. While these changes may be overwhelming, there are many benefits. For example, employees can access company networks with their mobile devices through cloud-based applications, enabling them to work from anywhere. Productivity has never been higher! However, IT teams face a tough challenge: they need to stay on top of managing a plethora of devices while keeping data secure and employees connected. Remote Monitoring and Management (RMM) is a must-have tool for an IT team to succeed. There’s no shortage of RMM solutions to choose from, but it’s crucial to carefully evaluate what’s out there so that you end up with a solution that suits your business. This is especially important if you have a Mac environment because not all RMM solutions have features compatible with Apple device operating systems. Good news – we’ve curated all of the essential information you need as a Mac user to choose the right RMM. Our Apple experts have researched the top RMM solutions and, based on this analysis, one solution stands out as the clear winner for managing Mac environments: Jamf software.

Need more support with your business’ Apple infrastructure? We can help! Explore our Enterprise IT Solutions for Apple and get back to working securely and confidently.

Here are our top five reasons why Jamf software is the best RMM solution for your Mac environment:

1. Apple-Specific Focus Enables Seamless Integration

Jamf software focuses exclusively on managing Apple devices. Therefore, they can offer better support and features to IT teams operating in Mac environments. As well, because of Jamf’s Apple exclusivity, its integration with Apple products is seamless.

Plus, Jamf offers zero-day support for macOS and iOS updates and security releases. This means that your business starts benefiting from new features and upgraded security on the day of its release.

Jamf also integrates easily with Apple Business Manager, allowing you to set and enforce roles, privileges and security policies using a single, easy-to-use interface. Your IT team can purchase and distribute apps and content in bulk, ensuring your employees have what they need. You can even automate real-time updates to all your apps.

2. Enterprise App Store Guarantees Access to Mission-Critical Applications

The Enterprise App Store is an outstanding feature of Jamf’s RMM solution for Macs. It enables you to create a custom app store so employees can download, install and update all mission-critical apps.

Jamf also allows you to create custom profiles for the app store so that teams or employees see only the apps they need. For example, engineers need not scroll through marketing apps and HR team members won’t have to sort through apps for technical calculations. Each sector will see the apps that pertain to them.

This app store can also display both third-party apps and programs developed in-house; a tool called Jamf Pro Composer helps your team create and deploy custom apps, software and settings.

Lastly, the Enterprise App Store includes a self-service feature that lets end-users troubleshoot and manage their own devices without submitting a help desk ticket.

3. Zero-Touch Features Simplify Device Management and Support

Zero-touch deployment is another one of the benefits of Jamf’s integration with Apple. By integrating your device management and procurement processes, Jamf allows you to remotely set up devices when you order them so that they arrive ready for immediate use. If your company has embraced “bring your own device” (BYOD), Jamf offers a self-enrollment feature that lets users enroll and configure their devices.

Jamf’s zero-touch focus doesn’t stop with deployment. The easy-to-use interface and remote management capabilities allow IT teams to monitor devices, troubleshoot issues and reconfigure settings without ever touching the actual device. It’s time to say “so long” to dropping off your device at some shop for updates or repairs!

4. Customization That Meets Your Distinct Needs

Every company has different RMM needs, and Jamf is dedicated to providing the features and support to make RMM work for you. They recognize that small businesses may not have the same requirements as large enterprises, so they offer three Mac management solutions: Jamf Pro, Jamf Now and Jamf School.

Once you’ve chosen the Jamf software RMM solution that’s right for you, you have many options for customization. For example, you can use scripting to develop custom configuration profiles, and your IT team can set up custom smart groups based on criteria like device type, department and job role. These smart groups can be used for custom monitoring, configurations and reporting.

We’ve already mentioned that Jamf Composer allows you to create and deploy custom apps. All these features combined provide more flexibility than any other RMM for Mac.

5. Reporting Enables Data-Driven Decision Making

Finally, Jamf stands out from competitors because of its robust reporting capabilities.

Your team needs to see what’s going on with your devices to succeed at RMM. Thankfully, Jamf offers a capable and flexible dashboard feature that you can customize to showcase specific information like smart groups, policies, configuration profiles, software licenses and device types.

These dashboards allow you to stay informed about your devices and analyze data to identify problems. You’ll have all the information you need to make data-driven decisions about changes and policies for your Macs.

Sure, other RMM solutions can help you manage your Mac environment; however, none of them can match the capabilities of Jamf. With Jamf, your users have a better experience. At the same time, your IT team gets all the tools they need to manage your remote devices, maintain security and support productivity, which is why we recommend Jamf to all our Apple-using clients.

Want to Learn More?

We’ve only scratched the surface of what Jamf can do as your Mac RMM solution. If you want to learn more about how Jamf can meet your RMM needs, contact our Apple support experts. We would love to chat with you about Jamf and other solutions to help you manage your business.

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Fix These Enterprise Security Flaws to Protect Your Business

DesignDATA

As businesses have become more reliant on digital technology for day-to-day operations, they’ve also become a favorite target of internet threats. To protect your organization from cyberattacks, ensure your security is free from the following flaws:

Open wireless networks

An office can go online with one main internet line and a couple of wireless routers. While a wireless internet connection saves money, it can also mean an unsecured network.

Simply plugging in a wireless router and creating a basic network is not enough for a secure connection. Without a password on your routers, anyone within range can connect. Hackers and criminals, with relatively simple tools and knowledge, can capture data transmitted over the network and even launch attacks on the network and connected computers.

Therefore, it’s crucial to secure all wireless networks in the office with strong passwords. Internet service providers that install hardware often use easy-to-guess passwords for routers, such as the company’s main phone number. These default passwords need to be changed immediately.

Email security

Most companies that have implemented a new email system in the past few years are likely to be secure, particularly if they use cloud-based services or established email systems like Exchange, which provide enhanced security and scanning features.

The businesses at risk are those using older systems, such as POP, or systems that do not encrypt passwords (known as “clear passwords”). If your system doesn’t encrypt sensitive information, it’s vulnerable to interception by anyone with the right tools and knowledge.

If you’re using an outdated email system, consider upgrading to a more secure, modern solution that includes encryption.

Mobile devices security

Mobile devices offer a great way to stay connected and productive while out of the office. However, connecting to office systems without proper security measures can jeopardize your networks.

For example, if your work email is linked to your tablet without a screen lock, and you lose the device, anyone who finds it could access your email and sensitive information. Similarly, installing an app with malware on your mobile device can spread the malicious software to your entire network, causing significant disruption.

Ensure that employee devices are secured with passcodes and that your company has robust security policies for device use. Mobile device management solutions can also prevent your BYOD policy from introducing risks to your network.

Anti-malware software maintenance

It’s essential to have anti-malware software on all company devices and to configure it correctly.

Scans scheduled during business hours can be disruptive. If employees turn off the scanner to avoid interruptions, it leaves your systems at risk.

Additionally, it’s vital to regularly update anti-malware applications. Updates often include new databases with the latest threat discoveries and their fixes.

Proper installation and maintenance of anti-malware software are necessary to stand a chance of keeping systems secure.

Lack of firewalls

A firewall is a network security device that controls incoming and outgoing network traffic. Many modems or routers come with built-in firewalls, but these may not be sufficient for business needs.

A robust firewall should cover the entire network, particularly at the data entry and exit points. Business-grade firewalls are best installed by an IT partner, such as a managed services provider (MSP), to ensure effectiveness.

How do I ensure proper business security?

The best way for a business to secure its systems and networks is by working with an IT partner like us. Our managed services are focused on setting up the right security measures and managing them effectively, so you can have peace of mind and focus on what you do best—running your business. For more insights and tools, visit our resource page.

Ready to secure your business with a trusted IT partner?

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How To Protect Your Company From Business Email Compromise

DesignDATA

Phishing scams have been a persistent threat for years. It’s likely that you’ve received an unexpected email informing you of a compromised account or a plea for immediate funds from a friend stranded in a foreign country. Perhaps you’ve even been notified of an impending eviction or the urgent need to update your computer’s antivirus protection.

These emails lure you in with a link to download software or a request for your banking information, but beware! These deceptive emails can leave you with malware on your computer or unauthorized charges on your credit cards. While they can be irritating, a well-trained eye can usually identify the fakes.

Phishing emails often have misspelled words, domains that don’t seem right, missing signatures, grammatical mistakes, or other telltale signs that tip you off to the scam. As long as you know what to look for and stay alert, you and your employees can avoid becoming victims of traditional phishing scams.

But, what if the usual telltale signs are missing from a phishing email? What if the phishing email appears completely authentic because it originates from the email account of a trusted individual or reputable organization?

The risk of falling into the trap of a business email compromise (BEC) is significantly higher for you and your company. Unfortunately, this is an all too common occurrence. However, in this article, we will delve deeper into the world of business email compromise and provide valuable insights on how you can effectively protect your company from such attacks.

Understanding Business Email Compromise

According to the FBI, business email compromise schemes resulted in $1.7 billion in losses to companies in 2019 alone. Data from Check Point Research suggests that the numbers for 2020 are even higher, as cybercriminals have taken advantage of the disruption caused by the global pandemic to launch hundreds of thousands of cyber attacks on distracted workers.

A business email compromise occurs when a malicious actor controls someone’s email account. This can be achieved by guessing usernames and passwords, especially on widely-used platforms like Microsoft 365 or Google Mail, leveraging stolen credentials from data breaches, or deceiving individuals into entering their passwords on fraudulent websites. Once inside, the cybercriminal can exploit not only the compromised organization but also its business associates.

After gaining access, attackers study their targets, understanding their habits and communication patterns, ensuring their malicious emails blend seamlessly. Unlike typical phishing attempts, BEC attacks are more targeted, focusing on a few individuals to maximize gains.

These BEC emails are particularly deceptive because they originate from a genuine source, making them virtually indistinguishable from legitimate emails and bypassing spam filters. The content of these emails often urges recipients to take actions like paying invoices, buying gift cards, or sharing personal information. Sometimes, they even intercept ongoing email conversations to redirect payments. While the immediate goal is financial gain, some attackers seek valuable data or deeper access to the company’s network for future exploits.

Preventing Business Email Compromise

To effectively reduce the risks of BEC attacks, it is crucial to implement strong cybersecurity measures that prevent attackers from accessing your users’ email accounts. By following these foundational practices, you can ensure the safety of your network against BEC attacks and other malicious schemes.

Strong Password Policies: Require employees to create complex passwords that combine letters, numbers, and special characters and regularly updating these passwords can also deter unauthorized access. No one likes inventing strong new passwords, but this simple step is one of the strongest defenses against business email compromise.
Implement Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA): MFA requires users to provide two or more verification methods. It’s an effective barrier against unauthorized access, even if a malicious actor has the password.
Review and Manage Email Rules: Have your users (or IT staff, with management’s permission) review the automatic rules configured within your users’ email accounts. BEC attackers exploit these rules to conceal their actions, such as auto-moving bank-related emails to the trash or forwarding emails with “invoice” in the subject to external addresses for scrutiny.
Email Monitoring and Filtering: Utilize advanced email filtering solutions to detect and quarantine suspicious emails, and regularly monitor both outgoing and incoming email traffic to identify unusual patterns or activities indicative of potential compromises.
Regular Training and Awareness Programs: Educate employees about the dangers of BEC and other phishing attacks. Regular training sessions can help them recognize and report suspicious emails. Your employees are a critical defense against BEC but also a critical vulnerability if they’re not invested in your cybersecurity policies.

Identifying Business Email Compromise Attacks

Although it is ideal to prevent BEC attacks from occurring altogether, there are instances where it may not be feasible. Cybercriminals are resourceful and can find ways to bypass your security measures, whether by compromising one of your users’ accounts or by targeting an external party that is not directly under your cybersecurity policies. In such cases, these attackers can exploit the compromised account to launch BEC attacks against your organization.

BEC attack emails are meticulously crafted since attackers, having already infiltrated an email account, aim to remain undetected until they achieve their goals. It’s crucial for employees to remain alert to these subtle threats and promptly alert the IT or cybersecurity team upon spotting any anomalies. Adopting the following measures will empower your team to counteract BEC tactics effectively.

Keen Attention to Detail: Encourage employees to scrutinize emails for subtle inconsistencies. BEC emails might have unusual phrasing or sentence structures that deviate from the sender’s typical tone.
Verification Protocols: Implement policies that require multiple approvals for significant actions. For instance, all wire transfers should be verified by at least two individuals (the requester and another party) to prevent potential BEC exploits.
Validation Procedures: Even if higher-ups, like the CEO, have the authority to make financial decisions unilaterally, always validate such requests. If an email asks for a financial transaction, cross-check by calling the requester using a previously known number, not one provided in the suspicious email.
Adherence to Policies: BEC attackers might use urgency or discretion as tactics to bypass standard procedures. Train employees to be cautious of such requests – even if the sender is familiar- emphasizing the importance of always following established protocols.
Trust Your Instincts: If you suspect a case of business email compromise, take precautions and immediately notify your IT or cybersecurity team so they can take appropriate action.

Take the Next Steps

As cybercriminals continue to adapt and refine their strategies, businesses must remain vigilant and informed about the latest cyber attacks. Staying updated on these threats and learning effective defense strategies is essential to safeguard your organization. In our extensive collection of cybersecurity resources, you’ll find invaluable tools like our guide five crucial tips for identifying business email compromises.

If you have any questions or concerns about your current cybersecurity strategy, connect with one of our experts to discover how we can assist you.

Need more support with your business’ Apple infrastructure? We can help! Explore our Enterprise IT Solutions for Apple and get back to working securely and confidently.

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Innovative Features in Microsoft Teams for Remote Work

DesignDATA

Four-minute read

The shift to remote work has transformed the traditional office landscape, challenging organizations worldwide to foster connection and engagement in a virtual setting. Microsoft Teams has risen to prominence as a vital tool for managing remote teams and facilitating collaboration, evolving with features designed to mirror the in-office experience.

Let’s explore five innovative tools in Microsoft Teams that enhance communication, spark creativity, and promote collaboration:

1. Announcements for everyone to see

Within a physical office space, it’s easy to make announcements to your whole team. A great new feature in Microsoft Teams that replicates this is the ability to create an announcement. This will appear as a banner at the top of a post and is a helpful way to instantly draw attention to important information about an upcoming project, meeting, or social matter.

Plus, they’re customizable: you can add a title and image to the announcement, and it can be marked as important by adding a red exclamation point. Announcements are available in channels, and it’s also possible to post one across multiple channels. You can even email them directly via Outlook.

2. Whiteboard or mural for interactive brainstorming

Whiteboard is a great feature that replicates the boardroom environment by allowing participants in a virtual meeting to sketch, write, and brainstorm new ideas onto a shared digital canvas.

Mural is just as awesome. This Teams app provides a digital workspace for real-time visual collaboration. The app allows participants to create diagrams, add digital sticky notes and more while simultaneously collaborating.

3. Virtual meeting room with Together Mode

Together Mode is an innovative new app in Teams that also replicates the boardroom. Using AI segmentation technology, meeting participants are digitally placed in a shared background to make it feel like they are all in the same room.

Not everyone in the team has to use the feature, but for it to work most effectively, every participant needs to have their camera on during the meeting. Everyone will be visible simultaneously, and their position does not change throughout the online session. This makes it easier to read body language, reactions, and create a more cohesive and engaging virtual meeting space.

4. Customized channels for collaboration

Much like having different teams hosting meetings and collaborating directly within an office, channels are a handy way to deal with project management. It’s a space where everyone who has access to the channel can collaborate, hold meetings, and have conversations. Team members within a channel can use the ‘follow’ option to receive updates about all channel activities.

5. Live reactions for communications

The lack of visual cues and personal interactions often leaves virtual-meeting participants frustrated. Plus, it can be challenging to express yourself in a virtual environment.

Thankfully, Teams has released some fun new tools for users to communicate and respond during a meeting without interrupting the flow. There are four reactions available: like, love, applause, and laugh. Participants can also click on an icon to raise their hand in a meeting – a great option to avoid those awkward moments when a few people try to speak simultaneously. These reactions are accessed by hovering over the ‘show reaction’ in meeting controls at the screen’s top right area.

Welcoming Teams software into your work environment

Microsoft Teams has greatly helped facilitate our move to remote work, promoting productivity among our teams and softening the blow of losing our office space. We’ve recently launched Microsoft 365 Business Voice and have found that this telephony software has also helped replicate the physical workspace in such a meaningful way. Let designDATA help you achieve the same results by setting up your business phone system for calling, chatting, and virtual meetings all in one app.

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