NetStandard Blog

5 Data Disasters and How to Protect Yourself from Risk

Fri, 27 Mar 2020 22:03:28 GMT

Don't Be Caught Without Backup

Just two days ago, the multinational technology conglomerate, General Electric (GE), announced that it had experienced a security incident and that the personally identifiable information of its current and former employees, had been left exposed and accessible, leaving many at risk of security compromise.

But this is not the first large security incident of this year-- this wasn't even the first of this month; with T-Mobile, Carnival Cruise Lines, J. Crew and others having announced security breaches in the previous weeks. Not to mention the numerous recently reported cyberattack efforts aimed at the World Health Organization (WHO) in the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic.

We've grown accustomed to the stories; security hacks, network outages, hardware or software failure...

The truth of the matter is, as a global ever-increasing reliance on technology grows, with it grows the vulnerability to data security incidents. It is now imperative that individuals and businesses become more proactive web presences through investing in the protection of data; as well as that of their clients, employees and other associates.

The Intrinsic Cost of Data Loss

Data compromise results in more than the loss of security: it can also mean the loss of a business's reputation-- not to mention the aggregate costs of data recovery and legal mitigation.

Today, data is much more than information; it is a valuable, or in some cases invaluable, asset.

Who Is Vulnerable to Data Disasters?

Whether you are a social media-based business, a small non-profit organization or a large legal healthcare network; anytime you use the web as a business tool, you are at risk of suffering a data security incident.

Before submitting to the idea that a data security incident is inevitable, (i.e. death and taxes) hold fast to hope. While there will always be security threats, data protection and safety ARE attainable. Through education, resourcefulness and the help of data experts, you can guard yourself and your business against data disasters.

5 Types of Data Disasters

5. Cyber Attacks/Hacking

Cyber-attacks, or cyber-crime, is an act wherein one or more computers is used against another computer or network of computers. This is done maliciously to disable computers, destroy networks, steal data or gain access of a computer to launch further cyber-attacks.

The newest trend in cyber-crime is ransomware. Ransomeware is a type of malware that exists to corrupt a computer's system, locking users out until a ransom is paid.

Protection Against Cyber Attacks

To protect your business against cyber attacks; regularly back up your computer's data, educate yourself and your employees on how to spot cyber threats and the dangers of unsecured networks, invest in anti-malware and firewall software, restrict your network admin access to just a small group of people. Additionally, consider working with IT cyber security experts to help your business create and implement data security and disaster recovery plans.

4. Physical Loss

We are a society on the move. Most of us at some point or another, will conduct our business on a portable device and some of us exclusively rely on our laptops, iPads and cell phones to keep our businesses running. The flexibility of working with smaller devices is freeing, but they are also easy to misplace, or steal. Let us also not forget that our electronics are not as fond of our caffeine habits as we are.

Protecting Against Physical Loss

Ensure your data is backed up to multiple locations and perform those backups regularly and implement a data recovery plan. Also, strongly consider installing an alarm or security tracking measures on your device.

3. Natural DIsasters

As unpredictable as it can be disastrous, nature is a data adversary that can cause extensive damage. Strong storms, flooding and fires are impossible to control. Even without physical disasters, storms that cause network outages or surges can lead to costly downtime.

Protecting Against Physical Loss

Protect yourself against the unpredictable nature of, well, nature by; regularly backing up data to an offsite source (such as cloud storage ) and creating a business disaster security plan and a data recovery plan that are continuously reevaluated and updated as needed.

2. Human Error

Sometimes we make mistakes. That delete button can be tricky; and even though "back up your data" is likely going to be the mantra of the century, you may still forget to do it once, or twice...

Protecting Against Human Error

This truly isn't as impossible as it may sound, at least from a data risk standpoint. A few practices can mitigate the disaster of an inevitable "oops" moment.Include in your data recovery plan several layers of IT security, this way data can be backed up, encrypted and retrieved when needed. Also, setting up a two-step confirmation process when deleting files prevents accidental data loss.

1. Corruption and/or Failure

The software and hardware that we rely on to house and protect our data can be imperfect. Storage systems can meet many points of error during the steps of reading, writing, processing, storage or transmission of data, causing it to become corrupted. Hardware malfunctions and software freezes can cause the loss of unsaved work or files.

Protect Against Data Corruption and Hardware and Software Failure

Refrain from using too many apps on your device at once to avoid overloading your OS, perform regular hardware and software updates and troubleshoot any issues as they occur, implement a data recovery plan and, of course, back up your files regularly to an offsite source.

How Can You Prevent Data Disasters?

You cannot plan for or prevent all data disasters, but arming yourself with a team of expert IT professionals and planning for potential risks keeps data security well within your reach.

Who Can Help You Prevent Data Disasters?

Take time to review your business's plans for disaster security and data recovery and assess if there is room for improvement.

If necessary, enlist the assistance of cyber security experts who can help your create and implement security and recovery plans and be a valuable ally to your business and its data security and protection.

And one last time for the people in the back: BACK UP YOUR DATA .

Virtual Servers for Dummies

Thu, 19 Mar 2020 16:55:12 GMT

When you have no experience with virtualization, you might struggle to understand what it is and how it can benefit you. As technology is constantly changing, it is important to be up to date with new advances like server virtualization and get involved so your business can experience the advantages.

Even though the concept of virtual servers is not new, it has only recently become actualized and is now being widely implemented for business and private use. Virtual servers resolve old technological problems and save people time, money and energy so that they can run their businesses more effectively.

What is a Virtual Server?

The term virtual server refers to a server that is usually located in an offsite data center and its resources are shared by multiple users who each have control over it. It means converting one physical server into multiple virtual machines that can each run their own operating system.

It is a way to take full advantage of a server’s processing power and allow a number of different users to share the cost of equipment. Before virtualization, servers would only use a fraction of their processing capability and computer networks could get large and complex.

Virtual servers are a more efficient use of power and can increase a server’s utilization from the typical 15 percent to as much as 80 percent.

What are the Advantages of Server Virtualization?

Once you understand what a virtual server is, then you can start to think about how it could be beneficial to you. The main reason most people start using virtual servers is to save money.

With virtualization, there is less expensive equipment to pay for and users do not have to spend money managing the hardware. Many people choose virtual servers as a way to use green technology. Virtual servers use less energy, which can also save money while being better for the environment.

Switching to virtualization can simplify tasks, like installing software, as many software vendors are pre-installing their products on virtual machines.

Implementing Virtualization

In order to take advantage of virtual servers, you need to figure out your current workload and what type of virtualization you will need.

There are three main forms of virtualization:

Operating system virtualization
Hardware emulation
Paravirtualization.

Using operating system virtualization means that there are self-contained representations of the underlying operating system, and hardware emulation allows multiple operating systems to be installed on one computer.

Paravirtualization

Paravirtualization coordinates access from multiple operating systems to underlying hardware. When you choose the right type of virtualization, you will then need to migrate your existing servers to the new environment.

You can either do it manually or use migration products to help move your systems. The benefits of virtual servers can be enticing, but you need to understand how virtualization works and research the topic as well as your own network’s architecture to come up with a solution.

There are some cases where virtual servers might not be a good choice, and it depends on your workload and system structure. With some research and insights from the experts, you can determine whether some type of virtualization will have a positive impact on your business.

Have more questions about virtual servers? Contact NetStandard today at 913-428-4200 to see the impact virtual servers can have on your business.

COVID-19 Message

Wed, 18 Mar 2020 15:49:09 GMT

A message about COVID-19 from NetStandard

Clients, partners and neighbors,

As with all of you, NetStandard continues to monitor the ever-changing information related to the Covid-19 public health crisis. Due to recent updates in the guidelines from national, state and local government and health officials, NetStandard is implementing a new phase of its pandemic response plan to allow us to continue to protect the health and well-being of our employees and clients, as well as to continue to provide technical services and support the continued operations of our clients.

As of Wednesday, March 18, NetStandard will be implementing the following procedures:

NSI will provide support for customers and Cloud-based services remotely. You will be able to utilize the same email and phone numbers to contact your support team, and those numbers will reach backup engineers and technicians should call volume dictate. As always, NetStandard engineers are available 24x7 to support customer needs.
We are limiting onsite visits to emergency or business critical visits only and will not be providing any support to sites other than established business locations.

All meetings will take place using Zoom video/teleconferencing to provide continuity of operations both internally and externally.

NSI will stop all non-essential travel.

We are requesting that all visits to the data center be scheduled in advance through the onsite Network Operations Center (913-428-4200) to allow us to meet recommendations for social distancing and keep team members safe.

NSI will limit access to NSI offices to authorized employees only.

Hardware and equipment orders may be shipped directly to a client facility or, if determined to be necessary for business operations, may be delivered or installed by an NSI engineer.

NetStandard will continue to monitor the health and wellness of our team members and make any adjustments necessary to provide continuity of top-quality services to our clients and partners through the duration of the crisis. NetStandard will strive to meet our clients’ unique needs during this unprecedented time. If you have any questions or concerns, don’t hesitate to reach out to me, or to your support team.

NetStandard Support Number: 913-428-4200
NetStandard Support Email address: support@netstandard.com

Sincerely,

Netstandard

How Virtual Servers Work

Mon, 02 Mar 2020 08:00:42 GMT

The Science Behind Virtual Servers

The use of virtualization is growing more important in the world of technology as people are beginning to see how it can work more efficiently to use processing power and lower overall IT costs . The concept of virtualization and using virtual servers may be unfamiliar to those accustomed to traditional infrastructures.

Virtualization is basically a way to run multiple operating systems and applications on a single server to take full advantage of its processing power. Virtualization makes infrastructures simpler and more efficient, allowing applications to deploy faster and performance and availability to increase. Virtual servers are appealing because they can create IT that is easier and less expensive to own and manage .

How Virtual Servers Work

To create this desired efficiency, one physical dedicated server is divided into multiple virtual servers using special server software. The reason that this process is so useful is that typically a physical server is only dedicated to a specific application or task.

This traditional system can streamline a computer network from a technical standpoint, but it doesn’t take advantage of the server’s full processing power. Using only one physical server per task can waste a lot of this power, and computer networks can get large and complex as multiple physical servers take up a lot of space.

A data center that is crowded with physical servers consumes a lot of power and can be expensive to maintain. When one physical server is converted into multiple virtual servers, power is used more effectively and each server can then run multiple operating systems and applications.

Architecture & Components

The structure of virtual servers begins with the main hardware or physical server, which is made into a virtual server with a special kind of software. The virtual server is then split up into multiple kinds of virtual hardware and virtual machines that each operate independently.

Each virtual machine can run its own operating system and applications, acting the same as a unique physical device.
Each virtual machine also has its own virtual network and all of them are connected to the greater network as a whole.
With full virtualization, the components involve the hypervisor which is the software that interacts directly with the physical server’s CPU and disk space.

Other types of virtualization, para-virtualization, or OS-level virtualization use different components and work through unique approaches. The architecture can depend on the type of virtualization that is being used.

What is a Virtual Server?

A virtual server can be defined as a web server that shares computer resources with other virtual servers and is not a dedicated server. With a virtual server, the entire computer is not dedicated to running the server software but is split among two or more virtual machines.

Dozens of virtual servers can co-reside on the same computer without affecting the performance , but this may depend on the workload. Virtual machines can be sold as a service and are priced much lower than a physical server in spite of being functionally equivalent to a dedicated physical server.

Virtual servers are much easier to be created and configured than a dedicated server and performance can be equal or less based on the workload of other instances on the same hardware.

What Are the Different Types of Virtual Servers?

There are a few different versions of virtualization that are common, and these create unique forms of virtual servers. One type of virtualization focuses on the operating system. This means a desktop’s OS is moved to a virtual environment and is hosted on a server. The operating system includes one version on the physical server and copies of it for each virtual server that are provided to different users.

Another type of virtualization is server virtualization, which moves the entire physical server into the virtual environment. Rather than just the operating system, this virtualization method can emulate a physical server and helps to reduce the number of servers that need to be used .

Virtual servers can also be used for storage or for combining multiple physical hardware into a single virtualized storage environment. This virtualization is also known as cloud storage and can be public, private or a hybrid of both.

The last type is hardware virtualization, which makes the components of a real machine virtual. It works like a real machine and is typically a computer with an operating system. The software remains on the physical machine and is separated from the hardware resources.

What Are the Different Uses for Virtual Servers?

Virtual servers can prove useful as a tool for lowering costs and creating more efficient use of power , but their function can depend on the preference of the user. Some virtual servers can be utilized mainly for testing and developing server applications. Creating server applications can require rapid and frequent server reconfiguration, which makes virtual servers a helpful tool in the process.

A company can make a library of virtual machines in different server configurations without having to dedicate a physical computer to each configuration. This is useful for testing software in certain configurations before deploying them. Virtual servers can also be useful in consolidating the amount of servers that a business uses.

They can reduce the number of physical servers used by migrating applications and operating systems into virtual machines that are running under only one server. Companies that have different departmental or branch office applications that are written for different operating systems can consolidate these servers that go underutilized.

What Are Some Typical Virtual Server Configurations?

Configuring a virtual server usually starts with physical host server, which must be set up to run multiple servers. The physical server will typically be a four or six core CPU which is enough to run a number of virtual servers using the resources that are spread out among the RAM, CPU, disk and network input/output.

A small virtualization project usually starts with a single server, which should have at least a 4-core CPU for hardware resources but might work better with a 6 or 12-core CPU. More CPU cores can mean faster and more consistent performance across the virtual machines as the virtual server load is more spread out.

As far as RAM, a virtualization host machine needs as much as possible and the fastest available . It can be difficult to oversubscribe RAM because running multiple virtual machines requires a lot, especially with hypervisors that do not share memory features. The same is true for storage disks which are usually SATA drives or SAS drives in a RAID 5 or RAID 6 array .

What Is Server Virtualization?

In creating a virtual server, the process is also known simply as server virtualization. It means partitioning a physical server into smaller virtual servers to maximize the resources of the dedicated server.

Through server virtualization, the resources of the server itself are hidden or masked from users who each have their own separate and independent virtual machine to utilize. The server administrator uses software that divides the physical server into multiple isolated virtual environments while masking resources from the users, such as the number and identity of individual physical servers, processors and operating systems.

Hardware Emulation

Virtual servers sometimes are only able to work through the use of hardware emulation if there is no direct access to server hardware. Hardware emulations means one hardware device mimics the function of another hardware device. This is usually used when an administrator needs to run an unsupported operating system within a virtual machine.

Since the virtual machine does not have access to the server hardware, an emulation layer directs traffic between physical and virtual hardware. Hardware emulation is important for virtual servers that can only be used on certain guest operating systems.

Through the emulation layer the administrator can run and interact with an embedded operating system from a desktop that couldn’t normally support the operating system. This is necessary because an embedded operating system is created to run in dedicated hardware environments or on systems that are not intended for interactive use.

Three Kinds Of Server Virtualization

There are three basic types of server virtualization that are typically used to divide a single physical server into multiple virtual servers. Each type shares common traits and use the physical server as the host with virtual servers as guests. All three systems use a different approach to allocate physical server resources to virtual server needs.

Full Virtualization

The first kind of server virtualization is full virtualization, which uses a hypervisor as a special kind of software to allocate resources. The hypervisor interacts directly with the physical server and works as a platform for each virtual server’s operating system.

The hypervisor also works to keep each virtual machine independent and unaware of other virtual servers running on the physical machine. Each guest server runs its own OS while the hypervisor monitors the resources of the physical server and relays these resources to the appropriate virtual server. Some of the physical server’s processing power must be reserved for the hypervisor’s needs.

Para Virtualization

The second type of virtualization is a different approach known as para-virtualization. With this method, guest or virtual servers are aware of one another, unlike in the full virtualization approach. The hypervisor does not require as much processing power to manage the virtual servers as it would under full virtualization, which can help prevent any slowing down of the performance.

The hypervisor does not play as big a role because each OS is already aware of the demands the other operating systems are placing on the server. This makes it possible for the whole system to work together as a unit rather than the hypervisor relaying resources and having to monitor what resources are available for each virtual server.

OS Level Virtualization

The third type of virtualization that is an option to use is OS level virtualization, which uses a completely different architecture than the other two. OS level virtualization does not even use a hypervisor at all because virtualization capability is part of the host OS which performs that kind of functions that a fully virtualized hypervisor would.

There are limitations to this method though as all the guest or virtual servers run on the same OS. The virtual servers remain independent of one another, but users are not able to mix and match OS’s among them. This is environment is known as homogeneous since all the operating systems are the same. The type of virtualization that would work best depends on the network administrator’s needs.

Appeal Of Virtual Servers

Now that it is more clear what virtual servers are and how they work, one must understand what the appeal of virtualization is.

Redundancy

One of the benefits of using virtual servers is that companies can practice redundancy without spending too much money on extra hardware. Having multiple virtual servers that all run the same application is a safer method because if any of the servers should fail, a second server can quickly take its place.

For businesses, that means less down time and minimal interruption of their service . Redundant virtual servers are usually created on different physical servers so that if one physical machine were to fail, another one would offer the virtual server running the same application.

Consolidation

Another appealing factor of using virtual servers is the ability of businesses to save space and minimize the amount of hardware used through consolidation. Instead of having multiple physical servers which each can run only one application, a single server can run multiple virtual environments and utilize more of the server’s processing power.

Having a lot of physical servers can be expensive and time consuming to maintain while also taking up a lot of space . Virtual servers give companies the opportunity to consolidate their equipment and use it much more efficiently.

Legacy Systems

Traditional server hardware, or legacy systems, will eventually become obsolete and businesses will have to switch to a new system. Switching over can be difficult, but a virtual version of the hardware can be created on modern servers.

With the virtual version of hardware, applications all run the same and programs perform as if they were on the old legacy system. This makes it easier for a company to make the transition to new processes without worrying about hardware failure especially if the legacy system is outdated or broken.

Virtual servers are a simple concept of utilizing more of the processing power available in a physical server and consolidating equipment for more efficiency, lower IT costs and redundancy . Using a single physical server to run multiple virtual machines is a process that businesses are now beginning to consider a more effective way to run IT.

Questions About Virtual Servers?

Thank you for reading. We would love to answer questions about the benefits of virtual servers. Contact NetStandard at 913-428-4200 or you can send us an email by clicking here .

Manage Your IT Before It Manages You

Thu, 23 Jan 2020 16:12:54 GMT

Manage Your IT Before It Manages You

It's after five on a Friday night. You're on the way to your car when you get a notification on your phone. System Backup Fail. You head back to the computer center to see what the problem is.

It doesn't take long to find the problem. Hard drive failure on the backup server. You check around. No one has the hard drive in stock. You check online. The earliest you can get a replacement is Monday.

You schedule a complete system backup every Friday. You have incrementals, but you have to wonder if they are complete since the hard drive was having problems. What do you do? Go home and hope for the best? Try to reroute the backup to a different part of the network?

Alternative Scenario

It's Friday morning. You're on your way to work. Coffee in-hand. You get a notification on your phone. Backup hard drive replaced. Backup software tested. You smile and enjoy your coffee. You're glad you've been proactive about monitoring your system for possible equipment failures. Maybe you'll be able to leave work a little early.

Who doesn't want to be the person to enjoy the weekend? The problem is not everyone wants to address their IT systems proactively. A lot of companies manage their IT by reacting to a problem when it happens. That really isn't a good way to operate. A reactive approach leads to

Unscheduled downtime
Increased Security Threats
Loss of Data

Most businesses cannot afford to stop work while a system is being fixed or a cyber attack is contained. With more company data being stored digitally, companies need to ensure the integrity of their data.

Unscheduled Downtime

Most business owners would agree that unplanned downtime is costly, but few know how costly. One hour of downtime equals a $100,000 loss . A system failure on the weekend may not be as expensive as during the workweek, but it is still going to cost a company in overtime, expedited shipping for needed parts, and work delays.

Proactively monitoring network performance can identify potential problems before they happen. Tracking usage, as well as intermittent failures, can alert IT professionals to possible end-of-life components. Further testing of equipment can help isolate the problem so repairs or replacement can occur.

Increased Cyber Attacks

Every day cybercriminals troll the internet looking for vulnerabilities. If you aren't proactively watching for attempted attacks, your company could be the next target. Many companies react to software updates. They don't perform them unless they are forced to through continual popup reminders. Or, they hear about a breach that happened because the software was not updated.

In the cyber world, waiting to update software is like playing Russian roulette. At some point, you will be the company that reminds everyone else to update their software. Making sure all software is up-to-date reduces possible vulnerabilities. Monitoring your system for attempted attacks is a proactive way to assess potential risks.

Data Loss

No matter how small you think your company is, you have customer data. Maybe, cybercriminals can't use your information directly, but the data could be enough to direct them to a company that stores more detailed information. Your system may hold personal information, such as social security numbers, birthdates, or banking information. If you are in an industry where safekeeping of customer data is mandated by law, you are exposing your company to significant liabilities if you are not watching who and how your data is being accessed.

With all the demands on a company, it is easy to let seemingly less critical tasks slide. That software update can wait until tomorrow. Do we really need a new server? All it takes is a proactive approach to IT management. Why not contact us to discuss how we can help turn your reactive approach into a proactive one? After all, how would you like to spend your Friday nights?

Social Engineering Attacks: A Path to Ransomware

Thu, 23 Jan 2020 16:10:16 GMT

Social Engineering Attacks: A Path to Ransomware

Social engineering attacks are difficult for IT departments to prevent. Not because they haven't the skills to stop an attack, but because the attacks are counting on human error. These attacks can be a step in the process of malicious cyberattacks such as ransomware. In fact, social engineering has become an avenue for hackers to initiate a cyberattack. What is social engineering, and how does it contribute to malicious attacks such as ransomware?

Social Engineering

Social engineering attacks are usually one step in a multi-step cyberattack. Attackers investigate a potential target using a variety of social media sources to learn more about the target. They then look for vulnerabilities in the networks associated with the target. If they find weaknesses, they move forward with the attack. At this point, the attackers attempt to gain the target's trust so they can gain access to resources and information.

Ransomware

Ransomware is a specific form of malware that takes control of a computer system, preventing users from accessing information unless a ransom is paid. Although ransomware has been around for years, the rate of detections within businesses rose from 2.8 million in 2018 to 9.5 million in 2019. That's nearly a 340% increase in detections. Although not all detections end in a breach, the number of attempts illustrates how active cybercriminals are.

A ransomware breach is often the result of a social engineering attack. Without knowing it, employees may allow a cybercriminal to gain access to sensitive information or the network itself. Ryuk is a form of ransomware that works in reverse. It tries to encrypt backups and network servers before the endpoints of a network. The primary countermeasure to ransomware is to restore a system from backups. Ryuk eliminates that countermeasure unless backups are maintained offsite and off-network.

Phishing

Phishing is one of the more common types of social engineering attacks. These are scam emails that frighten the recipient by claiming a breach or problem with security. The emails say to click on a link or open an attachment. The link is to a malicious website, or the attachment contains malware. A phishing email can be the first step in a ransomware attack.

The good news is that only 12% of users will click on a phishing email. The bad news is that 4% will click on the link or open the attachment. That 4% isn't changing. Some employees are naive or trusting, and some simply do not care. It is the 4% that companies need to worry about.

If phishing emails are sent out in mass, detecting and blocking them is much easier for a mail server. If phishing attacks are more targeted, blocking them is more problematic.

Pretexting

Pretexting is a type of phishing where the perpetrator pretends to be someone who would legitimately have access to sensitive information. After establishing trust, the attacker asks the target to perform a critical task. The attackers may impersonate co-workers, bank officials, or trusted vendors or business partners. The hackers ask questions or provide information that helps to confirm their credentials in an attempt to secure personal information or crucial access.

Information such as social security numbers, bank records, vacation dates, or security processes can be gained through a pretexting attack. Pretexting has lead to financial compromises with losses over $100 million

Spear Phishing

Spear phishing is a more elaborate form of phishing. It combines pretexting and phishing to target specific people and companies. The hackers use pretexting to build trust with the target. Once trust is established, the hacker may breach the network through employee actions or send malware through an attachment the employee is sure to open. Because employees believe they are communicating with legitimate people, the breach can go undetected.

How to Protect Your Company

The best ways to protect your company are:

Maintain strong firewall security
Keep antivirus software current
Update all software promptly
Education employees on security practices

If you find these tasks are taking away from your core business, why not contact us ? We can take care of your IT, so you can take care of your business.