Archives for May 2019

Exploit: Employee email account breach
EmCare: Dallas-based healthcare provider that offers physician services and other healthcare functions

Risk to Small Business: Severe: An unauthorized third party accessed employee emails, allowing them to view sensitive personal information and confidential patient data. Through this vulnerability, hackers were able to access as many as 60,000 individual records, including 31,000 patient records. The company was quick to indicate that they don’t believe any personal data has or will be misused, and it’s unclear why this information was accessed. Nevertheless, EmCare will now bear the costs of providing free credit monitoring services and managing public relations.

Individual Risk:  Severe: Employees and patients who received care from the company could have had their name, birth date, age, social security number, and driver’s license number exposed. In some cases, protected health information was also made vulnerable.

Customers Impacted: 60,000

How it Could Affect Your Business: This episode is a reminder that even minor vulnerabilities can have extensive consequences. In this case, accessing just a few email accounts compromised thousands of patient records, creating serious problems for both the victims and the company. Since healthcare organizations are explicitly charged with protecting this information, they need to take every precaution to make sure that their systems are secure. By monitoring where and how hackers use patient and employee information on the Dark Web, providers can offer lasting protection.

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In Other News: Cyber-attacks are soaring in 2019 

It’s no surprise that cyber criminals are always looking for new vulnerabilities to take advantage of, and we are now becoming inundated, and even accepting, of breaches making daily news headlines. However, their swift increase in the first quarter of 2019 is shocking even by today’s standards.

According to recent report by Malwarebytes, cyber threats are up 235% year-over-year, primarily the result of a surge in ransomware and trojans.

However, bad actors aren’t just increasing the frequency of their attacks. They are changing their focus. The study found that cyber criminals are targeting SMBs because they have less money and resources to spend on cyber defense.

Most prominently, cyber criminals are relying on ransomware. Corporate ransomware attacks are up 195% from the last quarter, and they have grown at an astonishing 500% since April 2018.

It’s no secret that today’s threat landscape is always evolving, and protecting small businesses requires a continual reevaluation of your organization’s most prominent vulnerabilities. However, in order to fight fire with fire, companies must enlist the help of security solutions that are designed to keep a pulse on hacker activities and employee/customer information.

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PDF files are commonly used in most organizations, regardless of what industry you work in. That’s why PDFs are often thought of as a “safe” file type. Do you hesitate to open them?

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Over the past few months, there’s been an increase in the bad guys taking advantage of this trusted file type. They’re finding ways to hide malware in PDFs so they make it past the security filters your organization has in place. Most often, the malware is executed once you open the PDF and click on a misleading link in the file. A different PDF attack steals your login details when you open the file.

Always remember, never open an attachment unless you have asked for it. Even if the attachment appears to come from someone you know, pick up the phone to verify it’s legitimate.

Stop, Look, and Think. Don’t be fooled.

In the age of digital revolution, businesses are increasingly reliant upon their IT infrastructure. After all, the use of technology to manage routine operations has become necessary, especially if businesses want keep up with their competitors.

The entire business landscape is evolving with the help of technological business solutions. It is, therefore, so important to ensure the optimal health of your IT infrastructure. This is where strategic IT consulting services can come into play.

The Need for IT Consulting Services

IT Consulting Services brings unparalleled expertise your infrastructure. The right consultants will maintain the smooth functioning of your infrastructure while making certain your business stays relevant with the latest technologies.

Hiring IT consulting services gives businesses an advantage. The cost of hiring an entire IT department is eliminated and they are partnered with a team of experts with decades of field experience.

Oram Corporate Advisors has a combined 30 years of experience in providing strategic IT Consulting to small and mid-sized business. Looking for consultancies in Boston? Call us 1-617-933-5060 or fill this form to contact us today!

Top 4 IT Consulting Services

There are many ways an IT consultancy can help your business. Here are the top 4 of services they offer.

1. IT Asset Management

Let’s start with the basics. IT Asset Management is one of the most important services you should seek for your business. The team will keep track of every component of your IT infrastructure while ensuring its functionality, proper use, and security.

1. IT Support Services

IT Support  Services include 24/7 customer support, onsite hardware installation, user training, troubleshooting, problem management, and much more.

Hiring IT support services ensures that the IT infrastructure of your business is flawless, allowing you to focus on more important parts of your business such as product and service development.

1. Network Support

It doesn’t matter whether you are a small business or a large scale enterprise. What matters is that you have a secure network system that works well across all departments. IT consulting services include network support which covers WAN/LAN/VPN design and implementation, email continuity, and data backup and recovery.

Network support ensures that your business’s firewall is protected against any possible data breaches and intruders.

1. Server Support and Website Services

From making sure that your website functions smoothly with hosting, graphic design, and DNS Setup to ensuring 24/7 server support, SQL Management, and server maintenance, IT consulting services cover it all.

Hire strategic IT Consulting services to ensure the smooth functioning of your website and servers.

Conclusion

A decision to hire an experienced IT consulting company is a decision for security, efficiency, and peace of mind. Make sure that you choose a reputed consulting company for your business. Looking for consultancies in Boston? Call us at 1-617-933-5060 or fill this form to contact us today!

The business landscape has become quite competitive. Many prominent industries are already saturated, with new businesses still opening every day! This situation has put businesses in a tough position. They now have to maintain a great client experience while also staying ahead of their competitors.

This calls for unique solutions to ensure that your business operations run efficiently and smoothly. One such business solution is IT Asset Management. We are one of the leading IT Consulting Firms in Boston, MA, and we often get positive responses from our customers regarding the benefits of IT Asset Management.

Before moving on to the benefits, here is a brief overview of IT Asset Management.

What Is IT Asset Management?

IT Asset Management is exactly how it sounds. It consists of managing the IT assets (software and hardware) of your business. This includes keeping a track of your location, health, usage status, and all other aspects related to your company’s IT infrastructure.

Asset Management is carried out with the help of a software that helps businesses to monitor and manage their computer systems, software, hardware, and more, and  in an effective manner. The upcoming section discusses the top few benefits of using IT Asset Management for your business.

Top Ways IT Asset Management Can Benefit Your Business

1. Enhanced Security Parameters

Do you have alerts in place to inform you of possible data breaches?

By using IT Asset Management, you can keep track of every aspect of your business’s IT infrastructure. This feature comes in very handy especially if you have branches in different cities. Asset Management can also ensure that the IT infrastructure of your business is immune to breaches and theft. By using reputed Asset Management software, you will enhance the security parameters of your business so you can detect even the most minute activity such as unauthorized use of your software.

1. Efficient Resource Utilization

Are you using the IT infrastructure of your business efficiently?

Look around in your workspace. You’ll probably find that you have more computer equipment than you need. Mice, keyboards, CPUs, operating systems, software, and monitors are probably lying around unused. Perhaps they are broken or expired, or the result of a surplus. IT Asset Management helps you to ensure efficient resource utilization in your business, saving you money in the long run.

1. Better Management

What to choose – Asset Management or Product/Service Development?

With a reliable system (software) in place for IT Asset Management of your business, management can focus on more important operations such as customer service, quality assurance, and product development. IT Asset Management ensures that a company’s entire inventory is utilized efficiently.

Summing It Up

IT Asset Management is one of the most beneficial solutions you can use for your business. Your business needs the help of IT consulting services to make sure that you make the most of your IT Asset Management.

IT consulting services include systems evaluation, IT Service management, software management, and much more.
Oram Corporate Advisors has over 14 years of experience in offering high-quality IT consulting services. Looking for tech support consultant in Boston, MA? Call 1-617-933-5060 or fill in this form to contact us today!