Security

5 Cybersecurity Tips for Better 2020 Protection

You couldn’t go a day in 2019 without hearing about another cybercriminal hitting a business or city, and 2020 will be more of the same. You’ve probably even had your fair share of conversations with your customers about what you’re doing to keep them and their data secure. It’s better to have the tough talks now and get a plan in place than try to make excuses for your lack of protection if your customers get hit. So, let’s get ready for 2020 together with these cybersecurity tips. Learn how incident response services can benefit and improve your business strategy.

1. Pay Attention to the Security Around APIs

Cybercriminals and their tactics are evolving and will continue to evolve. With new advancements in technology, attacks will go beyond the normal threat vectors. You can see Nettitude online for cybersecurity assistance

“There are still plenty of attack surfaces today in your traditional Windows® domain environments,” says Jon Murchison, CEO of Blackpoint Cyber. “As the shift starts to the cloud and as we open more APIs for automation, I think you’re going to see API-based attacks increase massively. Vendors need to pay attention as they open more of these things up, they’ll be turned against them.”

While the cloud and automation have made life easier for managed service providers (MSPs) and their customers, they also present an opportunity for cybercriminals to use that convenience against unsuspecting victims. When you’re looking at your security for 2020, you need to be aware of all the entry points into your network and your customers’ environments, which leads us to our next tip: enabling multi-factor authentication (MFA).

2. Enable MFA on Everything

Although it may seem like a minor inconvenience for end users, MFA is a small security measure that can have a significant impact on making sure the right people have access to networks and applications. MFA, or two-factor authentication (2FA), is an added layer of security that requires a user to present a second form of authentication, typically a code sent to an email or text after the user enters their account login information. Once the user enters the code, they’ll gain access to the account.

Like all things, MFA is only successful if you use it correctly. Having it enabled on just a few accounts defeats the purpose of implementing it to begin with.

“We’re seeing a breakdown of proper configuration and management of MFA,” says Drew Sanford, Director of Sales Engineering at Continuum. “If you’re managing remote systems or administering user access, you should be using MFA, but you need to be using it for all accounts, especially the MFA systems themselves.” That’s right. Secure the security measures.

“Nothing is worse than protecting your systems with MFA just to find the hacker was able to log in and reset your Google, LastPass, or other accounts,” Drew says

3. Have the Right Resources

There has been a talent gap across the industry for the past few years, and cybersecurity is no different. It’s a job-seeker’s market, with unemployment for cybersecurity professionals close to zero percent. That makes finding talent hard and keeping it even harder. Skilled professionals will demand top dollar for their expertise.

The hiring crunch trickles down to the quality of services. According to research from Continuum, 37% of MSPs say they aren’t able to obtain the right level of in-house cybersecurity skills. Without the right skill sets, your security team might not be able to meet the demands of your customers and leave them vulnerable to a security incident.

When it comes time to start providing security services, if you haven’t started already, you’ll need to decide whether to build your security offerings on your own, buy an established security company, or partner with a security vendor. There are pros and cons to each option, and there is no ‘one-size-fits-all’ approach. Your security requirements are unique to your business, so it’s crucial to pick the strategy that works for you—and getting it right can help you stand out from the competition.

According to Continuum’s white paper, Underserved and Unprepared: The State of SMB Cybersecurity in 2019, cybersecurity is becoming a determining factor for SMBs deciding to use or continue using an MSP. How much so? 84% of SMBs surveyed who do not currently use an MSP would consider using one if they offered the right security services.

4. Protect Your House

This has become one of our more popular cybersecurity calls to action, but it’s not just a saying, it’s an integral part of running your business. When you protect your house, you’re ensuring you have the proper security controls and procedures in place across your organization. Yes, you’ll be more secure, but you’ll also be showing current and potential customers that you’re committed to security.

You build trust with an SMB when you show them you not only take proper security precautions, but the solutions you use internally are the ones you’re selling them. Your security offerings are tried and tested. This could be the thing that separates you from the competition.

5. Take Advantage of the TSP-ISAO

According to the Department of Homeland Security, threat actors are exploiting the trusted relationship between technology solution providers (TSPs) and their customers to creep unnoticed into customers’ networks. In October 2019, ConnectWise announced the creation of the Technology Solution Provider Information Sharing and Analysis Organization (TSP-ISAO).

The TSP-ISAO is an independent organization formed to provide a secure infrastructure within the TSP industry to set the standard for TSPs in the services and products they provide to their clients, as well as the people, processes, and tools they employ.

“We believe that the TSP-ISAO has an important role to play in educating MSPs and SMBs to the existential nature of the threats they face. Both MSP and SMB industries have never faced a threat like this and are collectively unprepared to understand the true nature of the threat. Working with our public and private partners, we will develop programming to ensure the threat is understood and countered,” said TSP-ISAO Executive Director, MJ Shoer.

This article was provided by our service partner : connectwise.com

RMM

Best Practices for Optimizing Patch Management with RMM Software

Patching—the act of updating, fixing, or improving a computer program—is an important part of maintaining your clients’ systems against viruses and hacks. The majority of MSPs do this through remote monitoring and management (RMM) tools. But no matter how well your RMM software can fix a bug or close a vulnerability, if you don’t follow the right patching policies and procedures, you may end up putting those same clients at a higher risk of security breaches.

According to the Ponemon Institute, 57% of data breaches can be directly attributed to attackers exploiting a known vulnerability that hadn’t been patched. That’s a real problem. And patching doesn’t just improve system security—it facilitates overall smooth processing, ensuring that there are no bugs slowing down your (or your clients’) day-to-day operations.

Clearly, regular patching is important—but how can you make it a seamless part of your workflow? To help you out, here are some best practices to follow as you use RMM tools to perfect your patching processes—and reasons why they’ll help you, your technicians, and your clients.

Make Patching a Priority—and Ensure Your RMM Tools Facilitate That

In 2018 alone, there were upwards of 15,500 published common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs). And as technology increases in complexity and sophistication, these numbers will only continue to multiply. Keeping up is a challenge for businesses and their IT service providers—especially those that may continue to rely on manual patching processes rather than their RMM software.

In addition to managing the sheer volume of vulnerabilities cropping up each day, the actual patching process can drain time, resources, and disrupt the end-user experience. That’s why any RMM software comparison should take into account the ability to use these tools to streamline and simplify patch management. With the right RMM tools, it’s much easier to work regular patching into your workflow and to ensure your whole team is equipped to make it a priority.

Follow a Simple Framework Built Around Your RMM Software

When it comes to patching, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel. Aligning on well-established procedures or protocols for patch management works fine—applying them consistently is the key. For a strong start, select a simple and repeatable process to use as a guide. The entirety of this basic workflow framework can be performed with RMM tools:

  1. Deploy regular rediscovery of all systems
  2. Schedule vulnerability scanning—especially for systems at higher risk
  3. Install patches and patch definition databases
  4. Monitor, test, and deploy patches to vulnerable systems
  5. Perform regular data collection and reporting, and review processes for future improvements

This framework should provide a good jumping-off point. Build on it to customize the process to your specific team, organization, and RMM software.

Always Watch the Clock

A central challenge facing managed services providers (MSPs) is that once a vulnerability is officially announced, all information about it is disclosed along with it—giving hackers all of the information they need and a wide-open window to target and further exploit the vulnerability across your clients’ systems. The chances of exploitation and infection increase the longer an organization waits to apply the patch. At the same time, hackers and other cyberattackers are becoming increasingly quick to attack, giving organizations less and less time to patch.

Being cognizant of every disclosure and using your RMM tools to stay on top of each alert is critical. Even a few hours can make all the difference.

Integrate Patching Tools with Your RMM Software

With multiple vulnerabilities to remedy in little time, you want to implement as many tools as possible, as quickly as possible. Rather than having your technicians spend most of their time approving and applying patches to disparate machines, you can implement an integrated RMM tool like ConnectWise Automate, to alert you and handle much of the heavy lifting.

With the right RMM tools and increased automation capabilities, your technicians spend less time on tedious manual patching tasks and you reduce the likelihood of human error or important updates slipping under the radar.

Consider Third-Party Patching

Cloud-based, automated patch management software allows you to schedule regular update scans and ensures patches are applied under specific conditions. As you take on new clients, the software gains even greater value, enabling you to remain on top of patching while your business continues to grow.

Third-party patching is a native component of ConnectWise Automate, simplifying and securing the entire patch management workflow. The platform enables application updates, along with a host of other automatic capabilities—including automated billing through the professional services automation (PSA) software you already have with ConnectWise Manage

As you audit, patch, document, and bill for third-party application updates, all third-party patch definitions are deployed following our best practices. Automatic daily updates and downloads ensure that you’re always patching with up-to-the-minute technology. And as you streamline patch management for you and your clients, you gain recurring monthly revenue streams.

Generate Regular Reports

It’s important to make patching and staying on top of every client relationship a priority. With streamlined automated regular reporting you have a simple and effective solution right in your hands.

This article was provided by our service partner : connectwise.com